News Journal newsroom union ratifies new contract

The newsroom of the News Journal and Delaware Online are attempting to unionize. | DBT FILE PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS

WILMINGTON  — Delaware’s sole unionized newsroom has ratified a new two-year contract with national owner Gannett, representing a deal for 25 employees at the News Journal/Delaware Online.

Local members of the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia Local 38010, the local unit of the Communication Workers of America, voted to ratify the contract in July after five months of negotiations. Two contracts were ratified as the News Journal/Delaware Online is divided between the associated state weeklies acquired in the GateHouse merger in 2019.

“The main focus of negotiations this time was on salaries, as you had many reporters hired at any amount of money at the discretion of the company,” NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia Executive Director Bill Ross told the Delaware Business Times. “Minimum wage rising was another factor to get this addressed for the next two years.”

The contract for the News Journal employees, which include 21 employees, has now set minimum wages at $24.04 per hour. The remaining employees at Delaware Online have a minimum wage set at $23.07 per hour with another bump in pay after a year passes for reporters with more seniority.

The contract also states that News Journal employees who have worked at least five years will see their hourly pay raised 9%. After another five years, their pay will be raised 18%.

Delaware Online’s contract also includes a similar pay scale for senior reporters. Those who work at least five years will see their pay increase 6% while those who have worked for 10 years will see it rise 9%. 

In return, the staff of News Journal/Delaware Online agreed to no strikes or work stoppages until the contract expires in February 2026.

Ross noted that this time, negotiations were much smoother than the first time the union, called the Delaware News Guild, went to the bargaining unit. The newsroom had announced its intent to unionize in February 2020, months after Gannett finalized its merger that established it the largest newspaper chain in the country.

The Delaware News Guild eventually won the fight to be unionized months later, although the National Labor Relations Board had eventually settled a dispute on which employees qualified. 

“It was a much different discussion this time, and I would say more respectful, now that Gannett has recognized the union,” Ross said. “We met every two weeks, and it was good conversation on how to put money to benefit journalism.”

Under the umbrella of NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia Local 38010, the News Journal and Delaware Online reporters are part of a broader network of unionized papers in the Philadelphia region. It includes scores of journalists in Pennsylvania at outlets such as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Delaware County Times, Pottstown Mercury and Norristown Times Herald. In addition, its membership includes staff at The Trentonian in New Jersey.

The News Journal/Delaware Online can trace its roots back to 1785 when it published two newspapers: the Morning News and the Evening Journal. Those newspapers combined under the News Journal masthead in 1989.

Gannett, a publicly-traded company, has owned the paper since it purchased it in 1978, one of the first of 260 regional newspapers it acquired as the years passed.

“The media landscape has changed rapidly over the last 35 years, and people are still trying to make sense of it,” Ross added. “With nonprofit ownership, it’s a little easier to make the case for unionizing, because they don’t have the pressure of making sure they hit the revenue goals for shareholders. I’d love to see more unionized newsrooms.”