Category Archives: CWA

Letter to the prime minister’s office

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May 27, 2020

The Right Hon. Justin Trudeau

Prime Minister of Canada

Dear Prime Minister,

I am writing on behalf of CWA Canada and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to urge the federal government to make digital companies such as Facebook and Google share advertising revenue with Canadian content providers.

These two companies control over 80 per cent of Canada’s $6-billion online advertising market, yet they pay no taxes and they pay nothing for the content they use. For far too long, they have been earning money by linking to stories from Canadian news companies without compensation. It is simply not fair. They should be paying for copyrighted content.

Even more troubling is the fact that, as these companies have raked in tens of billions of dollars over the years, thousands of Canadian media workers have been laid off and hundreds of Canadian publications have closed. It’s bad for journalism, bad for local communities, and bad for our democracy.

We call on your government to follow the lead of Australia and France, which are set to make digital companies pay for content use.

Such action is all the more vital as many Canadian news companies, which have long struggled with ad revenue declines, are now fighting for their survival amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

We thank you for your government’s support for the news industry during this pandemic, and for the coming tax measures under the journalism support package, but we need to solve the ad revenue problem for the long-term health of the industry.

CWA Canada is the country’s only all-media union, representing about 6,000 workers in print, digital and broadcasting operations, including the CBC, The Canadian Press, and newspapers coast to coast.

The IFJ is the world’s largest organization of journalists, representing 600,000 media professionals from 187 trade unions and associations in more than 140 countries.

Sincerely,

Martin O’Hanlon

President, CWA Canada

The Media Union

 

 

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Challenger Schleuss wins re-run election for president of NewsGuild

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Jon Schleuss was elected President of The NewsGuild-CWA on Tuesday, defeating 12-year incumbent Bernie Lunzer.

Challenger Jon Schleuss has won The NewsGuild-CWA election, unseating incumbent Bernie Lunzer to claim the presidency.

The unofficial tally Tuesday showed Schleuss, a Los Angeles Times graphics and data journalist, with 1,979 (56.7%) votes and 1,514 (43.3%) for Lunzer.

Schleuss, whose four-year term begins immediately, ran on a platform to reform and modernize the 87-year-old union.

“We now have a stirring of wind at our backs, and we must build on our accomplishments,” he said in a news release. “It won’t always be easy, but our mission is to continue to grow the Guild and fight to preserve the future of journalism.”

Lunzer led the Guild through its greatest period of growth in decades, organizing 60 workplaces and 3,000 workers in the last four years.

The international referendum, in which all CWA Canada members were eligible to vote, was an unprecedented re-run of the spring contest. The union’s election committee determined that over 1,000 members had been effectively disenfranchised when mail-in ballots were sent to out-of-date addresses, mostly at the Canadian Media Guild (CWA Canada Local 30213). Locals are responsible for maintaining up-to-date member addresses.

The independent American Arbitration Association, which was contracted to conduct the election, reported that almost 3,600 ballots had been received by the Dec. 9 deadline. Each Local could choose whether to conduct in-person voting between Nov. 12 and 17 or arrange for members to receive mail-in ballots.

With more than 20,000 members, including 6,000 at CWA Canada Locals, TNG is the largest journalists union in North America. It is a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and is affiliated with, but has no involvement in governance of the autonomous Canadian union.

The two candidates were nominated at TNG’s 80th Sector Conference held in Florida at the end of January. Attending as a guest, Schleuss became a TNG member in good standing immediately prior to the start of the conference.

Schleuss, 32, was a key player in the successful 2017 campaign to organize editorial employees at the famously anti-union Los Angeles Times, where he has worked since 2013.

The 62-year-old Lunzer — who worked at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for 10 years, then as administrative officer of the Minnesota Guild from 1989 to 1995, when he became TNG’s secretary-treasurer — has been president since 2008.

World Press Freedom Day Message from CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon

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From left: CWA Canada President Martin O'Hanlon joined members Mike Blanchfield (Canadian Press), Nathalie Bastien (CBC), Angie Bonenfant (CBC), and Kristy Kirkup (CP), at a luncheon held by the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

From left: From left: CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon joined members Mike Blanchfield (Canadian Press), Nathalie Bastien (CBC), Angie Bonenfant (CBC), and Kristy Kirkup (CP), at a luncheon held by the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

On this day, we commit to continuing the fight to protect freedom of the press in the face of a growing threat around the globe.

