Another Gannett newspaper goes union

Newsroom staff at the Desert Sun, a Gannett-owned daily newspaper in Palm Springs, California, has voted to unionize.

The decision of Dessert Sun editors to report over the unionization vote stands in contrast to their counterparts at The (Bergen) Record, the Daily Record, and the New Jersey Herald, where attempts by employees to join the CWA-connected NewsGuild of New York remains hidden from their readers.

The New Jersey newspapers are among nine Gannet dailies that have voted to unionize over the last few years.

The vote to form a union at the Desert Sun was conducted by mail and supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.  It passed by a 92.8% margin with 73.7% voter turnout in an election that came two months after 90% of eligible staff asked Gannett to voluntarily recognize the union – something they declined.

The New Jersey newspapers also submitted requests by more than 90% of eligible union members to unionize.

The editor of the Palm Springs paper commented on the vote to her reporter who wrote the story.

“We respect the rights of our employees and their decision on union representation,” said Julie Makinen.

The Record’s editor, Dan Sforza, did not respond to four requests for comment last week.