Timesland Guild 5/20/20 Timesland Guild 5/20/20

Open letter to the regional publisher

The Timesland News Guild executive committee sent the below letter today to publisher Andy Bruns offering assistance as he develops a revenue strategy for Southwest Virginia’s premiere daily news operation.

May 20, 2020

Andy Bruns, publisher
The Roanoke Times
201 Campbell Ave. SW
Roanoke, VA 24011

Timesland News Guild
The Roanoke Times
201 Campbell Ave. SW
Roanoke, VA 24011

Dear Andy,

Welcome to The Roanoke Times, Southwest Virginia’s premiere daily newspaper for the past 134 years.

We are the executive committee of the Timesland News Guild, and we look forward to working with you in the coming months to rebuild this once-great institution. We believe strongly that the newspaper must continue to hold the powerful accountable, shine sunlight into the dark corners of our communities and uphold the democratic principles of a free society.

As you know, 94% of newsroom staff at The Roanoke Times and Laker Weekly voted in April to unionize as the Timesland News Guild. Today we are a proud unit of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild Local 32035 of The NewsGuild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and we are here to take a seat at the table with Lee Enterprises.

Amid a pandemic that has further eroded the industry’s business model, we believe providing reliable, local news is more vital than ever. To keep, train, and grow our workforce is a priority.

Please feel free to ask questions. Our membership has decades of experience, relationships and knowledge. We know the region, know the readers, know the economy, know the industry and can help you build a revenue strategy that works. After all, when the company thrives, we thrive.

Our task is big, and it’s urgent. We want to get to work building the digital and print newsroom of the future that will sustain regional news coverage for another 134 years. We hope you will partner with us to achieve it.

Respectfully,

Tonia Moxley, chair
Tad Dickens, vice chair for mobilization
Amy Friedenberger, vice chair for contracts
Henri Gendreau, vice chair for communications
Alison Graham, vice chair for mobilization
Alicia Petska, secretary
Stephanie Sheehan, vice chair for digital

Timesland Guild 4/28/20 Timesland Guild 4/28/20

Journalists of The Roanoke Times win union election

For Immediate Release: April 28, 2020

Contact: (540) 339-7635

ROANOKE, Va. — Journalists of The Roanoke Times and Laker Weekly on Tuesday won a resounding victory in an election to form the Timesland News Guild union.

Newsroom employees voted 47-3 in favor of representing their interests, and the interests of the newspaper and community, through the Washington-Baltimore News Guild Local 32035 of The NewsGuild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

“Today, The Roanoke Times newsroom stood up, not just for each other, but for our readers. Coming together as Timesland News Guild will finally give us a voice in the decisions that affect one of our most important community institutions: local news,” said Tonia Moxley, a 20-year veteran reporter. “I’m so proud to work with this group of brave, self-sacrificing journalists and support staff. And I’m so grateful to our readers and subscribers for their support.”

Today’s union certification election was overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. Mail-in ballots were counted at 11 a.m. over Skype at the federal agency’s regional office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The NLRB began mailing ballots on April 10 to more than 50 Roanoke Times newsroom employees who qualified for guild membership.

The Timesland News Guild will soon begin negotiations over working conditions with Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, which on March 16 bought The Roanoke Times, Laker Weekly and several other Virginia newspapers from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Media Group. The Timesland News Guild announced on March 17 its intent to form a union after more than 80 percent of eligible employees signed union authorization cards.

Last month, the NLRB suspended elections because of COVID-19 concerns. Despite broad newsroom and community support, as well as repeated pleas from subscribers, former employees and guild members, Lee refused to voluntarily recognize the Timesland News Guild. Voluntary recognition would have allowed the guild to begin bargaining over working conditions.

The NLRB recommenced elections on April 6, but not before Lee announced mandatory newsroom furloughs, due to the economic fallout from COVID-19. All employees, including reporters, photographers, designers, digital editors and support staff will be out of work for two weeks over the next three months, crippling their personal finances and the Times’ ability to provide life-saving information to the communities it serves. Because the Timesland News Guild had not yet been certified by an election, it had no power to negotiate any terms of the furloughs, as other unionized Lee papers were entitled to do.

“The overwhelming vote in favor of unionizing is a win, not just for Roanoke Times journalists, but for our community and readers, too,” said Casey Fabris, a business reporter who joined the Times in 2015. “With a seat at the table, we can work to protect and preserve local news, which The Roanoke Times has been dedicated to producing for 134 years.”