We’ve long watched countries such as Saudi Arabia, China, Iran and Cuba strictly limit what journalists can report. But in recent years, we’ve seen the rise of demagogues and ultra-conservative parties in formerly progressive countries like Poland, Hungary, Turkey and the Philippines, who are openly hostile to the media. And then there’s the U.S., where the ugliness of Trump and his Republican enablers is a troubling threat.

Journalism is a pillar of democracy and attacks on the media are attacks on our democratic systems. 

It is vital that progressive, moderate, responsible countries like Canada speak out publicly whenever freedom of the press is under attack, that we pressure other countries diplomatically to do better, and that we punish the worst offenders, through economic sanctions if necessary.

Restricting journalists’ rights is one thing, but in many countries, the situation is even more dire. 

At least 94 media workers were killed in 2018, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and nine out of 10 cases remain unpunished. Impunity reigns. Hundreds of journalists are imprisoned and, on a daily basis, media workers are attacked, beaten, detained, harassed, and threatened. 

There are growing threats to digital safety with cyber-attacks, hacking and online harassment – especially of women journalists – all creating a safety crisis for news professionals. 

Back in the fall, I spoke to a Senate committee on behalf of the IFJ about the growing threat to press freedom around the world and the need for a safety convention. We are working with the IFJ in pushing for an international Convention on the Safety of Journalists and Media Professionals, which we have asked the Canadian government to support.

Even in Canada, we must stay vigilant.

Last year, we saw Radio-Canada reporter Antoine Trépanier arrested by Gatineau police simply for doing his job and asking questions – based on a frivolous harassment complaint by someone who didn’t like what he was reporting. The case was dropped, but it should never have happened.

Also last year, a judge ordered Radio-Canada journalist Marie-Maude Denis to reveal her source in a corruption trial, a case that is now going to the Supreme Court.

And of course, the Supreme Court ruled last fall that VICE Media reporter Ben Makuch must hand over material he gathered about an accused ISIS fighter. CWA Canada was an intervener in that case.

Let’s be clear: The media is not — nor should it ever be — an arm of the state. As journalists, we must fight any attempt by anyone, especially authorities, to interfere with freedom of the press.

We will continue the fight for press freedom. It’s a fight we can’t afford to lose. As journalism goes, so goes democracy.

CWA Canada stands with VICE as source protection case goes to Supreme Court

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Source: cwacanada.ca

VICE Media’s legal fight with the RCMP over a journalist’s right to protect sources goes before the Supreme Court of Canada today.

Standing alongside VICE will be CWA Canada, the only union in a coalition of news outlets and journalist organizations that has been granted intervener status in the case.

A production order issued by the Mounties against VICE journalist Ben Makuch to hand over all communications between him and an alleged ISIS fighter was upheld by the Ontario Superior Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal.

CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon called the rulings “bad news for journalism and for democracy” and committed the union to continuing the fight to the highest court in the land.

“As a media union, we will speak out loudly to protect freedom of expression and the role of a free press as a pillar of democracy,” O’Hanlon said.

“Police have an important job to do in protecting us from crime, but they cannot expect journalists to do that job for them. The media is not, nor should it ever be, an arm of the state.”

The media union represents workers at VICE’s Canadian news operations through its biggest Local, the Canadian Media Guild.

 

Vice journalist ‘eager’ on eve of his press-freedom hearing at Supreme Court

“What makes this case different from a confidential source case is that it’s about material a journalist has gathered but keeps to him or herself and uses as the journalist sees fit in a story.”

Paul Schabas, counsel to intervener coalition

The coalition, which recently received approval to act as interveners, also includes the CBC, APTN, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, the Canadian Association of Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders.

Another case that could make its way to the Supreme Court is that of investigative journalist Marie-Maude Denis. Her employer, Radio-Canada, will appeal a Quebec Superior Court ruling from late March that orders her to reveal her source in a corruption trial.

In response to that ruling, O’Hanlon said: “It’s frustrating that this sort of thing continues to happen, especially with the passage of federal legislation in 2017 that recognizes the right of journalists to protect their sources.”

