Journalists at VTDigger.org, the statewide nonprofit news outlet, have agreed to establish a newsroom labor union. They informed editor Anne Galloway and members of the organization’s board of directors Monday morning of their decision and asked for voluntary recognition.
According to education reporter Lola Duffort, a member of the union’s organizing committee, 15 of VTDigger’s 17 editorial staffers have signed a petition seeking recognition. The bargaining unit, called the VTDigger Guild, represents full- and part-time reporters, photographers, interns and fellows, as well as staff columnists.
Galloway, who founded VTDigger in 2009 and also serves as executive director of its parent organization, the Vermont Journalism Trust, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Duffort said her colleagues have been organizing since last fall and had intended to announce their decision last month but held off so that they could focus on covering the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Vermont.
“We’re doing this because we think it will strengthen VTDigger,” she said. “This organization will be better positioned to weather this crisis and and to begin growing once again afterward if the newsroom has a seat at the table.”
Like many news organizations in Vermont and throughout the country, VTDigger has suffered a decline in revenue associated with the outbreak. Last week, Galloway announced that three staffers — two from the business office and one from the newsroom — had been laid off.
According to Duffort, those developments made their organizing efforts all the more urgent. “There’s really no more important time to have a union than when your organization is feeling a financial crunch,” she said.
Duffort said the VTDigger Guild would seek better and more consistent pay, benefits and time off. She and her colleagues see the organization as “a place where a lot of young journalists start off and do great work but don’t necessarily stick around” because they can’t afford to do so. “We really wanted to help create an environment where we could see people stay for the long term,” she said.
Duffort said the organizing drive was not an indictment of Galloway or the board. “But we cannot effectively advocate for the newsroom’s needs with our board and director unless we have that conversation as equals,” she said. “And we cannot ensure that everyone’s needs are met unless we do so in a collective manner.”
VTDigger’s union is affiliated with the NewsGuild, which is part of the Communications Workers of America. The NewsGuild also represents employees of the Associated Press, the New York Times and dozens of other newspapers around the U.S.
Though Vermont newsrooms have organized in the past, the VTDigger Guild is the only journalism union currently active in the state.
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Death knell, when the greedy union shows up.
We need journalism with integrity more than ever now. I stand in solidarity with journalists at VT Digger. A good union run by workers not only improves working conditions, it improves the services provided.
Gonna be a bit harder to solicit donations with this announcement.
“There’s really no more important time to have a union than when your organization is feeling a financial crunch,” she said
Revenues are down and the board made a hard decision to let some employees go. Yes. Now is the time to demand more pay and vacation time through the threat of a strike.
This oughta make the donations come roaring in.
Dufort said she and her colleagues see the organization as “a place where a lot of young journalists start off and do great work but don’t necessarily stick around” because they can’t afford to do so.
This isn’t anything new – that’s been the case for decades in this state and any other small market where younger journalists hone their craft, get experience and then, if they so choose, move on to bigger and better things (like more pay and better working conditions)
Creating a union isn’t going to change the fact that VT has never been a place to make a great living in the news business (and a lot of other vocations). And that’s not because some wealthy owner is low balling them on pay and other perks.
Not sure if VT Digger’s staff realizes they’re lucky to have journalism jobs at all, given the sea change in the news business. According to Pew Research, 25% of newspaper staff lost their jobs between 2008-2018; not exactly the kind of employment climate to demand more from your non-profit employer.
I’m not opposed to unionizing, but what they’re asking for isn’t realistic.
The L..A. Times was never unionized for most of its history. The publisher treated the employees so well that they never needed a union to fight for pay, benefits, and workplace standards. This remains the only valid way to keep your employees from unionizing.
“Like many news organizations in Vermont and throughout the country, VTDigger has suffered a decline in revenue associated with the outbreak. Last week, Galloway announced that three staffers — two from the business office and one from the newsroom — had been laid off. According to Duffort, those developments made their organizing efforts all the more urgent. “There’s really no more important time to have a union than when your organization is feeling a financial crunch,” she said.”
Ah, yes. Everybody knows that unionization magically makes the economic downturn brought on by the corona virus disappear. Ever heard the maxim about blood from a stone?
I’ve always respected the reporting on VT Digger. Now I suddenly wonder if the reporters are actually that smart after all.