Chicago Tribune News Staffers Seek To Unionize

A group of employees is seeking to form a union in the Chicago Tribune’s newsroom, in what would be a historic move at the 171-year-old newspaper.

Organizers notified editors and sent a recruitment memo to staffers Wednesday, urging them to join the effort to form the paper’s first newsroom union. The stated goals include regular raises, advancement opportunities, better parental leave policies and a more diverse newsroom.

But more than specific demands, the organizers say they seek to give voice to a newsroom buffeted by downsizing and shifting corporate leadership, most recently under Chicago-based Tronc.

Formerly known as Tribune Publishing, Tronc owns the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Los Angeles Times and other publications.

Last month, the Chicago Tribune began implementation of a newsroom reorganization that included layoffs.

Tronc spokeswoman Marisa Kollias referred to a memo sent to the newsroom Wednesday by Bruce Dold, the Tribune’s publisher and editor-in-chief, in lieu of a comment. In that memo, Dold acknowledged receipt of a letter from union organizers and told staffers that Tribune management “has the utmost respect for the decisions you make and for your rights on this issue.”

He also outlined steps the paper is taking to address employees’ concerns.

The organizing effort is the latest in an industry that faces ongoing revenue declines and an uncertain digital future.

In January, the Los Angeles Times newsroom overwhelmingly voted to join the NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America, a first for the traditionally anti-union newspaper, which was founded in 1881. Tronc subsequently agreed to sell the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune and other California-based assets to Los Angeles biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500 million in cash. The deal is expected to close by early in the second quarter.

If successful, the Tribune editorial staffers would join the NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America, which represents The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Tronc-owned Baltimore Sun, among other newspapers. The Tribune collective bargaining unit would be part of the union’s local affiliate, the Chicago News Guild, which has long represented newsroom staffers at the Chicago Sun-Times.