Roger Summers: “Why I stand with them.”

The author is a retired Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial writer and journalism historian.

By Roger Summers

To the surprise of some – but certainly not all – there have been moves in recent years to unionize newsrooms.

Best we can tell, there have been some three dozen – give or take – such successful union efforts across the nation.

The reasons are many:

Among them:

Layoffs, sometimes on short, short notice, sometimes not made in face-to-face meetings with management but rather communicated by e-mail, telephone, even the newsroom “grapevine.”

Pay cuts.

Furloughs.

Benefit cuts.

More.

Much more.

Roger Summers: On Aug. 10, “I will be there strongly in spirit.”

These and other actions have wrecked careers of journalists, financially and otherwise.

The following is excerpted from an article in Nieman Reports:

“The legacy newspapers that have unionized recently have done so largely because of accumulated anger about downsizing, years without raises, and ever-worsening health benefits. Digital news sites generally unionized for different reasons: to lift the salary floor, win or improve basic benefits, and provide some cushion to the industry’s volatility. In digital, there was also a desire to bring some rules and rationality to what often seemed like capricious workplace decisions. In both legacy and digital, journalists also said they wanted a union so they could have more of a voice on the job.”

The movement has come to Texas.

It has come to The Dallas Morning News.

Journalists are standing up and being counted, perhaps at their own personal risk, not the least of which might be retaliation.

But conditions, circumstances are such that they must stand up and be counted.

I stand with them.

At 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, most of the journalists and some others at The Dallas Morning News will gather in front of the DMN building to count their votes, try to make their case to management.

I cannot be there physically to support them but I will be there strongly in spirit.

I have had my turn at the journalistic bat, but I will be there because I know the importance of their work, their calling.

The importance of it to readers, the community, to this not-so-insignificant experiment we all have going called Democracy.

And I know something of the dire – yes, dire! -- conditions under which they often try to do their work.

I stand with them because such a stance is needed.

Because it is necessary.

Because it is right.

Read more about the Aug. 10th gathering here.