Category Archives: CWA Canada

Carmel Smyth wins race to lead CWA Canada

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23.06.23

Carmel Smyth has been declared winner of the national election to determine the next leader of CWA Canada.

She garnered 469 votes while 349 went to challenger Meredith Martin, in the contest to replace outgoing President Martin O’Hanlon.

Lois Kirkup, who was acclaimed, continues in the post of vice-president for another four-year term. She is a longtime member and president of the Ottawa Newspaper Guild.

Said a victorious Smyth: “As we know, the media industry faces many challenges, and we have to be vigilant about having our voices and lived experiences included in the conversation. I will work hard to deserve your support.”

Smyth and Kirkup will be sworn in at the CWA Convention July 10-12 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Matt Skube, Hayley Juhl and Nigel Sones form the National Elections Committee, which conducted the country-wide vote, with Locals choosing the method, either in-plant, electronic or mail-in ballot.

The committee reported that it received at least one vote from every Local across the country. Two Locals conducted their vote electronically, one did an on-site vote and the others used mail-in ballots, none of which was spoiled.

Smyth, a journalist with 25 years of experience in private and public broadcasting, was president of the Canadian Media Guild (Local 30213) for nine years.

Martin, a producer/journalist with 20 years of experience at Ontario’s public broadcaster, was recently elected president of the Canadian Media Guild’s TVO branch.

Kirkup and O’Hanlon were first elected to the two top positions in a national vote in 2011.

O’Hanlon has been in the leadership ranks since the union’s inception as TNG Canada/CWA in 1995.

Threats & harassment of journalists

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Dear CWA Canada members,

Journalism is a pillar of democracy. If journalists feel threatened doing their jobs, important stories may go untold, and democracy is undermined.

In recent days, many Canadian journalists, including CWA Canada members, have been receiving vile sexist and racist comments and threats, often through social media. Women and people of colour, in particular, have been targeted.

This harassment and hate must not be tolerated. We are working with journalism groups, the labour movement, academics, and employers, on a strategy to stop the campaign of hate.

Please see the attached note on your legal options in the event that you receive any threats or harassment. It is your employer’s duty to help and support you. If you do not feel you are being properly protected our getting adequate support, including counselling or other services or resources, contact your Local president and the union will advocate on your behalf.

In solidarity,

 

Martin

 

Martin O’Hanlon
President, CWA Canada
The Media Union

Register today for Arnold Amber Memorial Lecture (virtual)

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March 18, 2021

Dear Local leaders,

Please join us for this year’s Arnold Amber Memorial Lecture (virtual) featuring author and union organizer Jane McAlevey. And please share this information with your members.

Register today: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/arnold-amber-memorial-lecture-featuring-jane-mcalevey-tickets-142171668287

In solidarity,
Martin

Martin O’Hanlon
President, CWA Canada
The Media Union

Labour Day Message from CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon

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Sept. 4, 2020

Dear fellow CWA Canada members,

For the first time in memory, we will not be marching this Labour Day.

But we will not be silent.

As we mourn our fellow media workers and the many others who have lost their lives due to the pandemic, we will pay tribute to those who continue to provide vital news and information, often risking their own health to do so.

We will shout to defend quality jobs, quality journalism, a vibrant free press, a strong, independent labour movement and to demand racial, economic and social equality.

Unfortunately, many regimes around the world are using the pandemic as yet another excuse to crack down of press freedom, labour unions, and democracy.

And the struggle for equality continues, reinvigorated by the Black Lives Matter movement.

This Labour Day, we vow to keep up the fight against injustice of all kinds:

 

  • We will publicly call out governments and bad actors to embarrass them into behaving better.
  • We will use social media to educate and rally the public by sharing information about fake news, disinformation, and hate, while promoting trusted, reliable news sources.
  • We will support Black Lives Matter and other movements fighting for equality.
  • And we will push for sanctions against leaders and politicians around the world who attack press freedom — block key politicians and officials from travelling abroad and seize their foreign assets and see how quickly things change.

This weekend, please stand with us, pledge your support in the fight for justice, and take a moment to think about what you can do to help.

 

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

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May 3, 2020

We mark World Press Freedom Day this year in the most unusual of circumstances: a worldwide pandemic has killed hundreds of thousands of people, crippled economies, and challenged democracies.

