Detroit Newspaper Guild

07/18/2025

07/15/2025

We Are Ozone House- We are the workers on the frontlines at Ozone House. We are the faces that provide a safe place and offer real support to young people. We show up every day and work to end youth homelessness in our community.

We are asking Ozone House to recognize our union.

07/11/2025

The Workers Ozone House have organized. They are coming together to use their collective voice in their workplace. The Newspaper Guild of Detroit sent a request for voluntary recognition and will be filing for election next week if we do not hear back. We are optimistic that Ozone House will do the right thing and respect the workers will to form a union.

Please take a moment to read their mission statement and like and share to welcome these workers to the Guild and the labor movement.

06/16/2025

Today, June 16, Gannett and Media News Group (MNG) announced that they will not renew the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) between the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News.

The Free Press, owned by Gannett, and The Detroit News, owned by Media News Group, have been operating with joint business and operations since 1989. Gannett’s role as the majority partner has made it responsible for setting budgets that helped determine wages and benefits at both entities even as the editorial/news side of each organization has remained independent.

Starting at the beginning of 2026, however, the two entities will also operate independently on the business side, which includes advertising and operations.

The Newspaper Guild of Detroit, CWA Local 34022, represents journalists at both the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News and will continue to do so moving forward.

Union contracts at both the Free Press and News expired late last year, but for the first time in decades, the two entities refused joint bargaining.

The Free Press and Guild reached agreement in April on a two-year contract that includes wage increases for the first time in years, additional personal days and an earlier start for health care coverage for new hires while maintaining our pension, job security and other Guild-negotiated benefits.

The Guild is continuing to bargain with management at the News/MNG and remains committed to reaching an agreement that rewards the hard work of News journalists and protects our members.

MNG has said it is committed to the sustainability of The Detroit News and one of the clearest ways to demonstrate that commitment is by reaching a fair collective bargaining agreement.

Guild members at both the Free Press and News have a long history of bringing Detroit and Michigan quality, local journalism, and we intend to continue doing so through the remaining months of the Joint Operating Agreement and beyond.

05/08/2025

DETROIT- Members of the Newspaper Guild of Detroit, CWA local 34022, have reached a two-year collective bargaining agreement with Observer and Eccentric and Hometown Life Newspapers and parent company, Gannett.

The contract includes the first wage increases since 2018 for Guild members at the publications, which cover key suburbs in metro Detroit. Members will receive a four percent wage increase in each year. The raises will have a meaningful impact on the lives of members who have faced years of sacrifice.

It also includes a reduced time for eligibility for healthcare.

The members have voted to ratify the agreement.

The ratification marks another win for the Guild, following a successful vote at the end of April on a notable new contract for members at the Detroit Free Press.

The Guild continues to bargain with the Detroit News and Media News Group. Typically these units have bargained jointly, but this time the papers have elected to bargain separately.

05/07/2025

DETROIT – The Newspaper Guild of Detroit, CWA local 34022, has ratified a new two-year collective bargaining agreement with the Detroit Free Press and Gannett.

Members approved the agreement overwhelmingly on April 29-30, with more than 90% of the votes in favor.

The new contract provides long-overdue across-the-board wage increases in both years of the deal -- the largest increases in more than a decade -- as well as meaningful improvements to pay minimums and additional personal time off. It adds 10 weeks of paid parental leave, reduces the time it takes for new hires to qualify for health insurance and includes the addition of an agency fee, meaning everyone who benefits from Guild representation will contribute to the effort. That being said, the vast majority of Free Press bargaining unit employees, including reporters, photographers, web editors and assistant editors, are already Guild members.

Just as important, the new contract maintains the current high quality health insurance that Guild members enjoy and protects the pension, another key benefit for members and alumni. It also ensures Gannett may only use artificial intelligence in a way that is "supplementary to local news reporting and writing and is not a replacement for it."

“Our members have remained committed to the mission of the Free Press over the years, even in challenging times. Our journalists work hard, often sacrificing for the cause, to make sure the Free Press remains an essential news source,” according to Eric D. Lawrence, president of local 34022 and Free Press unit chair. “This contract includes important gains, helps address some key needs and acknowledges how essential our members are to the future of the Free Press. The overwhelming vote in support of the agreement shows our members see the contract as the win that it is.”

The bargaining committee spent many hours preparing and mobilizing, and members were engaged during more than six months of bargaining.

With the new contract in place, Free Press journalists can continue focusing on the important work they do every day, shining a light on metro Detroit and Michigan and keeping readers informed.

03/28/2025

The Guild has filed a ULP charge against Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition. Please like and share to show your support of our members.

09/06/2024

09/02/2024

Labor Day 2024! Join us! We're at IBEW Local 58 - Detroit.

08/26/2024

Congrats to our members at Michigan League of Conservation Voters on reaching a tentative agreement on their first contract.

08/22/2024

Join Us!!

07/13/2024

Michigan United workers ratify first union contract Posted on July 12, 2024July 12, 2024Author The NewsGuild-CWACategories Featured, News Contact: Daniel Caracheo Teniente, (616) 287-3234, [email protected] Workers at the Statewide Organized United Labor of Michigan United and Michigan United...