Newspaper Guild of Rochester
@rocnewsguild
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Representing the editorial staff of the Rochester NY D&C since 1935. 25 members strong. Member of @gannettunion & organized with @nyguild.
Joined December 2021
NEWS: This morning our members unanimously ratified a new two-year contract, our first since 2019. It comes after more than two years of negotiations with @nyguild and a 19-day strike in April, the first in our history. ✊✊✊.
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Update, in brief: even after 2 years’ experience of duplicitous bargaining by Gannett, we were floored by what they pulled today. Inserting new language into agreed-upon sections and hoping we wouldn’t notice. We did, and so there’s no contract. 1/.
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Update: our strike begins at 12:01 am Saturday and doesn’t end until @Gannett agrees to a contract that appropriately values its journalists. Donations to our strike fund will help sustain our members while we fight for what we deserve.
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❌ Do NOT click D&C links while we’re on strike. ❌ Do NOT grant interviews to editors or scab journalists brought in to replace us. ✅ DO let @kilian_roc & @Gannett know how you feel about their tactics. With the community’s support we’ll come through stronger than ever. ✊.
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UPDATE: We’ll be holding a press conference at 5 pm outside the D&C building to announce some major news. 👀👀.
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Today, we start bargaining with @Gannett for a new, equitable contract, one that will support our members and strengthen the foundation of local journalism in Rochester. With the support of the @GannettUnion, @nyguild, and @newsguild, we vow to fight the good fight.
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Seven days into our strike for fair pay and working conditions, we’re OVERWHELMED by the love from our community. $25K to keep us afloat. Countless visitors and fellow picketers. So many acts of solidarity. And we haven’t eaten so well in, well, ever.
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We are on STRIKE!. The @rocnewsguild and @DandC deserve better from @Gannett than the value they've placed on us. Join us in supporting local journalism and the people who make it. #faircontractnow.
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The sun is shining on Rochester and these hardworking journalists. Tell @Gannett it’s wasted enough time underpaying its workers. We deserve a #faircontractnow.
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Multiple unfair labor practice charges are being filed. But: We have no trust Gannett will ever bargain fairly, and so we’re not going to wait for them to. The strike is over at midnight. We’re taking the fight into the newsroom. It’s not over.
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Among the highlights: .- 15% avg raise over 2 years, with several members getting >$10K raises, plus $1K signing bonuses for all.- important protections against unfair discipline, transfer, & layoffs.- an agreement that AI will not replace local journalists.
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WE DESERVE A #FAIRCONTRACTNOW. Tomorrow at NOON we will be picketing downtown. Join us. Meet us. Make some noise. Spread the noise. ✊✊✊✊✊.
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Members of @rocnewsguild and @hvnewsguild have been reporting in #Buffalo since Sunday to compassionately report on the horrific mass shooting there for readers of the @DandC, @USATODAYNETWORK and @USATODAY - some working tirelessly 9, 10, 11 days straight. Examples:.
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The journalists of @DandC have had enough. We want fair wages. We want negotiations in good faith. We want moves that take our profession seriously. Investing in local journalism means investing in local journalists, @Gannett. #faircontractnow.#totaleclipseofthenews
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This is really too on the nose: @Gannett’s job postings for scabs to replace us fail to provide compensation range, a direct violation of state labor law. They can’t even *not* employ people right. CC @NYSDOLCommish
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We're outside the @DandC in downtown Rochester to demand that @Gannett give us fair bargaining and fair wages! . #faircontractnow #totaleclipseofthenews
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Update on Day 🔟. Come see us Wednesday!
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Lots of noise on Main Street today. Can we get a virtual *honk honk* ?!!!. #supportlocaljournalism #Rochester
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I had to try it as an opening word just once. We're at the bargaining table today. Please send good thoughts!
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It’s Day 4 of our strike. Each of us remains committed to getting a fair contract from @Gannett so that we can get back to work for the people of Rochester. #supportlocalnews
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Organizing and ultimately striking was hard - but we never would’ve gotten a fair deal without it. Our pledge now is to share our experience with our colleagues in newsrooms elsewhere to ensure *everyone* gets what they deserve.
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Today we saw truly despicable dealings from @Gannett. As sickening as it's been at the bargaining table, it's also been painful to watch them disrespect our readers. Your support now and going forward means as much as ever. #supportlocaljournalism.
Sadly, this did not happen. The @rocnewsguild is ending our strike and we are back to work tomorrow. But because the company once again bargained in bad faith, our contract remains unresolved. It was a pretty deplorable day. For those who supported us, thank you.
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Good morning! It’s been 1,881 days since our contract expired. Imagine holding up a middle finger to your own employees for that long - I mean, carpal tunnel syndrome! Careful @Gannett, the health benefits here aren’t good enough to risk a chronic condition like that!.