We must start by mourning the media workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 and paying tribute to those who continue to provide vital news and information in this time of pandemic, many risking their own health to do so.

Now, more than ever, it is critical that people get reliable news about what’s really happening and how best to get through this crisis.

At CWA Canada, we have been working relentlessly to ensure employers protect the health of workers, and to defend our collective agreements so that our members have some financial security, especially those who have been temporarily laid off or had their hours cut.

At the same time, we recognize that employers are struggling to deal with plunging revenues and we have urged the federal government to do even more to provide relief. We also pushed successfully for federal aid for freelancers, temps, contract and other precarious workers.

The current crisis has only exacerbated an already troubling situation with freedom of expression under serious threat around the globe.

In a day and age when billions of people get their news from social media, it is vital that journalists and trusted news sources are protected and promoted.

There are five main ways in which governments and others attack freedom of the press: violence and intimidation, blocking internet access and communication, internet surveillance, legislation limiting free speech, and online harassment.

So what can we do about it?

We can launch public pressure campaigns. Such campaigns can yield great results. We must publicly call out governments and bad actors to embarrass them into behaving better. We need to rally the public to hold government to account and that requires educating people.

We can use social media against itself. We can use social media to educate and rally the public and expand the civic space by sharing information about fake news, disinformation, and hate, while promoting trusted, reliable news sources.

We can impose sanctions against bad actors. It is vital that progressive, responsible governments speak out publicly whenever freedom of expression is under attack, that they pressure offenders diplomatically to do better, and punish the worst offenders through economic sanctions if necessary. And those sanctions should be on specific officials, not just governments. Block key politicians and officials from travelling abroad and seize their foreign assets and see how quickly things change.

We will continue the fight for press freedom in 2020. It’s a fight we can’t afford to lose.

As journalism goes, so goes democracy.

Postmedia pay cut would be ‘tough sell’ for unions

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2020.04.28

Postmedia pay cut would be ‘tough sell’ for unions

Leaders of CWA Canada Locals at newspapers in three provinces will hold a conference call tonight to decide their response to Postmedia’s moves to cut labour costs during the public health crisis.

The company announced today that it will lay off 50 sales people, temporarily cut pay for employees, and permanently close 15 of its 95 community newspapers. The cuts do not affect any of the media union’s 281 members who work at nine of Postmedia’s 15 daily newspapers.

CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon said there was a significant error in the announcement by Postmedia CEO Andrew MacLeod.

“He stated that all employees earning over $60,000 will be subject to a temporary pay reduction. In fact, unionized staff cannot be forced to take a pay reduction; that would have to be agreed to by the union,” O’Hanlon said.

“We will discuss the company’s statement and its request for a five-per-cent temporary pay cut. But it’s a tough sell given that Postmedia has been funnelling tens of millions of dollars to its hedge fund owners and paying millions in executive salaries and bonuses. Last year alone, it paid its top five executives a whopping $7.4 million while laying off staff and freezing worker salaries.”

CWA Canada has Locals at Postmedia papers in Montreal, Ottawa, Windsor, Kingston, North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and Regina.

MacLeod, whose total compensation last year was $2.4 million, said in early April that he would take a 30-per-cent cut to the $820,000 salary portion of that. Other executives and those in management ranks will see salary reductions ranging from eight to 20 per cent.

Postmedia is eligible for the 75-per-cent Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, which is intended to avert layoffs or to push employers to recall workers. It is retroactive to March 15 and provides up to $847 a week per employee.

The company will also be able to access labour tax credits under the $595-million journalism support fund, among other government support programs.

MacLeod said today: “While we are very grateful for these programs, no subsidy can offset the huge declines in revenues our industry is experiencing” due to the “unprecedented tidal forces” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advertising revenues at already-beleaguered newspapers across the country plummeted as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded and forced the shutdown of non-essential businesses, sporting and cultural events. Newspapers are heavily dependent on advertising from those sectors of a local economy.

On April 11, Postmedia reported a loss of just over $5 million in its second quarter ending Feb. 29, two weeks before the country headed into lockdown. That was a drop of 7.5 per cent compared with last year. Total revenue for the quarter was $145.7 million, with $110.8 million of that from print advertising and circulation; $28.2 million was derived from its digital businesses.

 

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.