Dallas journalists join increasing wave of media company unionizing

Al Día Dallas and The Dallas Morning News join a growing number of newsrooms that have unionized or launched organizing efforts in the past two years.

This trend, which gained notice in 2015, has accelerated due to recent layoffs and other cuts in the industry.

The Los Angeles Times, a newspaper of similar size to The News, unionized in early 2018 with an overwhelming majority. That effort continues to pay off for journalists at The Times. 

In May, the Los Angeles Times Guild reached an agreement with its management that averted over 80 layoffs and other cuts to the newsroom. Under terms of the deal, Times journalists agreed to a 20% reduced weekly schedule to cut payroll costs. 

As the New York Times reported in May, the NewsGuild, the most prominent journalists’ union in the U.S., as well as the Writers Guild of America, East, “have won virtually every organizing battle they’ve taken on, including some in Southern states with anti-union laws.”

Together, both unions have organized more than 90 newsrooms and more than 5,000 journalists since 2015.

The NewsGuild represents more than 25,000 American journalists and other media workers. 

Many of the nation’s leading national media companies already have unions, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, The New Yorker and National Public Radio. 

Others joining the list in recent years include The Chicago Tribune, The Arizona Republic, Vox Media, BuzzFeed, The Miami Herald and The Denver Post.