CWA, NewsGuild-CWA, and NYC City Councilmembers Fight for Free and Fair Press

For three years, NewsGuild-CWA members at the New York Daily News, one of the oldest news outlets in New York City, have been fighting for a first union contract that would ensure:

• Fair wage floors and guaranteed annual cost-of-living raises amidst skyrocketing inflation in one of the nation’s most expensive cities
• Job protections and fair benefits for part-time workers
• Job-security provisions that protect their work from being subcontracted permanently  
• Maintaining standard benefits like time off, sick time, parental leave and 401(k) match

But they’re being stonewalled by Alden Global Capital, the destructive hedge fund that owns the Daily News and many other news outlets throughout the country. Their playbook? Buy up newspapers and other local news outlets and cut costs, cut staff, and roll back production and news coverage.

NewsGuild-CWA members have been fighting back at the bargaining table as well as through actions, rallies, and press conferences to call attention to Alden’s predatory practices and the dire consequences of the loss of reporters and local news coverage.

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On September 29, CWA District 1 joined NewsGuild of NY leaders and Daily News workers in testifying before the New York City Council in support of Resolution 1015 put forth by Councilmember Carmen de la Rosa condemning Alden’s predatory practices and refusal to agree to a fair contract.

“This resolution necessarily and urgently calls out Alden for its hostile and predatory actions against every day New Yorkers who count on the Daily News to stay informed,” said NewsGuild of NY President Susan DeCarava. “We are all here today to put the hedge fund on notice that New York City stands united against greed harming one of its newspapers and recognizing that a fair contract ensures that the work of unionized journalists can continue. At no point in our history has the Daily News’ work been more important. Defending the Daily News ensures that a vitally important source of information continues to not only cover the story of New York but also preserves our democracy in New York.”

This resolution represents perhaps the most consequential rebuke of Alden Global Capital since the hedge fund was created in 2007 and began acquiring — and destroying — newspapers across the country.

Photos by Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit​​
 

“When I speak about the New York Daily News, I do so as someone who has spent most of my life being a part of what I sincerely believe to be the greatest city newspaper in the country,” said Michael Sheridan, a Daily News video and photo editor and Unit Chair for the New York Daily News Union. “But Alden Global Capital doesn’t seem to care about its employees, or investing in its newspapers. They don’t seem to care about journalism, despite owning hundreds of newspapers across the country. The only papers that seem to actually care about are the dollars they take away from the men and women who cover this city, and many other towns and cities throughout the United States.”

Watch video of the testimonies here!