FAQs

Why unionize?

Our mission is to protect the integrity and independence of The Roanoke Times. We want to safeguard Southwest Virginia’s largest professional news organization — and ensure it remains vibrant and vigilant for readers for another 134 years.

Why do we need a union?

On March 16, 2020, Warren Buffett’s BH Media Group sold The Roanoke Times and 30 other daily newspapers to Lee Enterprises for $140 million. In statements, Lee has said how much money the sale will mean for them — including $20 million it will save by cutting resources. One of the major ways Lee does that: Layoffs. Lee’s formula is “cuts in people and paper,” according to CJR. For years, our journalists have shared our readers’ dismay with BH Media cuts that have stymied our ability to cover crucial stories about the environment, religion, business, technology, sports, social services, neighborhoods and education. We have had no say in these decisions. Our growing alarm and ideas for change have been ignored, and we fear this latest sale will make things even worse.

But I like my bosses and managers.

We like them, too. But we have absolutely no guarantee that they will be our managers or that we will be their employees by the end of the month/year. Like it or not, they’re not in control anymore; Lee is.

Will this harm our working relationship with our bosses and managers?

We don’t think so. We aren’t doing this to impose our will over the journalism we practice. We’re doing this to preserve as many jobs as possible and ensure the paper’s success through these difficult times. And if any of them are offended, remind them: We didn’t start organizing when they were in charge. Those discussions started after BH Media announced Lee’s takeover of our paper. (Our managers have the option of forming their own union.)

How can we unionize in a ‘right-to-work’ state like Virginia?

“Right-to-work” laws mean no one can be forced to pay union dues. But we have a federally protected right to form and join a union under the National Labor Relations Act. There are unionized newsrooms in Virginia, Arizona, Florida and other “right-to-work" states. The federal government protects our right to organize in every state.

What will it cost?

Dues for NewsGuild members are just under 1.4 percent of annual salary. Keep in mind: We will work to negotiate a contract with raises that more than offset union dues. And the union doesn’t collect dues until we successfully negotiate our first contract.

Which union?

NewsGuild-CWA, the largest newspaper union in the country. Dozens of newsrooms across the country have unionized in the past few years — from big nationals like The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and The New Yorker to Virginia metro dailies, such as The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk and the Daily Press in Newport News. And we won’t be alone in the BH/Lee chain; the Charlottesville Daily Progress, the Omaha World-Herald and the Buffalo News have already organized.

What will we get out of it — globally?

SAY. We want local input into what happens in our newsroom and to our newspaper. We also want a voice so we can tell our readers/subscribers FACTS about what is happening to our paper.

PAY. It’s no secret that many of us haven’t had raises in years. Meanwhile, our health insurance premiums continue to rise. Good work goes unrecognized. Journalists are doing more and more with less and less, and still worry they’ll be the next one bought out, laid off or simply fired.

What will we get out of it — practically?

We will work to secure advance notice of layoffs — and will have the ability to negotiate expense reductions or volunteer buyouts in lieu of layoffs. We also will have more say in what we make, what benefits we get, and hopefully, equity in both layoffs and pay.

What will the union do for me in terms of pay/benefits?

  • A union will fight for us to be paid more, more equitably, and to receive incentives that individually, we might not have considered.

  • We will do a salary analysis (confidentiality assured) that maps out what journalists are paid — taking experience into account — and work to end disparities in our wage structure. That will not mean pay cuts — we wouldn’t be doing our job if we somehow reduced our pay. We will honor confidentiality and the direction that the majority of our union members want to go.

  • We will work to bolster our current benefits. Lee Enterprises has been known for cost-cutting measures. Full-time status? Health insurance? 401(k) match? We need a voice to ensure fair treatment and financial security.

  • And should that unenviable day come where we’re shown the door, the union will fight for better severance packages. Lee’s one-week-for-every-year severance package is paltry. Lee also imposes an insulting cap on severance pay at 18 years of service — meaning you get no credit for the years you’ve labored for this newspaper beyond 18 years. Our longest-serving reporter has put in 45 years of service. And the lack of a notice period also places an unnecessary burden on employees. Without a union, you’ll be told to take their buyout or layoff terms or leave them. As a union, we will fight for better severance packages.

Will people find out how much/little I make?

No. A union executive committee will protect the confidentiality of your wages.

