Hearst Connecticut Journalists Form Union for Fairer Working Conditions
Hearst Connecticut Journalists Form Union for Fairer Working Conditions
Stamford Advocate Reporters Among Participating Members
STAMFORD — Writers, photographers, editors, and digital producers at Hearst Connecticut Media Group announced on Thursday, August 8, a formal effort to unionize their workplace for fairer contracts and better working conditions.
The Connecticut News Guild that they established is seeking voluntary recognition by Hearst Connecticut Media Group (HCMG) leadership, but that has not been achieved so far.
HCMG comprises ten daily newspapers, including the Connecticut Post, Greenwich Time, the Journal Inquirer, the Middletown Press, the New Haven Register, the News-Times, the Norwalk Hour, the Record-Journal, the Register Citizen, and Stamford Advocate. The company also owns at least 13 weekly newspapers, Connecticut Magazine, and multiple websites, such as CT Insider.
Several staff at the Stamford Advocate are also participating in the union organizing drive. They include:
Tyler Fedor, who covers housing and development issues
Brianna Gurciullo, who covers local government and politics
Ignacio Laguarda, who covers education and related topics
Paul Schott, who covers business, real estate, and technology
Tyler Sizemore, a staff photographer
Patrick Tomlinson, who covers crime and courts
Journalists throughout the state have expressed concerns about workloads, inadequate wages and benefits, return-to-office requirements, Hearst’s approach to artificial intelligence and its growing impact on journalism, and similar issues.
“In such a tumultuous time for this industry, it’s important for journalists to have agency, to have a say in their working conditions,” statewide reporter and Connecticut News Guild organizing committee member Alex Putterman said to The Boston Globe.
For HCMG management’s stance, the Stamford Advocate reported that Hearst Newspapers president Jeff Johnson “said the company ‘values a direct relationship with its employees,’ a point he said is proven by policies such as not initiating layoffs during the COVID pandemic. ‘We look forward to making the case to our employees, on the merits, that it’s not in their best interest to unionize the HCMG newsroom,’ Johnson said.”
Along with Governor Ned Lamont and other elected officials who publicly backed the newly created union, a member of Stamford’s state legislative delegation chimed in to add his support.
“Local news is vital to our communities and accountable government. The reporters who provide it deserve to be compensated and treated fairly,” State Representative Matt Blumenthal (D-147) said on Twitter. “These reporters' right to organize must be respected, and Hearst CT should negotiate with them in good faith for a fair contract.”
Since the union announcement, Hearst Connecticut journalists have received an overwhelmingly positive response. In less than a week, more HCMG employees had signed on to the mission statement and effort. On Monday, August 12, the Connecticut News Guild posted on social media that they are “now up to 85% of our unit having signed authorization cards.”
Emphasizing the momentum, the union said that “[i]t’s time for Hearst to accept what its employees want and recognize us so we may begin bargaining a contract.”
The Connecticut News Guild is an affiliate of The NewsGuild and the Communications Workers of America (CWA). To support their efforts, sign on to their letter to management here.
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