Abby Blachman

Sigh.

Dear Katrice and Geraldine, We are deeply concerned about the manner in which The Marshall Project has been treating our members and approaching the bargaining process. Recently, The Marshall Project leadership has betrayed our organization’s values and compromised our position in the industry and the journalism we pursue. It’s time for that to change. The guild has worked tirelessly and in good faith on proposals that would keep high-quality health care affordable for Marshallers. We have also been steadfast in asserting that all recognized members deserve due process and fair treatment required under the law. The organization, in turn, has increasingly taken anti-worker stances that have eroded trust and created a culture that makes it difficult to do the work that makes us proud. Since the organization has taken such a hardline stance, refusing to work with the guild on the items listed below, we will be filing unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board and stepping up our public efforts to make it clear that we demand fair treatment.

The following recent actions by the organization have taken an immense toll on the workers of The Marshall Project: 1. The organization has repeatedly denied steward representation to a member facing a Performance Improvement Plan and possible termination, as well as denying another member representation in their termination meeting last week. This denial is illegal, egregious, and completely out of line with standards across our industry and the labor movement going back decades. We are shocked that the organization would take such a hypocritical and prohibitive stance on this, given our mission. The union has filed an Unfair Labor Practice about this illegal violation of members’ Weingarten rights and demands that members be allowed steward representation in any meeting they feel is appropriate. 2. The organization has caused a retaliatory ripple effect with its actions against one employee that has touched an entire newsroom in Cleveland with negative effects that go against the stated purpose of collaboration with local media and our ability to make good on promises we made to readers. When the organization recognized members it had a duty to follow the law and not proceed with layoffs without bargaining. We have filed an Unfair Labor Practice for the illegal layoff of employees and management retaliation.

3. The organization made a unilateral change to our outside employment policy without bargaining, changing expectations to require managerial approval. We have always maintained a workplace where outside work is permitted and the organization’s sudden termination of Chris Vazquez without a steward, without an opportunity to stop the freelancing project, and without severance is unjust and defies our values. 4. The organization is employing a strategic erosion of status quo through small changes to past practice while we bargain our first contract, including erasure of our cost-of-living adjustment, a significant change to our health insurance, and modifying the evaluation process. The organization has inconsistently complied with requests for information, which does not reflect good faith in bargaining. The Marshall Project, in retaining union-busting law firm Kauff McGuire & Margolis, is willingly participating in the erosion of worker protections across our industry, a project that takes advantage of the current anti-worker political environment. When The Marshall Project voluntarily recognized our union last year, it touted a “longstanding commitment to a fair, equitable and inclusive workplace, with generous benefits.” We are demanding a return to these values.

Today, we sent a letter to @themarshallproject.org‬ leadership expressing concern about their denial of bargaining obligations. Management has repeatedly denied members Weingarten rights, engaged in an illegal layoff, and more — we need your help to demand that management bargain in good faith.

congrats Ryan!!!!!

Israel kills Al Jazeera journalists in targeted Gaza City airstrike - Committee to Protect Journalists New York, August 10, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled to learn of the killing today of Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and M...

Absolute horror. It's endless. cpj.org/2025/08/isra...

The UK Just Censored The Entire Internet YouTube video by Taylor Lorenz

always appreciate @taylorlorenz.bsky.social reporting: m.youtube.com/watch?si=qsE...

and while we’re here please check out @jazzmyth.bsky.social’s work on this topic in the US: 19thnews.org/2025/06/supr...

this stuff has huge implications for the whole internet yall!

It's a process chart purporting to show, step-by-step, a process. The process is not how things would work - it's fake news, which is written on the top of the image. Embedded text reads: Global warming boosts kelp growth (Warmer water and nutrient influx create massive kelp forests). Kelp decay and aerosol release (storms break kelp into fine organic particles & pigments). Atmospheric pigments. Chlorophyll-rich aerosols scatter light differently. Green-tinted sky. Persistent aerosols shift scattered light toward green.