Will I be inviting repercussions if I vote for the union?

No one will know your vote — it’s confidential.

How will union activity be received?

It is illegal for the company to punish you for union activity. As long as you are participating in union activity on your own time — before or after work and during breaks — your union and free-speech rights are protected. If the company violates the law, the guild will aggressively seek sanctions through the National Labor Relations Board.

How will union activity look on my resume?

First off, union membership shows you care about the future of your organization and are willing to fight for it. But if you have a concern and wanted to remain quiet, how would another organization know whether or not you were a member of the union?

I’m afraid unions will have stewards who monitor my work hours and won’t let me work as much as I want to.

Stewards are not going to be micromanaging us. Our jobs are still going to be the same — it’s just that for the first time in our professional lives, we’re going to have a voice and some protections.

 
 

I just don’t think it’s for me.

Please consider the larger group. Fact is, we’re unionizing so that we can have solidarity as we continue to put out a paper that makes us all proud. Without a union, we have no idea who we’ll be working for or with, or for how long. We’ll have no say in pay or layoffs and little say in the quality of the newspaper we produce. Please consider the larger group, and our collective cause, when it comes time to vote.

 
 

What is Lee’s track record?

From CJR: Lee “slashed total employment by about 42 percent between 2012 and 2017.” From Poynter: “Lee Enterprises had an advertising revenue loss of 9 percent in the last quarter of 2017, but was able to increase profits with cuts in people and paper and a favorable income tax adjustment.”

At the same time, Lee has a record of lavish executive pay, even as layoffs riddle the company. By the end of 2017, Mary Junck had made just shy of $2 million for that year. President Kevin Mowbray made $2.2 million that same year. CFO Ron Mayo made $1 million; and two other VPs made $500,000 each.

Their compensation was similar from 2012 to 2017, meaning pay in the range of more than $20 million over arguably the toughest era in the newspaper industry.

A St. Louis union member says that Lee operates on revenue quotas. If the St. Louis paper doesn’t meet quotas each quarter, layoffs immediately follow. “Like clockwork,” he said. A staffer in Madison, Wisconsin, echoed that. Staffers also say that Lee is notorious for beat upheaval. The union will fight to keep in place the people who have generated expertise on their beats.

 
 

What will happen if we don’t unionize?

We can cross our fingers and hope that management — whoever they are — treat us right. Without a union, we will have little recourse if they don’t. We also will have no ability to speak up for the people on the chopping block; nor will we be able to apply any public scrutiny to the pay and expenditures of the management group that leads us.

 
 

What’s the reason not to unionize?

We can’t think of one. We want to know what concerns/questions you have that aren’t addressed above. This is your union; it works for you.

 
 

What’s at stake?

In a word: Journalism.

Local control, too.

Throughout most of its storied history, The Roanoke Times has been locally owned, locally edited, locally run. We have serious concerns about the wisdom of an out-of-state company running us, along with every major news outlet and digital operation in this state. Without a union, the newspaper that we have worked so hard to build will be left to the unchecked management whims of an out-of-state company beholden to stockholders. Lack of local control — if paired with lack of accountability — could lead to destruction of the timely, professional news coverage on which our region depends.

 
 

Consider that without The Roanoke Times, Southwest Virginians would have never known:

  • About a Chinese executive who made off with $1.4 million in state grants on former Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s watch.

  • About the heartbreaking consequences of low pay, high caseloads and a lack of oversight at the Virginia Department of Social Services.

  • About the ongoing ecological impacts, legal battles and local resistance surrounding the Mountain Valley Pipeline project.

 
 

And Virginians would not have enjoyed:

  • Virginia’s first award-winning serial news podcast, “Septic.”

  • Comprehensive coverage of Southwest Virginia schools, city and town councils and county boards of supervisors.

  • Unmatched coverage of the state’s top land grant and research university, Virginia Tech, and Hokie sports.

  • In-depth coverage of the General Assembly, and of legislation and state policies that affect Southwest Virginia.

 
 

About The NewsGuild-CWA

The NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America represents about 24,000 members and has been actively organizing major media chains over the past several years. NewsGuild members include journalists and other media workers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico at publications and digital sites like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Virginian-Pilot and The Charlottesville Daily Progress. Formerly known as The Newspaper Guild, the union was founded by journalists in 1933. The Guild merged with the Communications Workers of America in 1995.