JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Times-Union NewsGuild has announced plans to join the movement of nationwide strikes, starting on June 5, the day of Gannett's annual shareholder meeting. Hundreds of journalists are expected to take park in the strike, in newsrooms from California to New York.
Journalists across the country are taking part in the strike to demand Gannett get serious about reinvesting in local news. This will be the largest collective action that Gannett employees have taken to date, according to the Times-Union NewsGuild press release.
The NewsGuild journalists from the Florida Times-Union newsroom will gather at noon on June 5 in Riverfront Plaza for a demonstration. The gathering is meant to show support for the walkouts taking place at other Gannett Publications.
The Times-Union NewsGuild will then participate in a one-day strike on Tuesday, June 6.
The Gannett publications that plan to participate cover more than half a dozen states, including California, Arizona, Texas, Indiana, Florida, New Jersey and New York. Some newsrooms will be walking off the job for two days or more, according to the NewsGuild.
Why are newsrooms striking?
The NewsGuild has been negotiating with Gannett for a contract for almost five years, according to the press release. Gannett has reportedly cut investments in the Times-Union newsroom by "slashing positions", according to the NewsGuild, even as Jacksonville continues to grow.
According to the NewsGuild, Times-Union journalists have gone five years without a pay raise. Gannett has now offered pay increases for one-fourth of the newsroom, leaving the rest of the staff without a raise for another two years. Gannett's offer would also eliminate any company match for 401(k) retirement accounts. The release said Gannett also wants to cut reimbursement for mileage when journalists use personal cars for work-related trips and raise health insurance premiums.
"Gannett must invest more in Jacksonville, not less,” said David Bauerlein, co-chair of the Times-Union Guild bargaining committee. “Gannett wants Times-Union journalists to lose ground, all for the sake of creating cash flow for its bottom line. The company says it wants to ‘save local journalism,’ but its own actions would keep hurting it.”