“It is vital for free speech and democracy that journalists guard the anonymity of their sources. If not, sources, including whistleblowers, will be far less likely to talk to journalists knowing that they could be identified and punished. The result? Canadians will be blocked from important information and stories about matters of vital public interest.”

NewsGuild-CWA Condemns Arrest of WV Reporter

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Source: newsguild.org

This is my job. This is what I’m supposed to do.’

May 10, 2017 – “The NewsGuild-CWA condemns the arrest of radio reporter Dan Heyman on May 9, 2017,” said President Bernie Lunzer. “This is a chilling attack on the right to report. Every journalist across the country should take notice.”

The arrest is part of a pattern of escalating attacks on the media since the Trump administration took office, Lunzer said, which the union is determined to fight.

“In situations like this, the NewsGuild-CWA stands ready to assist,” he said. The organization is sending letters of protest to the West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, the West Virginia Capitol Police and the Secret Service, Lunzer said.

Heyman’s crime? The reporter for Public News Service persisted in asking Health & Human Services Secretary Tom Price about the Republican health care bill as Price walked through the West Virginia state capital. Price and Kellyanne Conway, Special Counsel to President Trump, were in Charleston to meet with local and state officials and representatives of addiction treatment groups about the opioid crisis in the state, according to the Associated Press.

Watch the video of Heyman’s news conference after his release.

Heyman repeatedly asked Price whether domestic violence would be considered a pre-existing condition under the health care bill, which passed the House on May 4. “In some cases, before the Affordable Care Act, it was a pre-existing condition,” he said, and women who suffered domestic violence were denied coverage.

“This is my job. This is what I’m supposed to do,” Heyman said immediately after his release on $5,000 bail. “I’m supposed to find out if someone is going to be affected by this healthcare law… I think it’s a question that deserves to be answered. I think it’s my job to ask questions and I think it’s my job to try to get answers.”

Heyman said he was recording audio on his phone, which he reached out toward Price, past his staffers, as he walked down the hall. He asked Price the question repeatedly but Price did not answer.

Heyman said he told police officers he was a reporter at the time of the arrest. He was wearing his press credentials over a shirt bearing the Public News Service’s insignia.

He said he thought state police decided he was being “too persistent” in trying to do his job. Heyman was charged with “willful disruption of state government processes.” But he says, “no one who identified themselves as a peace office of any kind – until I was arrested – told me I should not be where I was,” Heyman told reporters.

The West Virginia ACLU and numerous other organizations immediately denounced the arrest. “Today was a dark day for democracy,” the ACLU of West Virginia said. “But the rule of law will prevail. The First Amendment will prevail.”

“This is a highly unusual case,” Heyman’s attorney, Tim DiPiero, said. “I’ve never had a client get arrested for talking too loud or anything similar to that.”

Heyman has been a reporter for about 30 years, with his work appearing in the New York Times, NPR and other national news outlets, he said. He has worked for Public News Service, which provides content to media outlets and publishes its own stories, since 2009.

#Right2Report
#PressFreedom

2 CWA Canada Locals ratify contracts with pay increases

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Two CWA Canada Locals have ratified new contracts that contain salary increases for workers at news operations in Ottawa and Medicine Hat, Alta.

CTV Ottawa unit members of the Ottawa Newspaper Guild (Local 30205) voted this week to accept a five-year deal that gives them a retroactive lump sum payment for 2014 equal to 1.5 per cent of salary and increases of 1.75 per cent for years 2015 through 2018.

ONG President Debbie Cole said that, of 18 members in the unit, 14 voted, with 12 in favour of the proposal.

The new contract moves benefits from the collective agreement to the Bell Media Flex Plan. It also changes the pension plan from defined benefit to defined contribution.

“This contract has been two years in the making,” with little of that time spent in bargaining, said Cole. The ONG had to deal with a raft of grievances after talks broke down; many of them involved layoffs that didn’t get settled until the union filed for arbitration.

“I think CTV Ottawa has a good contract. The pay increases are very welcome. We hope this will be the end of the fighting over contract violations and that we are entering a period of labour peace,” said Cole.

Members of the Media & Communications Workers of Alberta (Local 30400) who work at the Medicine Hat News also voted this week to ratify a four-year deal in which there were no concessions.

