Herald-Tribune newsroom votes to unionize

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune newsroom staff voted to unionize Thursday, becoming the second GateHouse Media-owned newspaper in the state to do so this year.

Following the 22-16 vote, members of the Herald-Tribune staff cited recent layoffs and other cutbacks as an impetus for the union movement. Investigative reporter Elizabeth Johnson said workers hoped forming a union could help secure a more active voice given the uncertain conditions.

“We did it so we could have a voice in how the decisions that are affecting us are made,” Johnson said.

The newsroom voted to join the NewsGuild-CWA union, which represents about 27,000 workers in print media and other professions. Beyond the industry’s rocky adjustments to the digital age, NewsGuild president Bernie Lunzer attributed newsrooms’ interest in unionizing to the behavior of hedge fund-backed corporate ownership groups like GateHouse.

“Journalists in general have a right to be angry,” Lunzer said. “Digital has changed things, but it shouldn’t cause the wide swath of destruction that’s actually taking place.”

The NewsGuild has also filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Tampa office of the National Labor Relations Board in response to alleged intimidation tactics during GateHouse’s anti-union campaign.

“I think it’s really unfortunate that GateHouse and Bill Church did what they did in Sarasota,” Lunzer said. “People have a lot of respect for their front line managers and their editor — it was never meant to be a referendum on that.”

In an earlier statement, Herald-Tribune publisher Pat Dorsey said he was “very disappointed” by the unionization effort.

“The local newspaper industry continues to face difficult headwinds nationwide,” Dorsey said. “As an industry, and as a local media organization, we are in a turbulent transformation.”

As the Herald-Tribune works to form a bargaining unit, Lunzer said he expected negotiations to begin with ownership within the next two to four months. Both he and Johnson said the unionization effort was intended to preserve the quality of journalism produced at the newspaper.

“We’re hopeful things will continue to work the way they’ve always worked, particularly in terms of the day-to-day,” Johnson said.