Category Archives: Our Local Guild

Dayton Newspaper Guild ratifies historic contract

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Members of the Dayton Newspaper Guild’s newsroom unit voted Monday, July 30, to ratify a historic contract agreement with Cox Media Group Ohio. The agreement between the Guild and the company breaks one of the longest labor standoffs in the nation. The two last came to terms in 1986, when the Guild was represented by an independent union.

“There are many people who said this dispute would never be settled, but it has been,” said Lou Grieco, president of the Dayton Newspaper Guild. “This contract balances the company’s need for flexibility in a changing media environment against traditional protections our members count on.”

The one-year deal for newsroom workers at the Dayton Daily News comes with union concessions but includes arbitration. For years, the company had resisted agreeing to any meaningful language that would allow terms of a contract to be enforced.

“This is a victory for everyone involved, management and employees alike,” Grieco said. “Because we can finally move forward, put this dispute behind us and work together to continue the innovative journalism that the Dayton Daily News does so well.”

The two sides last negotiated in 2007, when the company declared impasse and posted work rules. The company requested a return to the bargaining table late in 2011. As negotiations continued, Guild members never rested in pursuit of a contract, holding numerous rallies outside the Cox Media Center and silent protests inside. The Guild also leafleted area events and sent letters to the newspaper’s advertisers to gain the public’s support in asking management to keep middle-class jobs in Dayton. The effort gained strength from the many readers and area union proponents who responded with letters and emails to company management in support of the Guild.

Union-represented workers in Cox’s Ohio operation still face a number of challenges. Earlier this month, the Springfield Newspapers Editorial Association merged with the Dayton Newspaper Guild as a separate bargaining unit. The new Springfield Unit is currently in protracted bargaining talks with the company. Also, due to company restructuring, Guild-represented copy editors became a separate unit of the Guild. Those employees are now working under a transitional agreement and will be seeking a first contract within the year. So the difficult work of gaining fair contracts for members continues unabated.

“Many copy editors worked hard to get a contract for those remaining in the traditional bargaining unit,” Grieco said. “We will not rest until those copy editors, and our Springfield brothers and sisters, are under contract.”

The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 100 reporters, photographers, copy editors and editorial assistants who work for the Cox-owned Dayton Daily News and Springfield News Sun. Cox Media Group Ohio also owns WHIO-TV and radio and other newspapers including the Hamilton JournalNews and Middletown Journal.

Never say die

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Janelle Hartman at newsguild.org writes:

Nearly 26 years since negotiating the local’s last contract, the never-say-die Dayton Newspaper Guild has reached a tentative agreement with the Dayton Daily News.

“Wow,” summed it up Tuesday afternoon for local President Lou Grieco as he and his co-negotiators shared a bottle of champagne after the talks wrapped up. “We’ve been close for a week, but it still hasn’t quite sunk in.”

Tuesday night, Grieco presented the proposal to about 14 of the 50-plus members who will soon be asked to vote on it. But first, Grieco wants time to talk with everyone, explaining that it’s not perfect, that there are concessions, but overall it’s a victory – one that the members made possible… Read complete story>

Guild leaders all

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Members of the Dayton Newspaper Guild supported their bargaining team on Friday, June 22, with another silent protest. Members lined two sides of a conference room outside the Dayton Daily News’ 4 p.m. news meeting holding signs reading, “I am a Guild leader.”

The action was in response to a June 18 letter sent to the Guild bargaining team and then forwarded to the entire company from Jana Collier, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief.

After becoming aware of an informational letter the Guild sent to advertisers, Collier called Guild leadership “short-sighted and selfish” for bringing attention to Cox Media Group’s plans to send local advertising jobs overseas and the company’s desire for the power to replace professional newsroom jobs with low-paid freelancers.

Guild workers keep up the momentum during negotiations

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The day after a successful community action, Guild members kept up the march for middle-class jobs.

Showing sustained determination, Dayton Newspaper Guild members and supporters marched in unity again on Thursday, April 12, between bargaining sessions with the company.

Guild members took to the sidewalk in front of the Cox Media Group Ohio headquarters for the third time in four weeks. The night before, members leafleted a company-sponsored community coffee event.

Rally-goers again protested the Dayton Daily News’ efforts to degrade working conditions in its newsroom. Among its demands, the newspaper wants unlimited power to use freelancers to replace the professional journalists who serve as the community’s watchdog.

Guild members were supported in the Thursday march by five members of the newly-organized 99% Spring Action group.

The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, web designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News.

Region’s newspaper workers to rally again for middle-class jobs as negotiations resume

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DAYTON – The Dayton Newspaper Guild will again take to the sidewalk to save middle-class jobs at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, April 12, outside the Cox Media Center, 1611 S. Main St., as contract negotiations resume.

