Organizing Update

Kaleida Health

Clinical Engineering employees at Kaleida Health in Buffalo, N.Y., won their union representation election last week and will join CWA Local 1168. Workers stayed strong and public in their CWA support despite an anti-union campaign which included the unjust termination of a committee member on the Friday before the election.

These workers are enthusiastic that they are now standing shoulder to shoulder with 4,000 other CWA members at Kaleida Health.

Clinical Engineering employees at Kaleida Health in Buffalo, N.Y. won their union representation election last week and will join CWA Local 1168.

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Palm Beach Post, Palm Beach Daily News, Naples Daily News, Ft. Myers News-Press

Two new units of The NewsGuild-CWA in Florida scored big victories on Tuesday, defeating union-busting efforts by Gannett, the nation’s biggest newspaper chain.

Just hours apart, workers at the Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News voted 55-0 to form the Palm Beach News Guild and workers at Naples Daily News and Ft. Myers News-Press voted 38-6 to form the Southwest Florida News Guild.

The workers’ victories followed a concerted effort by Gannett management to delay voting and subvert the union campaign. Gannett’s management took full advantage of the health crisis, repeatedly opposing mail-in voting for the two Florida groups and for the Delaware NewsGuild in filings before the NLRB while publicly denying that they objected to the process.

"Our newsrooms' all-but-unprecedented unanimous vote sends a tremendous message: that we are as united as can be, that we are intent on preserving our institution and its values, and that we will fight hard for security, equity, and transparency," the Palm Beach News Guild's organizing committee said after the vote count.

"Today's win has been a long time coming," the Southwest Florida News Guild's organizing committee said. "After many months of organizing and delays, we're looking forward to meeting Gannett at the bargaining table where we will continue to fight for better working conditions for our colleagues and for the future of local journalism in Southwest Florida."

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ACLU of Kansas

Employees of the ACLU of Kansas announced Tuesday that they are forming a union and have filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board. The ACLU has a long history of supporting workers' rights and democracy, the workers noted in a press statement, and they are "thrilled to bring these values into their own organization." The group will join the United Media Guild Local 36047 of The NewsGuild-CWA.

Staffers say their affiliation with the Guild will strengthen their work by giving them more democratic representation while they pursue civil rights for all.