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We’re a few hours away from our first bargaining session in almost two weeks, and also $225 away from $40,000 in our strike fund. Day 19 of the strike is going to be a good one. 💪💪✊✊
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We’ve been alluding to how @Gannett has changed settled language in our contract throughout negotiations. Today we’ve got an example to share, relating to AI. At left is what the company proposed 4/11, and we accepted. At right is what they snuck in without notice last week.
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A nightmare draft weekend would be not having the longest tenured Bills beat reporter in team history at work because you wouldn’t settle a fair contract 🤷♂️.
There are many ways the 2024 NFL Draft board may fall, but the Bills may be in for a nightmare draft weekend. Here's how.
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Huge thanks to Teamsters Local 118 for showing up for us in a big way today! We love that you joined us outside the @DandC to support our local journalists! . 💥🚛✊
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It would be literally impossible to thank everyone who helped get us here: those who picketed with us, wrote to Gannett, observed online picket line, brought us food, donated to our fundraiser (more than $40K!!).
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Striking and smiling are a bit easier today with delicious sandwiches and salad for lunch. Thank you so much, @FoodlinkNY!
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We’ve seen incompetence weaponized to exploit our compassion. Their lawyer tried to play like tracking doc changes was too much for his eyes. Then he slid in multiple regressive terms and told us he wouldn’t review the new proposal with us. You’re disgusting, @Gannett.
For some reason I keep thinking I'll see honesty, fairness and integrity from Gannett. Today proved how hopeless those wishes are. Either the company was duplicitous with its contract proposal or lazy and inept. Either option speaks volumes. Truly pathetic.
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Every single bit of support has been so important to us. Thank you for refusing to cross the "click it" line! ✊.
@rocnewsguild I'm hoping "no news is good news" and negotiations are ongoing today. Miss waking up to my online @DandC, which I won't "click" until the strike is over.
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It’s DAY SIX of our strike! . Find us in front of the @DandC and show your support for your local journalists 💪🏽💪🏽. #supportlocaljournalism
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✊✊✊.
We do appreciate media coverage of the movement for public power, but we don't give interviews to scabs!
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Appreciate the sentiment but it rings hollow without raises.
Words cannot express how grateful we are to #TeamGannett. Their hard work and innovations touch the lives of millions with award-winning content, unique customer experiences and unmatched marketing solutions. Our employees are the best in the industry and today we say THANK YOU!
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Sitting, standing, marching, sharing - show your support for the journalists of the @DandC!. #supportlocalnews #faircontractnow #totaleclipseofthenews
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Why pay your own journalists when you can just bring in scabs to summarize other outlets’ stories?
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We’re working remotely until @gannett negotiates return to office but came together in person and virtually for the #LocalNewsLunchOut.
This is our #localnewslunchout in Rochester. We are worried about upcoming layoffs for us and other Gannett news sites.
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Special thanks, too, to those at @nyguild, @BuffaloGuild, @hvnewsguild, and across the state for standing with us in the fight for fair wages and strong journalism in New York.
Our community has been showing up and showing love for us, and we are SO grateful! . #supportlocalnews.
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It's STRIKE DAY 18 for the journalists of the @DandC. 💪. Our asks from @Gannett are and have been reasonable: fair wages, fair bargaining, fair job protections. We deserve a #faircontractnow.
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We appreciate all of the community support we've received from the people of #ROC this week!.
Thank you to the local SEIU, Metro Justice, UAW 1097, Rochester Labor Council and others I may have missed for your support #unfairlaborpractice
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🚨ACTION ITEMS🚨.1) Attend our Rally for Local News at 5 pm Wednesday outside the D&C, 245 E. Main St.!.2) Donate to our strike fund so we can pay our bills while we’re out here!
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Strike DAY 17! We're picketing in downtown #Rochester. @DandC journalists are protesting @Gannett's bad faith bargaining, which has left us without a contract for years. Our asks (living wages, layoff protections) are reasonable, and your support in this fight is invaluable.
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It’s Friday and for lunch, we’re having a picket! . Can’t join us IRL? Join us in spirit by spreading the word: @Gannett underpays its workers, doesn’t bargain in good faith, and wants #AI making “news content.” . #supportlocaljournalism
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Thinking of all of our newsroom colleagues - unionized and not unionized - at @Gannett today.
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CHANGE OF PLANS. No press conference tonight. We will be in front of the @DandC at 5 pm ET. Bring your energy, honk your horns, and let your support be known. ✊✊.
UPDATE: We’ll be holding a press conference at 5 pm outside the D&C building to announce some major news. 👀👀.
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It's hard to overstate how heartening it is to see this support from our colleagues at @therecordguild. Thank you! ✊🤩.
Unit members of @therecordguild are in the newsroom wearing union red to support striking workers from @rocnewsguild! Fair contracts for all #Gannett shops now!
