Local 34179 Members Beat Back Decertification, Retain Union Representation

Employees at the Sheboygan Press voted 10 to 7 in favor of retaining union representation by the Sheboygan Newspaper Guild, Local 34179, in an NLRB-run election on Tuesday.

The Guild has represented members in the news, circulation and advertising departments at the Sheboygan Press, a small Gannett-owned newspaper, since 1944.The local currently represents 19 workers. The election came about because an anti-union, non-member faction in the paper's advertising department pushed the decertification petition.

Local 34179 was in negotiations and was close to a new contract agreement that had the potential to reduce the cost of medical insurance when the decertification petition scuttled further talks. Those negotiations will now resume.

The local fought back the attempt to take away workers' bargaining rights by focusing on one-on-one contact with every employee in the bargaining unit. The local's leadership and organizing committee were assisted by TNG Rep Jay Schmitz and by Lou Grieco, administrator of the Detroit Newspaper Guild, Local 34022.