NABET-CWA Wins First Contract At Deep South Today

Workers organizing with NABET-CWA Local 52031 reached a first contract earlier this month with Deep South Today, a nonprofit network of newsrooms in Mississippi and Louisiana. The company voluntarily recognized the union in July 2023, following a successful card check campaign. This effort represents the first Mississippi-based newsroom ever to successfully form a union.

NABET-CWA Local 52031 President Bantu Opiotennione provided critical support for the unit's negotiating team and helped to deliver this initial contract which establishes a minimum annual salary of $60,000 for certain job categories, including reporters and photojournalists, and $69,000 minimums for the Senior Reporter/Investigative Reporter categories.

"As President of NABET-CWA Local 52031, it fills me with pride that we now have a union contract that covers these newsrooms in Mississippi and Louisiana, and it is my hope that this represents the first of many new NABET-CWA shops in the deep South," said Opiotennione.