The NewsGuild of New York has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Reuters, accusing the news organization of cutting ties with a podcast producer who was part of a Teams chat with other workers who expressed concerns about parent company Thomson Reuters’ contracts with ICE and DHS.
The charge of retaliation for concerted activity was filed on Thursday on behalf of the Reuters Guild, which represents about 300 media workers.
“We believe Guild members and all Reuters employees should not be afraid to question the practices of Reuters or any other organization,” said Scott DiSavino, unit chair of Reuters Guild and energy correspondent.
Evan Jacoby was a temporary podcast producer and Reuters Guild member who was one of several workers on a Teams chat with non-union employees expressing concerns about Thomson Reuters’ contracts with DHS. The effort eventually led to an internal letter to Reuters execs detailing ethical, legal, and human rights concerns regarding three of Thomson Reuters’ contracts with DHS, though Jacoby did not sign the letter himself.
The internal letter was leaked to the media. Reuters management opened a formal investigation into Jacoby, including whether he facilitated the leak. Evan told the investigator he had not shared any internal information with anyone outside the company and had not violated any company policy. The investigation ended and Jacoby was not disciplined or sanctioned in any way.
Prior to that investigation, a manager told Jacoby that the company was planning to hire him full-time but just days after the investigation concluded, that same manager reversed course and told Jacoby his contract was not being renewed.
