Gannett - or any company - cannot do layoffs at newly unionized newsrooms without proving economic exigency, which can’t exist when executives and shareholders are pocketing millions.” Well-staffed and fully functional newsrooms are a critical component of democracy, especially in an election year. “In contrast, local journalists are organizing all across the country because of their deep commitment to their work, their communities and their newsrooms. “Gannett continues to show that it puts investors and executives before journalists,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. Here’s a shot of *just the people w/ cams on* from the room where we met for lunch /Cm6BRTxAoV- Kati Kokal August 11, 2022 Not only did 100s of union-represented employees take part in the #LocalNewsLunchOut today, we hit reply all to emails to company leadership and flooded their inboxes with union love!!! And I am here for it,” said Richard Ruelas a reporter at the Arizona Republic. My colleagues company-wide have chosen to stand together.
As word of pending cuts spread online, readers reacted with worry about the loss of more journalists in our community. “Gannett for years has attempted to cut its way to success. This is about the community our newspaper serves, and the loss to the community such cuts would bring.” Vacancies continue to go unfilled, important departments like Sports continue to lack coverage, and now the company is threatening further layoffs. “Despite the same proposals being agreed upon at other Gannett-owned newsrooms in our region, management has not even countered ours.
We’re now preparing to present the last of our proposals, ones that address wage disparities, staffing shortages and lack of diversity in huge ways that we’re proud of,” said reporter Rose Schneider. “The Utica News Guild joined a coordinated effort with other NewsGuild shops in the past year because we know the power in numbers and of collective action. In the last 15 years, more than 1,800 local newspapers have closed their doors for good. Many of these newsrooms organized in the past couple of years, as huge media conglomerates like Gannett have bought up newspapers, gutted their staff, and closed some for good. Over half of those newsrooms are participating in today’s “lunch out.” Hundreds of workers will gather on Zoom to discuss next steps to fight back against the company. The NewsGuild-CWA represents more than 50 Gannett-owned newsrooms across the country. We’ve said it before and will say it again: There is no local journalism without local journalists.” That’s why we are standing with hundreds of Gannett journalists across the country to demand the company reinvest in our journalism. “The effects of Gannett’s continued austerity decisions affect all workers at the company, so we need to fight back together to win. We deserve better, and our readers, equally, deserve better,” said Susanne Cervenka, Project Reporter, Asbury Park Press. “Gannett wants to pretend it can report on our communities with fewer journalists while still spending lavishly on executives.
According to Mike Reed, Chairman and CEO, Gannett must “responsibly and proactively resources to our highest strategic priorities and costs to be in line with revenues.” Hundreds of workers employed by Gannett-owned newsrooms are taking a coordinated lunch break today in response to a string of emails from upper management last week that threatened layoffs due to the company’s second quarter financials.
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