The Connecticut News Guild announced on Thursday that reporters, photographers, editors and digital producers working for Hearst in Connecticut had voted to form a union with The NewsGuild-CWA.
Hearst is Connecticut’s largest print/digital news organization.
Newspaper vending machines in Harvard Square, Cambridge MA. File Photo: Leslie Yager
With the vote, they will join newsrooms around the country to seek a voice in decisions about their working conditions, pay, protections against unfair discipline and more.
The Connecticut News Guild needed a simple majority to win the NLRB election. They surpassed that: Of the 85 ballots counted, 80% (or 68 total) voted ‘YES’ to a seat at the bargaining table with Hearst.
“With this display of solidarity and hope for the future of local journalism, we’re excited to begin bargaining a contract together that improves working conditions for all of us and future HCMG journalists, including our colleagues who didn’t vote or voted ‘no,'” CT News Guild said in a release. “The vote comes more than nine months after Hearst Connecticut staff first announced their union drive.”
Hearst must now begin bargaining a contract with the union in good faith, without delay or appeal.
“Good unions make for good journalism, and good journalism is a foundation of a free and open society,” said Ethan Fry, a breaking news reporter. “I’m so thrilled that my colleagues and I affirmed our commitment to forming a union — the first one I am fortunate enough to be a member of after more than 20 years in the profession. I look forward to meeting management to bargain for a fair contract that ensures good local journalism in Connecticut for years to come.”
The Connecticut News Guild said Hearst had challenged the eligibility of 18 people to be included in the bargaining unit. The union vowed to fight to ensure they are included in the unit.
The union also said that as Hearst Newspapers has continued to acquire news outlets across the state, including the purchase in early 2025 of the Republican-American, both new and longtime staff have felt the effects of this growth and consolidation including shifting job responsibilities and requirements that they report to offices far from the communities they cover. Meanwhile, they said that wages have not grown with the rate of inflation and remain inconsistent with the cost of living in Connecticut.
“It’s so thrilling to see the overwhelming support from our colleagues in our union drive over the past year finally pay off today,” said Joe Tucci, a reporter and digital producer. “With our united workforce, I believe that we will be able to work together to build a fair, supportive and comfortable workplace for everyone.”
The union said journalists in Connecticut, both at Hearst Connecticut Media Group and outside of it, should earn a living wage to keep doing the vital work of serving their audiences and communities.
“In addition to being inspired by the bravery and solidarity shown by our own members over the last 10 months, the members of the Connecticut News Guild are honored to be following the example set by our fellow journalists in Connecticut and around the country,” they said.
“This includes the Hartford Courant Guild, which last year ratified its first union contract alongside seven other Tribune publications, and the S.F. Chronicle/SFGATE Guild, which has long fought for our fellow Hearst Newspapers employees in California and ratified their most recent contract in 2023. More recently, in March, we cheered on journalists at three newspapers in New Jersey who voted to ratify their first contract with Gannett.”