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At newspapers across the country, @Gannett has drawn out contract "negotiations" and chipped away at our newsrooms. The unionized workers of @DandC support our colleagues fighting for a #faircontractnow and the future of strong local news!.
I’ve been with the @AustinNewsGuild bargaining team trying to hammer out a contract with @Gannett for 3 long years. (Literally! Bargaining began April 9, 2021). It’s time for the company to stop the bad-faith games & agree to a fair contract with livable wages. #SaveOurStatesman.
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We're sharing some additional context for @gannett's statements during this morning's Q1 2024 earnings call.
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Spread the word far and wide! . 📣 📣 JOURNALISTS DESERVE A LIVING WAGE! . Enough time has been wasted. Let's get a fair deal done, @Gannett. We want a #faircontractnow!
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Disappointed in the out-of-state scab editors currently manning the @DandC for missing this scoop. Or maybe - just spitballing - there’s some value in having experienced local journalists who know their community? 🙃✊.
Patrick Dai, Cornell student from Pittsford accused of death threats against Jewish students, scheduled to plead guilty today in Syracuse. Here is what I have now:
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In perilous times, the role of journalism is more important than ever, City Councilor @marylupienroc reminds everyone. #supportlocaljournalism
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Gannett told us to use our company phones for personal and professional use. Now it’s cutting us off from our families. This is taking irresponsibility to a new low. This is how management treats its workers who are part of our community.
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Hey supporters, we are canceling our usual picket today due to possible thunderstorms. In the meantime, we'll post one of our favorite chants:.What do we want? A CONTRACT!.When do we want it? NOW!.
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🔔📰 RALLY FOR LOCAL NEWS 📰🔔.Show your support for local journalism!. Please join us TODAY at 5 p.m. ET outside the #Rochester @DandC at 245 E. Main Street.
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✊.
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We should be working. On April 11 at our last negotiation, we told @Gannett we'd be available to get this contract settled everyday, all day, for as long as it takes. They came back with one hour for us tomorrow. That's 12 whole days between bargaining sessions. Infuriating.
We at the @rocnewsguild have now been on strike for 18 days. So just asking, has the NFL Draft started yet? I've covered 34 drafts in a row, a streak that could end this year. Still hoping that won't be the case, but here we are. Just a really disappointing situation.
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Living wages! No layoffs because of AI! A fair contract! . We’re in downtown Rochester *right now* to make some noise for the fair contract we deserve ✊. #mayday #faircontractnow #supportlocaljournalism
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The Newspaper Guild of Rochester stands with our @Gannett colleagues who are unfairly getting a reimbursement of 32 cents/mile. Can you imagine that rate with today's gas prices? We are getting the IRS rate only due to the "same as" language in our expired contract.
Today is a great day for @Gannett to start reimbursing all staff at the 2022 IRS standard of 58.5 cents/mile. @appmcjguild members are currently reimbursed at just 32 cents/mile, non-union employees of @AsburyParkPress & other publications get the 2021 IRS rate of 56 cents/mile.
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From @CitizenMurphy: Whether in concert or in conflict, elected officials and journalists both work for the public interest, and our democracy and communities require both.
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More than $30K from nearly 500 people. Simply incredible. Big thank you to @forbesunion for their donation 🙏.
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Strike day 1️⃣4️⃣ and no let-up in sight ✊✊.Got a free minute today? Email our executive editor at mkilian@gannett.com and tell him it’s unacceptable to go a full week without bargaining during a strike. We’re ready to negotiate, but we can’t do it alone!
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Setting up for day 7 of picketing in the rain like
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Yes! Feeling the love and solidarity from our @GannettUnion siblings ✊✊✊.
With @rocnewsguild on strike and Gannett sticking to a proposal that would cut pay for most of us, the APP contingent of @appmcjguild is working together today (for the first time in years and, for some people, ever!) to remember why we're in this fight in the first place.
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Same offer.
If you’re a Gannett employee who managed to dodge today’s layoffs and want to try and insulate yourself from the next ones with a union, my DMs are open.
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Strike day 1️⃣3⃣ and no let-up in sight 📷📷Got a free minute today? Email our executive editor at mkilian@gannett.com and tell him it’s unacceptable to go a full week without bargaining during a strike. We’re ready to negotiate, but we can’t do it alone!✊.
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Our community has been showing up and showing love for us, and we are SO grateful! . #supportlocalnews.
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The Roc News Guild stands in solidarity with the @guild129, the union representing folks at the @uticaOD. Gannett must work to replace the staff members who have departed over the past few years. Local journalism requires local journalists.