Following two successful rallies last month that each drew 50 to 60 Guild members and supporters, the Guild will again protest the Dayton Daily News‘ efforts to degrade working conditions in its newsroom. Among its demands, the newspaper is seeking unlimited power to use freelancers to replace professional journalists who serve as the community’s watchdog. This is a serious threat, as the newspaper announced last month that it also is outsourcing oversight of the delivery of its newspapers.

The newspaper also wants to end job security for its most experienced workers by eliminating seniority-based layoffs. And even while the company gives nonunion newsroom managers raises and bonuses, it continues to deny small merit raises for hard-working union employees who kept the newspaper profitable during the recession.

The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, website designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News.

To learn more, and to see photographs of the March 16 and March 28 rallies, please go to daytonguild.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Ben Sutherly (937-524-3264) or Lucy Baker (937-260-3799)

Building on success, Newspaper Guild to rally again for journalism, middle-class jobs

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DAYTON – The Dayton Newspaper Guild will rally again for middle-class jobs at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, outside the Cox Media Center, 1611 S. Main St., on the eve of resuming contract negotiations.

Following a successful March 16 rally that drew 50 Guild members and supporters, the Guild will again protest the Dayton Daily News’ efforts to degrade working conditions in its newsroom. Among its demands, the newspaper is seeking unlimited power to use freelancers to replace professional journalists who serve as the community’s watchdog. This is a serious threat, as the newspaper announced this month that it also is outsourcing oversight of the delivery of its newspapers.

The newspaper also wants to end job security for its most experienced workers by eliminating seniority-based layoffs. And even while the company gives nonunion newsroom managers raises and bonuses, it is again singling out hard-working union employees who kept the newspaper profitable during the recession, and denying them small merit raises.

The newspaper and the Guild have been in contract negotiations for weeks. But so far, the newspaper has shown little interest in compromising on key elements of a potential deal.

“It’s time the Dayton Daily News be held accountable for its unjustified assault on middle-class journalism jobs,” said Lou Grieco, president of the Dayton Newspaper Guild. “Newspaper executives have shown an unwillingness to compromise at the bargaining table that is far outside the mainstream. Their bias against the middle class must end. The Guild has tried to work toward compromise, but on key issues, the Company just wants to dictate terms.”

“Our members are shocked, angry and hurt,” Grieco continued. “They have been loyal during the toughest times in the Company’s history. They are working harder than ever, they have made sacrifices, they have successfully embraced change with genuine courage. And this is the thanks they get.”

Amidst a slow recovery from an economic crisis, the last thing any responsible media company should do is attack its staff of professional journalists whose work is dedicated to moving the region and the state forward, Grieco said.

“Ohio proved last fall, with the defeat of Senate Bill 5, that it still supports workers and collective bargaining rights,” he said. “The voters, and the company’s customers, have made this clear.”

The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, web designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News.

To learn more, and to see photographs of the March 16 rally, go to daytonguild.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Ben Sutherly (937-524-3264) or Lucy Baker (937-260-3799)

Rally for journalism, middle-class jobs

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Workers represented by the Dayton Newspaper Guild and Springfield Newspapers Editorial Association took to the sidewalk on Friday, March 16, voicing concern about the plight of middle-class workers and the future of journalism as a viable profession in Dayton, Ohio.

About 50 Guild and SNEA members and supporters took part in the rally outside the headquarters of their parent company, Cox Media Group Ohio. They were supported by family members, as well as representatives of the AFL-CIO, Occupy Dayton, Service Employees International Union and Putting People First, a group advocating for affordable health care and fair employment. The event drew media coverage from WDTN-TV (Channel 2) and the Dayton Business Journal. It also drew crowds of Media Center workers to the windows of CMG headquarters to watch the protest. In an unprecedented move, CMG Ohio’s human resources department felt compelled to send workers an e-mail explaining the peaceful protest outside of its doors.

But CMG Ohio chose not to inform its own readers of the Dayton Daily News, viewers of WHIO-TV, and listeners of WHIO radio about the protest. The company likes to brag that it “covers both sides” and is unbiased. But it abandons that philosophy if it thinks news coverage might “hurt the company.”

The Dayton Daily News and the Guild have been negotiating for weeks, but newspaper management insists on terms that will continue to degrade working conditions for employees. For example, the newspaper wants unlimited power to replace professional journalists with freelancers to cover the news. The work that the newspaper wants the power to outsource is difficult, important work that is vital to democracy and keeping the Dayton region informed.

The newspaper also wants to dismantle job security for its experienced employees.

“It’s time the Dayton Daily News be held accountable for its unjustified assault on middle-class journalism jobs,” said Lou Grieco, president of the Dayton Newspaper Guild. “Newspaper executives have shown an unwillingness to compromise at the bargaining table that is far outside the mainstream. Their bias against the middle class must end. The Guild has tried to work toward compromise, but on key issues, the Company just wants to dictate terms.”

The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, web designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News. SNEA represents editorial workers at the Springfield News-Sun.

Read the press release>

WDTN-TV (Channel 2) coverage>