Republic employees vote to unionize

Reporters, photographers and non-management staffers at Arizona’s largest newspaper voted today to form a union.

The 64-30 vote came despite efforts by Arizona Republic’s management to dissuade employees from unionizing. The management argued in a series of memos that organizing in that way could have negative implications. The management said Gannett, as the paper’s corporate owner, has only so much it is willing to spend, and that the cost of any new benefit could result in the loss of another one.

“Clearly, that argument didn’t hold water,” Mary Jo Pitzl, one of the supporters of the union, told Capitol Media Services. “I think the margin would not be as big as it was. The belief among Guild supporters was that there’s a lot of room to play with here and you don’t necessarily have to give up something to get something.”

Greg Burton, the paper’s executive editor, provided only a prepared statement.

Read more: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/10/10/republic-employees-vote-to-unionize/