Tried out the new ChatGPT 5, asking it to tell me how increased kelp growth could be gradually turning the sky green (fake news). It made me this handy diagram, Internet ready and interactive

Should be an interesting semester. (And AI is not a search engine!*)

(Search engines have issues, too)

If you were putting together a curriculum on the most important internet and technology trends for news organizations to be aware of right now, where would you start and what sources would you use? (note: i welcome sources that are highly technical and non-technical in nature) 🧠✍️

??????????

if you know a lot of stuff i think it is your moral duty to be kind and excited when people learn stuff for the first time. the world is full of stuff we don't know about, don't be mean

This is obvious, but if people broadly rely on a black box to give them answers that help them understand the world, whoever controls the black box controls those answers and therefore the understanding that comes from them.

Openness is safety.

All the ways Trump wants to exclude trans people from public life From passports to health care, the White House is trying to make it harder for transgender Americans to live openly and safely. Here's a look at the executive orders and their impact.

Trump's executive orders share a common goal: removing trans and nonbinary people from public life wherever possible.

@19thnews.org will be closely reporting on the anti-trans policies enacted by the Trump administration and their effects nationwide. Here are the key policies enacted so far.

Greenland’s rapidly melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump covets dangerous to extract Melting ice, thawing permafrost and crumbling fjord walls are just a few of the risks climate change poses for those living and working in Greenland.

Greenland’s rapidly melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump covets dangerous to extract

‘We won’t be safe if we’re silent’: Young trans leaders want to build a network of their own In the face of an administration trying to erase their identities, these students are founding a group to cultivate trans leaders across the country.

As the Trump administration tries to erase their identities, these college students are founding a group to cultivate transgender leaders across the country.

Making one more push for this…truly any amount you can offer makes an impact!

Hi y’all! The 19th just launched our year end impact drive and it would be an honor to have your support. We’re an independent newsroom covering the intersection of gender, politics and policy at a time when it’s absolutely crucial to doggedly track this space and to provide info about resources.

Abby Blachman is raising funds for The 19th I'm raising money for The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom with a mission to inform women and LGBTQ+ people.

I am so proud each and every day to work for The 19th. By contributing any amount you can, you are helping us row forward into what lies ahead and center women and LGBTQ+ people every step of the way. the19th.donorsupport.co/-/NHSYNXTY/j...

Your support helps us sustain our organization. It’s not easy in this day and age to keep a newsroom afloat, and your contribution allows us to continue and expand upon our journalism and the stellar benefits our staff receives, which has helped push the industry to have better benefits policies.

Hi y’all! The 19th just launched our year end impact drive and it would be an honor to have your support. We’re an independent newsroom covering the intersection of gender, politics and policy at a time when it’s absolutely crucial to doggedly track this space and to provide info about resources.

IWMF - NSAA: Request for a DeleteMe Subscription The International Women's Media Foundation is offering a free one year DeleteMe subscription to journalists in the U.S. through our Newsroom Safety Across America initiative. As part of this program, ...

The International Women's Media Foundation has free DeleteMe subscriptions for journalists. Apply by Nov. 30th for consideration, there are a limited number available. iwmf.submittable.com/submit/a9bcc...

Congress has always been hostile to women trying to use the bathroom Nancy Mace’s proposal to cut bathroom access for trans women in the Capitol is the latest in the building’s long history of excluding women lawmakers.

Banning trans women from women’s restrooms would continue a long history at the U.S. Capitol of women lawmakers being forced to find alternate ways to simply do their job. My colleague @oriion.bsky.social explains for @19thnews.bsky.social: 19thnews.org/2024/11/cong...

Update: This list keeps growing

Here’s what we know about the investigations into Matt Gaetz Matt Gaetz has been investigated by the House Ethics Committee and the Department of Justice. He has denied wrongdoing.

Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, and resignation from the House, came days before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on the public release of its report. Today the committee met but there was no agreement on releasing the report.