Community Support Petition for the Pioneer Valley News Guild to form a Union
The Daily Hampshire Gazette and Valley Advocate
.jpg "Staff of the Daily Hampshire Gazette Form Union")
Massachusetts Jobs With Justice is partnering with the Pioneer Valley Workers Center to stand in solidarity with the nearly 80 workers at the Daily Hampshire Gazette and Advocate newspapers who are forming a union with the NewsGuild CWA! They have bravely submitted a petition with over 70% of the bargaining units signatures calling for voluntary recognition. The owner of the newspaper denied their request so they petitioned for an election.
Sponsored by
To:
The Daily Hampshire Gazette and Valley Advocate
From:
[Your Name]
We the undersigned are writing to show support for the Pioneer Valley NewsGuild, who have decided to take the courageous step of improving their workplace by organizing a union. The Daily Hampshire Gazette and Valley Advocate are essential watchdog organizations for our communities, and we ask that Newspapers of New England voluntarily recognize its employees’ union in order to develop a productive dialog with management — something Aaron Julien himself called for in his letter to employees.
The Northampton City Council passed a "Right to Organize Resolution" in 2013 that calls upon employers in the city to create an environment free from harassment and intimidation when workers decide to organize a union. As a community we are coming together to reinforce and encourage the management and owners of the Gazette and Advocate to respect this resolution, as well as the will of a super majority of workers asking for voluntarily recognition of the Pioneer Valley News Guild.