State-level legislation to hold law enforcement officers’ and public officials’ feet to the fire when they violate journalists’ rights is long overdue. Of especially strong concern is officers’ mistreatment of journalists, including those with press credentials; abuses range in severity from detention to injurious assault, and it’s a growing trend that needs to be stopped. […]
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NEW YORK — U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Wiles approved the sale of the McClatchy Company’s assets to Chatham Asset Management on Tuesday for $263 million in debt and $50 million in cash, with Chatham granting a new $87 million loan. The newspaper chain had filed for bankruptcy in February. An attorney for McClatchy, Van […]
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By Caroline GrannanPacific Media Workers Guild unit chair, San Francisco Chronicle David Perlman, the revered San Francisco Chronicle science writer and editor who started at the Chronicle in 1940 and retired 77 years later in 2017 when he was a vigorous 98 years old, died June 19 at age 101. Perlman, who became a Newspaper […]
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June 14, 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HONOLULU — Workers, community members and reporters are reacting with shock to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s announcement Thursday it is laying off half of the newsroom. This devastation at the state’s largest newspaper will permanently damage the critical news coverage Hawaii depends on. “This decision was disappointing, frustrating and unnecessary,” […]
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 15, 2020 Three former governors of the state of Hawaii have joined forces to urge the Honolulu Star-Advertiser not to go through with sweeping layoffs it has announced that would cripple the newspaper and ultimately hurt the community that depends upon it. Former Governors John Waihee, Ben Cayetano and Neil Abercrombie sent […]
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In a matter with press-freedom implications, the Guild and several other organizations are joining the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in seeking authorization to file an amicus brief supporting a woman appealing a Sacramento County Superior Court finding that a complaint of sexual harassment against a California assemblyman was defamatory. Pamela Lopez is […]
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In an opinion that stands to help budget-constrained journalists and news outlets stay competitive, the California Supreme Court has declared that public agencies must bear the cost of redacting electronic records that members of the public request. The Pacific Media Workers Guild (the Guild) and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California chapter can claim […]
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To our colleagues: The COVID-19 outbreak is an unprecedented public health crisis. We are here to help. As union members you have many important protections against what we call “unilateral changes” to the terms and conditions of your work under our contract. When negotiating our contracts, we go to great lengths to define and control […]
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Menu (click to scroll) Unemployment Insurance Temporary Disability Insurance Workers Compensation Additional Resources UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE Use When: You’ve lost your job or had hours reduced. General Eligibility You must be either totally unemployed, or working less than your normal hours and earning less than your weekly benefit amount. You may be disqualified for eligibility for […]
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Without a doubt, we are living through an unprecedented challenge with this global pandemic. I hope this letter finds you and yours safe and healthy. We know you have a lot of concerns and questions about how and where to do your jobs, about how to get paid and in general, about how to navigate […]
Read MoreThe First Amendment Coalition is proud to announce the launch of a series of Freedom of Information Boot Camps for journalists interested in using the California Public Record Act and other laws to shed light on government agencies across the state. Led by FAC attorneys, these sessions will provide journalists tools to improve their reporting, whether daily […]
Read MoreThe Society of Professional Journalists released this statement on Wednesday: In March, Sacramento police detained three journalists while they were reporting on a citizens’ protest over the fatal shooting by officers of Stephon Clark, an unarmed 22-year-old black man. The detention served no public purpose and could have been avoided if Sacramento PD had a […]
Read MoreThe 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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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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