Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
Global Solidarity Aids Drive at Spanish News Agency
Aided by fellow unionists in Spain, 40 U.S. journalists and administrative workers at the Spanish news agency EFE won representation in a National Labor Relations Board election Sept. 29, voting 23-14 to join The Newspaper Guild-CWA.
Based in Miami, with news bureaus in Washington, D.C., New York and other cities, the workers will be represented by the News Media Guild, Local 31222.
"We chose the News Media Guild because of its commitment to workplace democracy and high professional standards," said Benito Garcia, a news editor in Miami and member of the organizing committee.
Jorge Bañales, an editor in Washington, said, "EFE is a decent employer that respects the union rights of its workers in Spain. We call on the company to do likewise here and begin bargaining a fair contract for its U.S.-based workers."
Aware that their working conditions were inferior to those of their union-represented colleagues at EFE News in Spain, Garcia and a colleague approached the Guild local.
Local 31222 President Tony Winton and TNG-CWA Sector Representative Jim Schaufenbil helped them develop an organizing committee.
Meanwhile, representatives of two Spanish unions that represent EFE workers reached out to management in Spain, where the company's employees work under a negotiated agreement. One of the unions, the Commissiones Obreras, is part of the International Federation of Journalists.
"Truthfully the IFJ really stepped up to the plate," Winton said. "We didn't have a direct relationship with the Spanish unions, but the IFJ does. They built that bridge for us."
TNG-CWA President Linda Foley, an IFJ vice president, said the "outreach to EFE management by the IFJ and the solidarity of our colleagues in Spain made this victory possible. Without their help, our new members at EFE would continue to be bereft of a democratic voice in the workplace."
Based in Miami, with news bureaus in Washington, D.C., New York and other cities, the workers will be represented by the News Media Guild, Local 31222.
"We chose the News Media Guild because of its commitment to workplace democracy and high professional standards," said Benito Garcia, a news editor in Miami and member of the organizing committee.
Jorge Bañales, an editor in Washington, said, "EFE is a decent employer that respects the union rights of its workers in Spain. We call on the company to do likewise here and begin bargaining a fair contract for its U.S.-based workers."
Aware that their working conditions were inferior to those of their union-represented colleagues at EFE News in Spain, Garcia and a colleague approached the Guild local.
Local 31222 President Tony Winton and TNG-CWA Sector Representative Jim Schaufenbil helped them develop an organizing committee.
Meanwhile, representatives of two Spanish unions that represent EFE workers reached out to management in Spain, where the company's employees work under a negotiated agreement. One of the unions, the Commissiones Obreras, is part of the International Federation of Journalists.
"Truthfully the IFJ really stepped up to the plate," Winton said. "We didn't have a direct relationship with the Spanish unions, but the IFJ does. They built that bridge for us."
TNG-CWA President Linda Foley, an IFJ vice president, said the "outreach to EFE management by the IFJ and the solidarity of our colleagues in Spain made this victory possible. Without their help, our new members at EFE would continue to be bereft of a democratic voice in the workplace."