Guild members honored for journalistic excellence

The Guild congratulates several of our sisters and brothers who are to receive awards in November for journalistic excellence. Julia Cheever and Daniel Montes of Bay City News Service, and Charles Desmarais and Lauren Hernandez of the San Francisco Chronicle will be honored at the San Francisco Press Club’s Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards Dinner […]

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2019 Membership Referendum Results

2019 Membership Referendum Results

Dear PMWG Local 39521 Members,Thank you to all who voted in the 2019 Guild Membership Referendum.Both provisions of the referendum passed, with the following results: Local Membership voted to make the Local’s lead officer an appointed role, rather than elected. Now the Executive Officer will be appointed by the Local Executive Committee.  Additionally, our Interpreters […]

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DFM Caucus begins six-month countdown to contract talks

DFM Caucus begins six-month countdown to contract talks

Alden Global Capital founder Randall Smith recently sold one of his many Palm Beach mansions for $5.5 million, according to the Palm Beach Daily News. The $1.9 million profit on the sale – purchased in a mansion-buying binge that began in 2013, after Alden became majority owner of DFM – would cover an annual raise of more than $3,900 for the 487 Guild-represented employees at 12 DFM newspapers nationwide.

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DFM workers deserve share of Company’s huge profits

DFM workers deserve share of Company’s huge profits

Union representatives will press management to increase the pay of workers at Digital First Media newspapers nationwide when wage negotiations resume on October 11 in Philadelphia. The message will be simple: Our award-winning employees deserve their share of the massive profits that DFM is earning from their work. Most DFM employees only have received one raise in 10 years.

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Highly profitable DFM again refuses to offer pay increase

Highly profitable DFM again refuses to offer pay increase

DFM management came to a bargaining session empty-handed, telling a national coalition of NewsGuild representatives that the company’s hedge fund ownership intends to keep employee pay frozen companywide to help maintain its profits. Alden Global Capital, principal owner of Digital First Media, has earned worldwide notoriety for its ruthless staff cuts and double-digit profit margins. The ongoing damage to newsrooms across the country has triggered protests from New York to Denver to the Bay Area.

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McClatchy and Guild working on money, metrics and marijuana

McClatchy and Guild working on money, metrics and marijuana

Bargaining continued in late January, early February at all four McClatchy California units (The Modesto Bee, The Fresno Bee, The Sacramento Bee and News Desk West). Full contracts are up at Modesto, Fresno and News Desk West while Sacramento has a reopener. The guild and company were able to narrow bargaining to a few core issues during each of the sessions. They include the new metrics for page view goals, seniority language in the case of layoffs, minimum salary levels and merit pay scales, equipment reimbursement, and drug policy.

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