As governors move to restart their state economies, unions representing journalists are unified on one top goal: If journalists can work from home, that’s where they should stay.
Publishers, editors and station managers are evaluating when to reopen newsrooms and studios. Many are in no rush: Fox has extended its stay-at-home directive through June 15, the New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN have told their journalists not to return until after Labor Day at the earliest.
On Wednesday, the NewsGuild, the largest union representing journalists in the U.S., laid out five principles for news media workers during the pandemic, including conditions employers must meet for journalists to return to their workplaces.
“The first priority is that we continue to push people to work from home, and that, I think, needs to be key,” NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss said in an interview. “Our mandate is that no one should be forced to return to an office or newsroom without safe working conditions.”
Schleuss is not the only labor leader calling for extreme caution for journalists. Communications unions representing primarily broadcast news workers recently unveiled proposed employer guidelines. Number one on the list was, “All work that can be done from home should be done from home if the worker so chooses, with proper tech support.”
The NewsGuild’s principles:
- Preserve employees’ ability to work from home.
- Safety first when the workplace reopens.
- Economic security must be safeguarded.
- Screening and prevention are essential.
- Personal concerns must be addressed.
Schleuss pointed out that all journalists, whether covered by a union contract or not, have the right to press their employers to keep a safe working environment. And while the guild guidelines do not apply to all news organizations, they can serve to influence industry norms.
Many large news organizations have told employees not to return to work until after Labor Day. Others might open their newsrooms sooner. What’s the NewsGuild’s stance on returning to work?
Schleuss: The first priority is that we continue to push people to work from home, and that, I think, needs to be key. Our mandate is that no one should be forced to return to an office or newsroom without safe working conditions.
Obviously, this has been like a patchwork situation decided by local communities and states. But [to return to work] infection rates need to be on decline for 14 days; that social distancing inside the office, inside the newsroom, has to be met; that everyone inside the workplace needs access to reliable personal protective equipment like masks and gloves; that no one during this period should suffer any loss of pay or time off or benefits as a result of the pandemic.
Of course, we’re seeing furloughs. We’re seeing pay cuts. We’re seeing layoffs. But we really can’t lose people in the middle of this pandemic.
And then, we’re calling for any workplace that reopens, that everyone going in — whether they’re the editor, the publisher, a visitor coming in — needs to be screened for any COVID-19 symptoms. … We’re calling on employers to track any possible infections, which really could be as simple as a Google Form. You have an infection, here’s your list of questions for the day. …
And then, finally, addressing all the personal concerns — so child care, family care, school schedules, the fact that a lot of public transit is in flux right now.
And then that every worker in this country has the ability to collectively bargain and negotiate for a safe work space.
This idea of employers’ being able to track symptoms, how do you draw the line between the employer’s ability to do that and the worker’s need for privacy?
Schleuss: We definitely want to make sure no one is disciplined, obviously, for expressing their honesty about having symptoms….It’s important to maintain privacy on this. But it’s also really important that we have a space where people are comfortable to talk about, you know , “I lost my sense of taste or smell. That’s a symptom, so I need to go get tested before I expose the coronavirus to my colleagues.”
Given the potential risk, why not make work contingent on the availability of a vaccine?
Schleuss: Having a vaccine would be a great safeguard, but there’s no timeline for that. The best projections seem to be about a year out. But that’s also potentially a pretty liberal guess at when we might be able to turn around a vaccine.
Should there be a premium paid to workers who do come in as opposed to those who continue to work from home?
Schleuss: It’s something that we have been advocating for on Capitol Hill, to make sure that journalists are essential workers deserving of premium and hazard pay. I mean we’ve got journalists in a hot spot right now in Washington in the Rose Garden. … Workers on the front lines need to be getting premium pay, and those who are going back to the office should be part of that.
If people are out in an environment where they can be at risk, they definitely should be paid for that risk. And that could be going to the office, because if you’re going to be around another person who is not from your household, your risk goes up.