Over the past few years, the @uticaOD has seen its newsroom shrink to a fraction of its original size, with remaining staff expected to shoulder the burden 1/6
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We’re striking today, because we know our jobs as journalists are worth more to our community and country than clicks and corporate cuts. #faircontractnow #totaleclipseofthenews
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@DandC and Canandaigua Daily Messenger reporters, photographers and planners are among the journalists walking off the job to day to protest the mismanagement of Mike Reed. Thread.👇.
🚨Gannett journalists are WALKING OUT🚨. On June 5, the day of Gannett's annual meeting, 100's of journalists from Texas to NY are launching a wave of walkouts to send shareholders a message: @Gannett needs new leadership, starting from the top. It's time to end #GannettGreed.
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Make some noise for our journalists! . It's music to our ears. ✊😊🪧🎶.
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We’ve now heard from several sources/organizations that have declined to give interviews to scabs posing as @DandC reporters. Much appreciated! . If someone calls and says they’re from the D&C, just hit them with one of these.
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We're proud to have you on our team, Justin! You deserve to be celebrated. It's too bad @Gannett continues to disrupt our newsroom by refusing to demonstrate at the bargaining table how much they "appreciate what you do for your team and the company.".
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There is no journalism without journalists. We stand united. 👊 🌊 👊 🌊.
Today, @therecordguild, @a_dotguild, @hvnewsguild and @appmcjguild conducted our first bargaining session with @Gannett. Our fellow Guild members at Rochester and Utica are soon to follow.
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Thank you so much! Every donation, conversation, retweet, and show of support helps to make us more resilient. We're standing up to @Gannett, and we're stronger when you stand with us.
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Our resolve is at an all-time high - and it needs to be, because @Gannett is hardly budging. We’re committed to fighting until we win. We’ve got BIG plans for next week. See you back on the picket line at 10 am Monday. And again, truly: thank you.
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RALLY FOR THE D&C TODAY! 📢. Join us this evening (Wednesday, May 8) at 5 p.m. downtown in front of the Democrat and Chronicle!.
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At some point in the next 24 hours someone is going to click “donate” and put our strike fund over $40K and honestly I envy them.
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When our union was formed in 1935, their collective action looked a lot different than this. But our many newsrooms taking a #LocalNewsLunchOut at the same time today got to #3 trending on Twitter so we’re feeling pretty good. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
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You're a mean one, Michael Reed.You clearly do not feel.You furlough your employees .for the Christmas holiday, Michael Reed.You are earning millions and giving your staff a really bad deal
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This morning, @Gannett, the company that owns the @DandC, had its Q1 earnings call. None of the executives mentioned the reality of their newsrooms or employees. Here's a clarifying statement from President of the NewsGuild-CWA @gaufre. 1/6.
Gannett’s rosy projections during its Q1 earnings call today left out the employees who are paying the price for its mismanagement – esp @rocnewsguild reporters who were on the verge of a contract before Gannett pulled a bait & switch. Full statement:.
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We’ve seen A LOT of great journalists and people come through the @DandC. If @Gannett respected them or any of its journalists or the role of journalism in our society, every single community they operate in would be better off.
i'll have some cool beer news tomorrow. and if gannett woulda paid me a living wage after 14 years there, you coulda read about it in the @dandc. instead, i had no choice but to leave. i woulda gladly stayed in that newsroom for the rest of my life. i loved that paper.
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Hey @DandC, if you need emails or cellphones for all the people you don’t know in your own community, I can help if you make a generous contribution to this:
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We're so grateful for your support! . Thank you to our colleagues, friends, neighbors, and fellow fighters for fair labor practices. Whether you showed up for us today in Rochester, online, or through our strike fund, we're stronger knowing you're with us. ⚡🪧✊.
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Thanks Hank. Seeing old friends and colleagues, fellow unionists and long-time-reader-first-time-callers yesterday was such a pleasure. Join us!.
@rocnewsguild will be back out picketing today 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at 245 East Main St., #RochesterNY, intersection of Clinton Ave. Support local #journalism. Stop by and let them know they’re appreciated as @Gannett continues to squeeze them with unfair labor practices. #ROC
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A bright spot in this weekend's strike has been seeing so many old and new friends! #faircontractnow #totaleclipseofthenews
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“Gannett’s top management extols itself for its commitment to excellent journalism while deploying espionage on its own employees? What a bunch of phonies.”.
Gannett fired an editor for talking to me - Poynter
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Humbled by the support, thank you. #solidarity.
Unions are stronger when they support each other. Best of luck @rocnewsguild while you go through your contract negotiations. #B2TAStrong #UnionStrong
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Air filtration and circulation are two of our priorities for returning to the office safely. If a cafe on the other side of the lake can do it, so can @Gannett.
@CathNoakes Air audits, Hepa Filters and CO2 Monitor were initially expensive, especially while we were constantly in lockdowns and restrictions. But it is already paying off now as we still haven’t had any employees being infected with the virus at work
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