Miami Herald workers set to unionize

Months after reporters revealed McClatchy News CEO Craig Forman had received a $1 million bonus and $35,000 per-month housing stipend while laying off journalists and other workers at his news corporation, employees in the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald newsrooms today publicly announced they plan to unionize.

“Our journalism is strong when our journalists are strong,” the newly named One Herald Guild announced today. “But for more than a decade, under the direction of our corporate owners, el Nuevo Herald and the Miami Herald have dramatically downsized, cutting costs by shrinking staff through buyouts, layoffs and consolidation. As corporate financial pressures have forced us to do more with less, we have remained committed to working with professionalism and integrity, mindful of the cutbacks that have come from a business model that is dying. For us, this is not just a job but a vocation. We believe a robust and independent press is integral to a healthy democracy.”

The organizers plan to join the NewsGuild, a branch of the Communication Workers of America. However, after this, New Times obtained a newsroom-wide email from Herald Executive Editor and Publisher Mindy Marqués González, in which she accused the organizers of spreading “misleading and inaccurate information” without listing what that information may be.

“A decision to create a union is a consequential one that should be made after thoughtful and thorough consideration informed by facts,” she wrote. “Every voice deserves to be heard and counted. The best course of action is the one preferred by the National Labor Relations Board – a secret ballot election. We will, of course, abide by the results of a free, open and inclusive process. I want you to know that the mission statement published by the organizing committee contains information that is inaccurate and misleading, and we will discuss these issues in the days ahead.”

In response, the union tweeted today that more than 70 percent of the newsroom’s employees have signed cards in favor of unionization meaning that was enough to win an election.

The McClatchy era has not been good for the Herald’s overall health. For example, the newsroom has shrunk drastically as McClatchy has tried to cut costs and repay the debt it took on to buy the paper. In addition, they have also consistently tried to cut costs by getting rid of employees.

Despite those financial struggles and resource-cuts, the paper’s journalists have continued to take home awards. The Herald won two Pulitzer Prizes in 2017 for its reporting on the Panama Papers document leak and for editorial cartoons. The paper was named a Pulitzer finalist last year for its series about how Miami’s gold trade funds gang wars and violence in Latin America.

A notable win for the paper was when Herald reporter Julie K. Brown last year won her second George Polk Award for her groundbreaking series about the serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

But, now, Herald employees say they plan to organize for better salaries and working conditions. The workers have asked McClatchy to recognize the new union voluntarily by 5 p.m. October 8. If that does not happen, the organizers plan to hold a formal unionization vote.

“We now seek collaboration with our managers, not division, and invite our corporate parent, the McClatchy Company, to voluntarily recognize this union, represented by NewsGuild-CWA,” the union said today. “We welcome our owners to begin a constructive, amicable and respectful negotiation for a contract. We care about the health of our newsroom and understand the financial constraints confronting local journalism today. Our goal is to develop a new collaboration that preserves our dedicated staff and forges a path toward growth to better serve our communities and be a strong, independent watchdog for democracy.”