CWA Canada staff representative, David Wilson, who assisted bargaining teams in Ottawa and Medicine Hat, said the daily newspaper agreed to salary increases in the second, third and fourth year of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 per cent.

The 43 members who work in the newsroom and business office also saw improvements to severance pay, mileage and vehicle allowance for salespeople.

– See more at: http://www.cwa-scacanada.ca/EN/news/2016/160610_2deals.shtml#sthash.YXoFz8qH.dpuf

Strong majority of VICE Canada workers vote to join Guild

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After months of meetings, discussions, card signings and an official vote conducted by the federal labour board, it was confirmed this week that two thirds of VICE Canada workers chose to join the Canadian Media Guild (CMG).

“We are thrilled to welcome employees at VICE Canada” into the Guild, said President Carmel Smyth. “We look forward to working with them and one of Canada’s most innovative and exciting digital media organizations to create a positive workplace now and for the future.”

The new bargaining unit includes all VICE employees across Canada working in editorial, marketing, production and post-production, with the exception of managers and people working in sales. The Canadian Industrial Relations Board is expected to issue a formal bargaining certificate soon.

“I am so proud of our office for voting so strongly in favour of unionizing,” said one VICE Canada worker. (At 89 per cent, it was a very high voter turnout.) “There are amazing things about working at VICE, and I am confident that having a collective voice at the negotiating table will help protect the parts of our jobs that we love and help strengthen our position on the things that need to improve. Hopefully both the employees and management will look at this as a positive step forward.”

VICE Canada President Ryan Archibald said the company welcomed the CMG’s presence in the workplace.

“VICE Canada started as a six-person office above a coffee shop in Montreal. Today, we employ over 200 of the best minds in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. It goes without saying that I am enormously proud of what we have built here and support those employees who have voted to unionize and those who have not.”

“We have evolved to produce award-winning content and work with some of the most creative people in Canada,” said Archibald. “Today we offer competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits and the opportunity to participate in company equity. Through these steps and others, we will continue to do whatever it takes to draw and retain the next generation of talent.”

After choosing workplace representatives, the new VICE Canada union will start preparing for bargaining.

“I’m thrilled that VICE Canada employees have voted in favour of a union,” said another worker. “My colleagues are some of the most thoughtful and creative members of the industry, and together we make A-plus stuff. So, the fact that we’ve all come together to support a union drive means that we believe in working with management to improve working conditions for everyone.”

The CMG, CWA Canada’s largest Local, represents 6,000 media workers at major news organizations, including the CBC, Reuters and The Canadian Press.

VICE Canada includes a network of digital channels; a production studio; a magazine; an in-house creative services agency and a newly launched TV network in partnership with Rogers Communications called VICELAND. VICE Canada’s award-winning programming has been recognized by the Canadian Screen Association and the Webbys. VICE Canada is headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal and Vancouver.

Launched in 1994, VICE Media now operates in more than 30 countries and distributes its programming to hundreds of millions of viewers across digital, linear, mobile, film and socials.

– See more at: http://www.cwa-scacanada.ca/EN/news/2016/160603_vice_vote.shtml#sthash.4mGwSG6Y.dpuf

CWA, MEDIA SECTOR ‘HEARTSICK’ OVER JOURNALISTS’ MURDERS

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Staff
August 26, 2015
NewsGuild-CWA

AlisonAdam

 

 

 

 

 

Reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed while doing a live TV interview Wednesday morning.

 

The following statement was issued jointly by NewsGuild, NABET and CWA:

THIS morning’s senseless tragedy in Roanoke, Va., struck close to home for the journalists and other news media workers represented by The NewsGuild-CWA and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET-CWA).

We are heartsick over the killings of WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. Our thoughts and prayers are with their grieving colleagues, friends and families,” said CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens. “We also pray for the recovery of Vicki Garner, the woman the journalists were interviewing, who was badly wounded.”

The threats journalists face on the job every day do not normally include their coworkers. But tragically, work-related shootings and other violence are not uncommon in the United States. Our members in the media sector and all of the Communications Workers of America are gravely concerned about this issue and committed to helping build safe workplaces.

Whatever the shooter’s motive, two young people who were looking forward to long and happy lives are gone today. We join with WDBJ, the Roanoke community and all those who loved Alison and Adam in mourning their loss.