PushBlack: Reinstate our illegally laid off colleagues

PushBlack CEO and Board Chair Uzo Ometu; Board members Tre Baker, David McMillon, and Rachel E. Winston

We are PushBlack Workers United (CWA Local 3108), a union of workers dedicated to preserving Black history through storytelling. Today, our work—and the entire organization—is under threat. The very people who craft, code, and curate these stories are now targeted for layoffs, while executives, far removed from the labor, remain insulated and unaccountable.

We say that’s not acceptable.

PushBlack Workers United formed a union less than a year ago in the face of financial mismanagement. In return, the employer has eliminated 38 percent of the workforce, including through layoffs during the holiday season. Because this unit is still under status quo protections, these layoffs are illegal and those employees should be reinstated with full back pay and benefits. The union has filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board. However, nothing is stopping the employer from doing the right thing and reversing those layoffs before that case is adjudicated. We are demanding that they do so.

Please help us by signing a petition that will be presented to the Employer's management.

To: PushBlack CEO and Board Chair Uzo Ometu; Board members Tre Baker, David McMillon, and Rachel E. Winston
From: [Your Name]

We, the undersigned, stand in unwavering solidarity with PushBlack Workers United (TNG-CWA Local 3108) and condemn in the strongest terms the decision by PushBlack’s Board of Directors and CEO to execute devastating layoffs on December 15th.

PushBlack is a vital lifeline for millions. The sudden termination of 38% of our workers, whittled your writing core down to just one staff writer. This is a disservice to your readers. Layoffs during status quo are illegal. That you did this during the holiday season is simply an additional insult to your hard-working employees.

This moment is a test of PushBlack’s professed collective values at a perilous time for truth, democracy and Black America.

We see a devastating convergence of crises:

1. An Attack on Vulnerable Workers: Many of your workers are Black women and LGBTQ+ individuals already bearing disproportionate burdens. Targeting them for layoffs is an act of profound harm and replicates the very inequities PushBlack’s journalism challenges.

2. An Attack on Journalists of Color: Gutting a leading Black newsroom down to one staff writer is unconscionable. PushBlack cannot defend democracy and execute its mission of pursuing Black liberation with fewer voices to inform and empower our communities.

3. The tactics are telling: silencing staff in meetings, issuing unilateral decrees, ignoring data and worker expertise, and rushing restructuring to punish dissent. Your workers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and management should welcome employee input.

For the PushBlack community, donors, and all who believe in a just media ecosystem: the fight continues. We demand that PushBlack’s Board and CEO REINSTATE ALL LAID-OFF WORKERS, with full back pay and benefits.