Want to join the Guild?

News Matters is a project of the NewsGuild, the union representing over 1,000 workers in 13 bargaining units at properties that are part of Digital First Media.

Guild represented workers are mobilizing to win raises and respect at our workplaces.

We recognize that thousands of DFM workers nationwide do not currently have a union at their workplace. If you are a DFM employee interested in learning more about how you and your coworkers can be involved in the News Matters campaign, please email us at dfm@mediaworkers.org or call us at 917-232-7969. We promise confidentiality.

We also encourage all DFM workers to explore the idea of forming a union where you work.

What is a Union?

A union is simply a group of workers who organized together for representation and collective bargaining rights. A union is not, as employers and some others falsely suggest, some “outside” organization that comes into your workplace to get between you and your employer.

Here are the facts: Once you and your co-workers successfully organize, your employer is required – by law – to bargain with you. Reaching a negotiated agreement can take weeks or months, but after you reach a settlement and vote to approve your first contract, your employer cannot change or takeaway what you negotiated. It’s a legal and binding document.

What a union can do:

  • Provide employees a voice in their working conditions.
  • Negotiate enforceable rights, wages and benefits in a written contract.

How to join the movement:

  1. Talk to co-workers you trust and determine who is interested in forming a union.
  2. Determine how many people work for your employer by department and type of job.
  3. Determine who the supervisors are.
  4. Do not send out leaflets or call a meeting! Once management gets wind of interest in a union they will launch a union avoidance campaign.
  5. Reach out to the Guild (see contact form below), and we will assist you in the process.

Union organizing is hard work. But you can do it! It requires lots of one-on-one contact with your coworkers. It requires involvement and participation. When successful, organizing can be one of the most emotionally rewarding events you will experience.