More than 200 Gannett staffers stage one-day strike over wages

A whole lot of staff at publishing large Gannett protested steep value cuts on the firm on Friday.
AP

Greater than 200 Gannett staffers are staging a day-long strike on Friday as they demand higher wages and advantages — a contemporary burst of unrest following current layoffs on the newspaper large.

The NewsGuild, which represents staffers at Gannett — which owns USA As we speak and a slew of native papers such because the Detroit Free Press, the Bergen Report and the Indianapolis Star — stated Friday that 14 of the corporate’s newsrooms gained’t work in any respect on Friday,

These embrace staff from publications in New Jersey, New York, Arizona and California. Staff in Florida, Texas and Ohio, in the meantime, will stage a lunchtime walkout.

A rep for the NewsGuild stated the strikes have been in response to the corporate shedding 400 staff and slicing one other 400 open positions in August, which represented 3% of employees. These cuts have been adopted by extra belt-tightening in October, which included furloughs and cuts to the 401k plan.

Staff walked out Friday after Gannett reduce 400 staff and 400 open jobs this 12 months.

AP

“These devastating cuts to native newsrooms come on the heels of Gannett saying a $100M inventory buyback program for shareholders in February, directing crucial funding away from native newsrooms and to wealthy shareholders,” the rep stated.

Gannett didn't instantly return requests for remark. The corporate instructed the Wall Road Journal, which first reported the information, that the strikes gained’t intervene with placing out the information to its readers.

“We proceed to cut price in good religion to finalize contracts that present equitable wages and advantages for our valued staff,” the corporate stated.

USA As we speak mum or dad Gannett slashed a whole lot of jobs and made cuts to worker 401k plans just lately.

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The McLean, Va.-based Gannett stated in a current securities submitting that as of final December, it employed roughly 4,846 journalists throughout native papers, USA As we speak and in its UK publications.

On Thursday, the writer swung to a third-quarter internet lack of $54 million, and stated it anticipated to publish a loss for the complete 12 months. Chief govt Michael Reed cited inflationary pressures and macroeconomic volatility.