What is The Providence Newspaper Guild?
What communities do you serve?
So why is it called the Providence Newspaper Guild?
Can my paper affiliate with the Guild?
What is The Providence Newspaper Guild?
We are officially Local 31041 of a dynamic media workers union, The News Guild. As dynamic as the changes in media themselves, our Guild local is comprised of news, sales, circulation and other professionals who create and distribute information online, in print and utilizing video in multimedia presentations. Skill sets range from web development to photography to delivery, with reliable journalism — the bedrock of a functioning democracy — as our common product. We think that’s pretty important work. We’re proud to do it and we fight to maintain its standards.
We have evolved since the 1933 founding of The Newspaper Guild and, nationwide, The Guild has more than 34,000 members in the United States, Canada and in Puerto Rico, working online and in print as well as in many specialized areas of communications. The Guild affiliated with the Communications Workers of America in 1995. We remain a self-governing sector of the CWA.
The Guild has always promoted the connection between quality work and quality at work. Where the Guild succeeded in raising the economic well-being for people in our industry (Guild news organizations remain better-paying overall vs. non-union outlets), today we also advocate for the best possible job security, knowing that a strict bottom-line approach is neither in the best interest of the media outlets where we work, nor for the communities we serve and know so well.
What communities are served by the Providence Newspaper Guild?
The Guild local has autonomous units at Southern New England media outlets in Providence, Worcester, Brockton, Hartford, Pawtucket/Woonsocket and the Pioneer Valley. Each has an employee Unit Council to handle local affairs and decisions on behalf of the employees represented.
So why is it called the Providence Guild?
This local first formed at the Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin in 1959. Expansion has taken place in more recent years. Our bylaws have been adapted to accommodate the growing interest in representation across the region, and a name change may eventually result.
My employer is nonunion. Can we affiliate with the Guild?
Of course, you have the right to union representation under the law. You should contact our administrator if you are even a little curious about how to go about obtaining Guild representation. We know the obstacles; we’ve gone through them. And we see the advantages every day. We can walk you through the process.