“Our union win is a win for all Southwest Virginians,” said Shawn Garrett, a graphic designer at the paper since 2015. “The Times might be owned by a company halfway across the country, but a union will help ensure that the paper will be made by people who live here, who love this region and know it deeply. In short, it will work to keep the local paper local.”

The Timesland News Guild derives its name from a term coined by The Roanoke Times sports department in the 1950s to describe the areas across Southwest Virginia that depend on the paper’s coverage. The guild seeks to work with Lee to strengthen The Times, by holding leaders accountable to high journalistic standards that readers deserve; advocating for the restoration of jobs and beats that serve the community; and negotiating fair pay and employment practices.

### About The Roanoke Times: Serving Roanoke and Southwest Virginia since its founding in 1886 by M.H. Claytor, The Roanoke Times publishes a daily print and online newspaper to about 35,000 print subscribers and more than 40,000 daily digital readers. Widely recognized for hard-hitting investigative stories on subprime lending, urban renewal, segregation, poverty, immigration and government corruption, the paper has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist three times. In the mid-2000s, The Roanoke Times was ranked as the best-read newspaper of its size in the country, according to market research firm Scarborough. It remains the largest professional news outlet in Southwest Virginia, employing roughly 50 journalists.

### About The NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America: The NewsGuild-CWA represents more than 24,000 journalists and other media workers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, including The Charlottesville Daily Progress, The Virginian-Pilot, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Reuters, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune.

Timesland Guild 4/28/20 Timesland Guild 4/28/20

Timesland News Guild certification election moved to April 28

The National Labor Relations Board rescheduled the Timesland News Guild union certification election for April 28. A pre-count conference will begin at 9:30 a.m., and the vote count is set for 10 a.m.

More than 95 percent of The Roanoke Times newsroom staff submitted ballots in this election, and the guild looks forward to an overwhelming victory. This win will allow us a seat at the table with owner Lee Enterprises, and we pledge to use it work for a better product for our digital and print readers and a better place to work for our journalists, photographers, digital and copy editors, designers and support staff.

Technology willing, we will livestream the count on our Facebook page.

Timesland Guild 4/13/20 Timesland Guild 4/13/20

Roanoke Times union election set for April 27

For Immediate Release: April 13, 2020

Contact: (540) 339-7635

ROANOKE, Va. — The Timesland News Guild, representing journalists and staff at The Roanoke Times and Laker Weekly, is seeking certification through a union election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.

The NLRB began mailing ballots on April 10 to more than 50 staff members who qualify for guild membership. Ballots must arrive at the NLRB’s Winston-Salem, North Carolina, office by April 24 and will be counted on April 27. The election will be monitored by representatives from Roanoke Times parent company Lee Enterprises and the guild via video conference.

Members of the Timesland News Guild are prepared to win this election by an overwhelming majority of votes. The guild was formed on March 17 after more than 80 percent of eligible employees signed union authorization cards saying they want a seat at the table where decisions that affect readers and Times staff are made.

Last month the NLRB suspended union certification elections because of COVID-19 concerns. Despite broad newsroom and community support and repeated pleas from subscribers, former employees and guild members, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises refused to voluntarily recognize Timesland News Guild. Voluntary recognition would have allowed the Timesland News Guild to begin bargaining with the company over working conditions, including over recent furloughs.

The NLRB recommenced elections on April 6, but not before Lee announced mandatory newsroom furloughs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. All employees, including reporters, photographers, designers, digital editors and support staff will be out of work for two weeks over the next three months, crippling their personal finances and the Times’ ability to provide life-saving information to the communities we serve.

Because Timesland News Guild had not yet been certified by an election, it had no power to negotiate the terms of the furloughs, as other unionized Lee papers were entitled to do. After April 27, the guild will have the power to fight for the interests of Times readers and employees.

“It’s truly a shame that rather than voluntarily recognize the guild, Lee Enterprises has forced its newsroom to conduct an election in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that has already killed at least 75 Virginians and sickened more than 3,600,” said Tonia Moxley, a 20-year veteran Times reporter. “But I am confident we will win an overwhelming majority, and this will empower us to be a strong voice for readers whose access to life-saving information has been crippled by Lee-mandated newsroom furloughs, and for our coworkers, whose financial stability has been compromised during this crisis.”

“After six years of proudly working for this newspaper, I will be voting this week in favor of bringing the NewsGuild to The Roanoke Times,” politics reporter Amy Friedenberger said. “A painful emotional journey led me to this decision. My faith in management eroded over the years, and I’m not optimistic improvement will happen without a union. I believe that organizing is the best way to deal with our ownership.”

