The Fort Worth Newsguild journalists are back at work after striking for 24 days! In California, tens of thousands of Autoworkers Union members at the University of California have a tentative contract. These strikers can warm themselves with pride for their history making actions!
The Newsguild Twitter feed says, “Over 24 days, the Fort Worth Newsguild protested Mcclatchy’s [the hedge fund that owns the Star Telegram] unwillingness to negotiate fair conditions and made history as the first Texas newsroom in modern history to go on strike. Over the 4 weeks, we finally saw actual movement from the company on policies they have refused to budge on for 2 years.”
In other tweets, the journalists point to important aspects of their struggle: “…we made Texas history, banded with labor folks across the country and laid the groundwork for other unions to fight unfair conditions. We saw enormous community support: hundreds of people donated to our strike fund and raised $60,000. We picketed, wrote letters, spoke at local groups, and bargained for a total of 21 hours. We return from this strike more empowered than ever to fight for better working conditions for all current and future journalists. Not just at the Star Telegram, but everywhere. The journalism industry has been leeched upon by for-profit media companies for decades. This must end. When newsrooms go under, democracy itself is threatened. While we shouldn’t have to fight for basic working conditions, we will.”
Union strikers fight for all working families. Many other North Texans can be proud to have joined the Fort Worth Newsguild battle!
IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION FROM LAST WEEK
The Fort Worth Firemen donated $10,000 to the strike fund. Not $2,000 as reported.
End-Of-Year Summary
Union members can warm ourselves with this 2022 summary from the AFL-CIO:
“Unions won 641 organizing victories so far this year. Those are more organizing wins than at any time in almost 20 years. And with 43,000 new union members organized in 2022, we aren’t slowing down.”
MLK March is On!
Master organizer Lou Luckhardt of the Steelworkers Union will head up labor’s presence at the 2023 Dallas Martin Luther King Jr Parade. Organizations and individuals should contact him at Lou.Luckhardt@gmail.comabout their participation.
Our most reliable labor volunteer, Gerardo Contreras of UAW 848, is willing to provide a float with seats for those who cannot walk down MLK Boulevard. Judy Bryant of the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans will be bringing seniors. Contact her at judy4tara@aol.com. Labor has been in every Dallas MLK parade for the last 32 years.
Dr King said, “Our needs are identical with labor's needs — decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community. That is why Negroes support labor's demands and fight laws which curb labor. That is why the labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth."
MORE ACTIONS COMING UP
Jan 11, 12:30P: Dallas Chapter of TARA meets at AFT Hall, Bishop & Centre in Oak Cliff. Everyone invited. judy4tara@aol.com or 214-729-0063
Jan 13-16: Labor’s Civil and Human Rights Conference in Washington DC. Register
Jan 16: MLK holiday. Contact Lou.Luckhardt@gmail.com and join the Dallas march and parade!