鈥淲hat do we want?鈥�
鈥淔air contract!鈥�
鈥淲hen do we want it? Now!鈥�
The newsroom鈥檚 union alleges the newspaper鈥檚 parent company, , is not bargaining a contract in good faith. McClatchy is now owned by hedge-fund Chatham Asset Management. The union filed an in August. McClatchy also has two other complaints against it 鈥� one for of a contract and another for .
Of union card holding members, 21 of 23 went on strike Monday at the Star-Telegram, said Kaley Johnson, vice president of the . There鈥檚 27 eligible union members in the newsroom.
Star-Telegram journalists and union members of are picketing today. This is the first day of their strike. Story soon with
— Seth Bodine (@sbodine120)
The strike is two years in the making, said Johnson, a justice reporter for the Star-Telegram. She said McClatchy has refused to move on contract negotiations. Among the union鈥檚 proposals is a $57,500 wage floor. McClatchy countered with a $45,000 wage floor.
鈥淲hat we and other McClatchy unionized papers have seen repeatedly is that McClatchy comes to the table and does not move at all,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淪o we鈥檒l submit a proposal and they鈥檒l send us back their initial proposal, which sometimes is existing company policy, and then they鈥檒l do that again and again and again.鈥�
The strike will not end until a fair contract has been reached, Johnson said. Under the , employees who strike because of cannot be fired or replaced while striking.
The newspaper鈥檚 executive editor, Steve Coffman, said in an emailed statement that the newspaper is serving communities in North Texas and Tarrant County.
鈥淲e continue to bargain in good faith and look forward to reaching an agreement,鈥� Coffman wrote.
In emails sent to Star-Telegram staff and obtained by the Fort Worth Report, Coffman wrote that the company is recruiting journalists to provide full coverage of local news. It鈥檚 not clear whether those positions will be permanent or temporary. Those jobs will be posted Tuesday, he wrote.
McClatchy is also suspending striking workers鈥� healthcare and other benefits at the end of the month, according to an email obtained by the Fort Worth Report from McClatchy vice president of people Chris Klyse.
鈥淎n employee in an inactive status (i.e. unpaid leave) will no longer be eligible to participate in the healthcare plan effective at the end of the calendar month in which the unpaid leave begins,鈥� Klyse wrote. 鈥淔or example, an employee who begins unpaid leave Nov. 28, 2022, will see their healthcare insurance lapse at the end of the day on Nov. 30, 2022.鈥�
Johnson said in an emailed statement that the tactics are an attempt to encourage others to cross the picket line.
鈥淭he Fort Worth NewsGuild is dedicated to fair conditions for Star-Telegram employees. No amount of union busting will change that,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淢cClatchy can take away our benefits, but not our fight. McClatchy can post our jobs and try to replace local coverage, but our community knows better 鈥� they deserve a dedicated local staff. We are not backing down and expect McClatchy will meet us at the table this week.鈥�
McClatchy did not respond to inquiries after The Fort Worth Report reached out for comment.
Isaac Windes, president of the Fort Worth NewsGuild and an early childhood education reporter, said workers who are striking aren鈥檛 getting paid. The union has raised on GoFundMe. Windes said he views the strike as a necessary action.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all here all 鈥� feeling good and kind of ready to get this contract,鈥� Windes said. 鈥淪o I think we鈥檙e ready to be done, really. And this is pushing us towards that resolution.鈥�
Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst at Poynter, said it鈥檚 uncertain how the strike will go. Newspaper strikes used to be common more than 20 years ago, when advertising accounted for more than 80 percent of revenues. A worker stoppage won鈥檛 hurt the company鈥檚 bottomline as much as it did in the past, he said. That鈥檚 one reason Edmonds thinks there haven鈥檛 been as many strikes since the shift in revenue.
鈥淎 strike didn鈥檛 seem to have as much leverage when the economic consequences were not going to be as great for the employer,鈥� Edmonds said.
Media organizations are. This is the third strike nationally by journalists since August. Nearly 300 workers at went on strike for a day in August. Staff at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are also striking, the nation鈥檚
There鈥檚 been eight labor actions such as strikes in Texas this year, according to a There鈥檚 been 626 across the country.
Jon Schleuss, president of , which represents 27,000 members, said striking has worked in the past. The McClatchy-owned Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and Bradenton Herald after newsroom staff walked out of the office for a day April 1.
McClatchy and the Fort Worth NewsGuild鈥檚 next scheduled bargaining session is Dec. 8
This story will be updated when more information is available.
is a business and economic development reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at seth.bodine@fortworthreport.org and follow on Twitter at .