Buffalo Newspaper Guild

Reasons to be proud as the Guild closes out 2020

Wednesday, December 23, 2020 by The Guild

A version of this letter by President Sandy Tan was previously emailed to Guild members and summarizes the many accomplishments of the Guild over the past year as we look back on 2020. 

At a time when we’ve all been working under some of the most stressful conditions we’ve ever endured, the Buffalo Newspaper Guild has helped make it possible for us to continue to do great work while safeguarding members’ livelihoods and working conditions. continue»

Fairbanks retures after 34 years at the News, but will remain as Guild advisor

Saturday, December 5, 2020 by The Guild

A year into his tenure as a reporter at The Buffalo News, a columnist approached Phil Fairbanks and asked if he would be interested in working with the Buffalo Newspaper Guild.

At the time, Fairbanks was covering business and labor, and was taking classes at Cornell’s ILR School, which specialized in labor relations and union organizing. But Ray Hill, the News’ longtime columnist, insisted that Fairbanks join the Guild’s bargaining team in 1987. Fairbanks’ role became vital as the Guild negotiated its next contract with management — Fairbanks coordinated posters and handed out buttons to fellow Guild members throughout the process of negotiations. Those tokens reminded the Guild and News employees what they were fighting for.

“The News wanted us to pay 20 percent of our health insurance premium, and that’s when other employers were going after that, and that was when the News was making money, hand over fist, a million dollars a week,” Fairbanks said. “When most workers were paying for their health care, we weren’t.

“But that’s what I’m most proud of, that first mobilization campaign. That’s when you see the solidarity of the union, and now, that makes me feel good about what I’m leaving behind.” continue»

Newsroom management expands use of freelancers while Guild members are furloughed

Monday, June 8, 2020 by The Guild

At the same time the owners of The Buffalo News pushed to have every member of the Buffalo Newspaper Guild take two weeks of furlough, newsroom management found one way to cover for having fewer workers around.

They got some freelancers to do more.

While Guild members were forced to stay home from work and give up paychecks, at least two digital freelancers increased how much they wrote for the News, according to the Guild’s research.

This is occurring even though Guild leaders shared concerns with management, just prior to the scheduling of furloughs, about the increased use of freelancers during this difficult time. In response, management assured us they did not intend to expand the use of freelancers and were looking to scale back freelance usage during the furlough period.

Yet what some freelancers have written has steadily continued to encroach on the type of work Guild members have done or are doing.

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