The NewsGuild has been around for 93 years and this is the first time journalists have won a contract in the state of Alaska!
What are we going to do about this? We are using our frustrations to expand our public campaign. We received a wealth of support at our last picket, and we plan on securing even more. We’ll keep you all posted on our next move✊ (4/4)
At the same time Hearst is stalling on a fair contract with regular raises, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Journalism Sustainability Act is offering New York news outlets hefty tax credits for hiring and retaining reporters. The Times Union is eligible for $320,000 a year (3/4)
Since on-the-record bargaining resumed in July, the company has failed to make one single proposal on the record. We believe Hearst is trying to delay making a deal. They used this same tactic with our Guild siblings in Austin (2/4)
We had yet another frustrating bargaining session Thursday. The company declined to discuss any topics without seeing a comprehensive proposal from us. Except we did provide a proposal in November, one detailing many tentative agreements as well as sections that still need work (1/4)
This includes publications like Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar and Good Housekeeping
While we hope Hearst is willing to come to the table with a fair contract, we are ready to stand by our @hearstunion.bsky.social siblings — offering our support and not crossing the digital picket line
From Variety: More than 400 @wgaeast.bsky.social members at 29 Hearst Magazine publications are ready to strike if Hearst fails to reach a fair contract today, the last day of scheduled bargaining
variety.com/2026/digital...
Our current Hearst Union contract expired 1/31, and after more than a month of bargaining and a strike pledge signed by 85% of our bargaining unit, we’re still fighting for basic respect & fair compensation.
Send a letter to help us demand a fair contract now: actionnetwork.org/letters/fair...!
We are proud to be among a coalition of unions backing the NY FAIR News Act. Readers and journalists need real protections against artificial intelligence! Read more about this bill here nyguild.org/post/fahy-ro...
We made our voices heard, but the fight is not over yet! We need Hearst to move forward with us on a contract, and we won’t stop until it’s done (3/3)
And thank you to all the anonymous passersby who honked your horns and showed us you care about local news and a fair contract for workers (2/3)
First off, many thank you’s are in order
Thank you to all our members who braved the cold in solidarity. Thank you to the Capital District Area Labor Federation for joining us on the picket line. Thank you to Gov. Hochul for showing her support (1/3)
This won’t be the last you’ll be seeing of us. We will demonstrate and rock in noisy solidarity until we have a contract! (3/3)
So, we’re walking out and demonstrating. For the next hour, we’ll be outside the Times Union at Wolf and Albany Shaker roads
Come see us! Honk your horns to show your support and tell Hearst to move forward with a fair contract now! (2/3)
We are picketing! 🪧
Now more than ever we need local news, and to do that we need support for the human beings behind local news like the Times Union
Hearst, however, is continuing to stall on our contract — as they have for the past 17 years (1/3)
✅ Keep our news union. Respect the workers of Texas and our historic news institutions. Abide by the agreements you’ve made with workers, follow the law, and don’t outsource jobs from our state
Add your name here! (4/4)
act.aflcio.org/letters/tell...
✅ Keep our news local. Ensure journalists can afford to live in the communities they cover and report on by agreeing to sustainable pay and benefits (3/4)
✅ Keep our news human. Ensure the news of the future is produced, edited, and attributed to humans not AI. Agree to contract language that places limitations on AI replacing the work of journalists (2/4)
Hearst has bought up dozens of local newspapers and now owns the four largest newspapers in Texas. Local news and journalists’ jobs there must be protected. That’s why our News Guild siblings at the Austin NewsGuild and Dallas News Guild are demanding Hearst: (1/4)
Here’s what we get:
A terrible contract
We demand Hearst recognize all of our tentative agreements and negotiate fair wages. (3/3)
❌ Regressive bargaining on holidays. We agreed to two new ones. They only want to give us one.
❌ Regressive bargaining vacations. We agreed on more vacation. They want to give us more vacation too and sooner. Great! But to get it, we must agree to the other unacceptable terms. (2/3)
It’s all or nothing with Hearst.
Here’s what Hearst wants:
❌ Drop our members in advertising – leaving employees vulnerable to the company’s whims.
❌ No contractual wage increases. All increases will be based on merit. (1/3)
This fight is not over. We will be meeting with Hearst again on Thursday, Jan. 29, with hopes of moving forward (5/5)
We continued to insist our wages are too low, below the average median pay for all occupations for the Albany area. We told them their employees have trouble paying rent, getting their cars repaired and even going to the doctor.
They were unmoved and insisted our compensation was fair (4/5)
During that time, we had a frank discussion. They called our phone calls and emails “childish” and “silly.” Clearly, they are keeping a close eye on our communications — including Guild email updates sent to our members (3/5)
The company continued to press us to accept their last, unacceptable offer — wiping away all progress from 2022 and refusing to discuss contractual raises.
Though management was eager to leave the meeting, we insisted they remain on the call until the very last minute of the scheduled session (2/5)
The latest on our bargaining with the Times Union:
On Thursday, the Guild’s negotiating team met with Hearst’s team for a two-hour bargaining session where we were expecting an updated proposal.
We received none (1/5)
A message from CWA President Claude Cummings Jr.:
Today we honor, as a union and as a nation, Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest civil rights leaders in our shared history.
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This cannot stand. The Times Union and Hearst Corporation must negotiate fairly with their workers 4/4
Management at the Times Union told the Guild it was rejecting all of its requests, not recognizing agreements going back to 2022 and wants to eliminate all advertising employees from the Guild 3/4
