Many readers noticed the Arizona Republic read differently on Saturday and Sunday. That difference is likely stemmed from the fact many of the newspaper’s employees took part on Friday in a walkout against Gannett, the paper’s owner.
The Arizona Republic Guild was approved three years ago by the paper’s non-supervisory journalists, including reporters, producers, columnists, copy editors, social media experts, photographers, and news assistants. But it has never reached a contract agreement with Gannett.
The Guild supported the Nov. 4 “Gannett Walkout” to draw attention to the fact Gannett has stalled bargaining activities at its unionized newsrooms across the country, including here in Arizona.
Today, members of the Arizona Republic Guild are walking out for one day in response to @Gannett’s decimation of local newsrooms and its refusal to commit to equitable pay, outsourcing protections and affordable benefits in our first contract. 🧵 #GannettWalkout
— Arizona Republic Guild 🌵 (@azrepublicguild) November 4, 2022
“We know you depend on our coverage, especially with such an important election coming up. It pains us to withhold our reporting today, but we are left with no choice,” according to a Guild statement on Nov. 4. “If we don’t act now, there may not be many of us still around to report on future elections.”
One of Arizona’s best known Arizona Republic reporters is Mary Jo Pitzl, who specializes in covering state government, elections, and child welfare issues. She participated in the Gannett Walkout despite the fact it meant missing an important hearing on a major election story – the effort by Cochise County officials to conduct a full hand count of all ballots.
With the election four days away, it’s extremely hard to walk away from work. But I am doing so in solidarity with my @azcentral and #Gannett colleagues as we push for a contract that will provide fair wages and benefits and give staffers a say in work conditions.
— Mary Jo Pitzl (@maryjpitzl) November 4, 2022
Joseph Darius Jaafari, an investigative reporter for the Arizona Republic, also took part in the walkout. He explained that it is becoming too costly for many journalists to work for Gannett.
“We have consistently reported about growing prices and cost of living becoming untenable in places like Phoenix, and at the same time Gannett has only made it more expensive through attempting to cut our benefits, making our already pitiful insurance plan more expensive, and refusing to give cost of living increases,” Jaafari said.
According to the Guild, many Arizona Republic employees are working second, even third jobs to be able to afford to live in the Maricopa County area. In the meantime, Gannett has announced a $100 million stock buyback program for shareholders.
I'm walking out on my job with a @Gannett newspaper for 24 hours because I shouldn't have to dog sit for extra cash with a skilled FT job that I love and crush. The importance of our work in #localnews cannot be overstated. We should be paid and treated better. #Gannettwalkout pic.twitter.com/0slYmSuKXS
— Joan Meiners, PhD 🐝🚴♀️ (@beecycles) November 4, 2022
Arizona Republic journalists like Meiners were joined in the Gannett Walkout by more than 200 employees of other Gannett-owned newsrooms. One factor leading to the event is the company’s decision in August to layoff 400 employees nationwide and to cut another 400 currently unfilled positions.
This was followed by an announcement last month that employees will be subjected to forced furloughs and cuts in their 401K contributions. The Arizona Republic is directly impacted by the staff reduction and furloughs.
Those developments came on the heels of Gannett’s decision to move forward with the stock buyback plan, which took much needed cash away from local newsrooms. There has also been much made of the fact Gannett CEO Mike Reed is paid an annual salary of $8 million at a time when experienced reporters are lucky to earn $40,000 at the Arizona Republic.
Meanwhile, Gannett’s official social media accounts (Twitter @Gannett; Facebook @GannettCompany) have ignored the employee walkout.
The walkout event occurred, incidentally, the day Chelsea Curtis left her job as a criminal justice reporter for the Arizona Republic.
Today is my last day at The Arizona Republic and I couldn’t imagine a better way to honor my time here than by walking out today in solidarity with my @azrepublicguild colleagues. They deserve to be protected. They deserve a fair contract NOW. #GannettWalkout https://t.co/epYwyfhUNG
— Chelsea Curtis (@curtis_chels) November 4, 2022
A dozen Gannett-owned news outlets are already unionized, including the Indianapolis Star, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and Detroit Free Press. A number of other non-Gannett news companies are also unionized, such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, Florida Times-Union, and Hartford Courant.