Dozens of employees at the Columbus Dispatch and the Newark Advocate voted Jan. 14 to unionize, in results certified Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board.
The vote was 33-5 in favor of unionizing between the two newsrooms to form the Dispatch News Guild. The union said in a statement the vote forces the USA Today Company to recognize the union.
“For too long, Ohio’s greatest home newspaper has hemorrhaged great journalists due to short-sighted cuts by our corporate owner,” Dispatch news reporter Jordan Laird said in a statement. “Now, we’re taking some power back.”
The Dispatch has undergone serious staff cuts in the six years following a merger between GateHouse Media and Gannett. In 2019, the paper had more than 90 people across all departments. Dispatch journalists said there are now less than 40 non-management employees in the newsroom.
The smaller Newark Advocate, which covers Licking County, has seen even deeper cuts. Staff said there are just three full-time reporters.