“Employee empowerment is our last, best hope for strengthening local news,” said Jeff Sturgeon, a 25-year veteran of The Roanoke Times. “Management has had total control forever, and now we're at least going to be part of the conversation on how to run this paper.”

The Timesland News Guild derives its name from a term coined by The Roanoke Times sports department in the 1950s to describe the areas across Southwest Virginia that depend on our coverage. The union seeks to work with local management to strengthen The Roanoke Times. A union can hold company leaders accountable to the high journalistic standards readers deserve, advocate for the restoration of jobs and beats that serve the community, and negotiate for fair pay and employment practices.

Timesland News Guild is a unit of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild Local 32035 of The NewsGuild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

Timesland Guild 3/17/20 Timesland Guild 3/17/20

Journalists of The Roanoke Times to form a union

*Photo courtesy of Stephanie Klein-Davis*

For Immediate Release: March 17, 2020

Contact: (540) 339-7635

ROANOKE, Va. — Journalists and staff at The Roanoke Times on Tuesday announced plans to unionize as the Timesland News Guild.

More than 75 percent of the newsroom — reporters, photographers, graphic artists, copy and online editors, designers and support staff — has signed cards authorizing union representation by The NewsGuild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

Unionization among news media workers has surged in recent years. Yet the Timesland News Guild is the first to seek to form a union under Lee Enterprises since the company announced in January that it would take over 30 daily papers from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Media Group. The deal closed Monday. Lee had been managing BH Media’s papers since July 2018.

Reliable local news is more vital now than ever. As manager, Lee has already shrunk the size of The Roanoke Times print edition and converted full-time copy editing jobs to part-time, depriving employees of benefits and hurting the quality of our journalism.

Prior to the sale this week, BH Media reduced sports and crime coverage, and eliminated or reduced beats dedicated to technology, arts and food. Overall, these far-off corporations have slashed our newsroom by about half over the past six years. Corporate decision-making has hamstrung our circulation colleagues, leading to issues with deliveries, canceled subscriptions and declining revenues.

The Timesland News Guild is asking Lee to voluntarily recognize the guild and begin bargaining. If Lee does not, the guild will file for an election with the National Labor Relations Board. Elections typically take up to four weeks.

The Timesland News Guild seeks to become a unit of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild Local 32035.

"We're taking this step to give our newsrooms a seat at the table with our new owners," said Tonia Moxley, a reporter at The Roanoke Times since 2000. "Their questionable business decisions have led to delivery issues, poor customer service and less local coverage. Six years ago, more than 90,000 print subscribers alone read our work. Today, about 30,000 subscribers remain. To them, I want to say thank you. And to those who have canceled out of frustration, know that we are unionizing to make changes to win you back."

"We all know we're in a struggling industry,” said Laurence Hammack, a reporter at The Roanoke Times since 1985. “But newspapers are vital to our communities, and this is perhaps our last chance to preserve that role.”

In her six years at The Roanoke Times, state politics reporter Amy Friedenberger has learned invaluable lessons from colleagues. But she’s seen coworkers struggling to do more with less.

“I've watched talented folks take new jobs in fear of how corporate decisions will steer their futures. Some have left journalism completely, void of hope for stability in this industry," Friedenberger said. "Forming a union means having a say, and that's a small step in ensuring a better future."

The Timesland News Guild derives its name from a term coined by The Roanoke Times sports department in the 1950s to describe the areas across Southwest Virginia that depend on our coverage. Our union seeks to work with local management to strengthen The Roanoke Times. A union can hold company leaders accountable to the high journalistic standards readers deserve, advocate for the restoration of jobs and beats that serve the community, and negotiate for fair pay and employment practices.

A copy of the Timesland News Guild's letter to management and mission statement are attached, along with a logo that can be used for publication. For more information, visit www.timeslandnewsguild.com.

Reporters involved in the Timesland News Guild will hold a media availability at 3 p.m. today outside The Roanoke Times at 201 Campbell Ave. SW in Roanoke.

### About The Roanoke Times: Serving Roanoke and Southwest Virginia since its founding in 1886 by M.H. Claytor, The Roanoke Times publishes a daily print and online newspaper to about 30,000 print subscribers and more than 40,000 daily digital readers. Widely recognized for hard-hitting investigative stories on subprime lending, urban renewal, segregation, poverty, immigration and government corruption, the paper has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist three times. In the mid-2000s, The Roanoke Times was ranked as the best-read newspaper of its size in the country, according to market research firm Scarborough. It remains the largest professional news outlet in Southwest Virginia, employing roughly 50 journalists.