News Journal staff planning to form union

Employees at News Journal, Delawareonline.com have announced plans to unionize. The announcement was made on the website and social media platforms.

The statement was as follows:

Our newsroom, like many others, has endured countless rounds of layoffs and cuts. This, combined with growing health care costs, stagnant salaries and constant staff turnover makes it difficult to maintain the high caliber of journalism that we strive for — and that Delawareans deserve.

The merger of Gannett and Gatehouse Media — both of which have histories of putting profits before the mission of journalism — has created an entirely new company. This is not the same Gannett, which only heightens the uncertainty we already face in our industry.

We want a say in the corporate decisions made about our staff and how we do our jobs. We deserve to have a seat at the table.

The News Journal has seen sporadic efforts to organize the newsroom.

However, the effort was not popular among veteran staff members.

The lack of enthusiasm did not deter members. In fact, staff at the Idaho Statesman congratulated their counterparts in Delaware on the move.

As noted in the statement above, newspaper giants Gatehouse and Gannett merged with cost cuts made in corporate functions. Now, the merged company owns the bulk of all newspapers in Delaware, with Gatehouse operating weekly papers and websites in all three counties in Delaware.