I’m joining the APP-MCJ Guild because, for too long, the powers that be have expected us to report on life in Central Jersey and the Jersey Shore while refusing to pay rank-and-file employees a living wage for this area. Across 16 years, I have lost track of all of the brilliantly talented journalists who have been laid off or forced to seek employment at other publications or in different industries. Due to this frequent loss of talent, the few remaining reporters are constantly directed to do more work for the same pay under the ever-present fear of being laid off ourselves. We are proud to be guardians of the Fourth Estate, and now we are demanding fair and equitable treatment in order to continue serving our readers.

When I joined the Asbury Park Press last summer as a Report for America corps member, I was inspired. I’ve spent most of my reporting career listening to people tell me how journalism is dying. I’m still here only because I believe we can’t let it. I saw RFA as an opportunity to reinvest in local journalism and fight for its future. Little did I know at the time that I’d be met with a salary that makes it nearly impractical to live here. Ironically enough, I was brought on to cover the severe affordable housing crisis in New Jersey. In my early days of research I realized I qualify for all of the assistance programs I’m now writing about. This isn’t sustainable. If we want to protect local journalism — if we want to invest in local journalism — we must first protect and invest in ourselves. I am incredibly proud to stand with my colleagues and fight for our worth, so we can make sure we’re here to continue sharing the stories that matter in all the years to come.

I am tired of watching my female colleagues walk out the door because management won’t listen to their ideas or appreciate their talents.

I am tired of being asked to do more work with no compensation while the CFO gets a $600K bonus for furloughing and laying us off.

I am tired of my colleagues and myself having to work second jobs to live in the areas we cover.

The APP-MCJ Guild gives us an opportunity to refocus at a good rate on the local journalism our community deserves. That’s why I am proud to be a founding member.

Teachers are in unions. Firefighters are in unions. Police officers are in unions. Government workers are in unions. Transportation workers are in unions. Journalists live in the same communities. We perform a vital service to the community. We want the same standard of living. We deserve a living wage.

Now, more than ever, the stress is higher. We are taking on more responsibilities and duties with no increase in compensation. We love our jobs and want to continue serving the public — our readers — for generations to come. With the union, that will become reality.

I’m unionizing with the APP-MCJ Guild because I want my coworkers to feel emboldened by the work they do, not threatened by the whims of corporate executives in Virginia. I want my hometown newspapers to thrive, to be a place where journalists come not just because they’re thankful to have a job, but because they know of our reputation. Gannett spent decades making unilateral decisions that left our newspapers — and our people — in shreds.

Now, we’ll have our say

I’m joining the APP-MCJ Guild because it’s time for our company to reinvest in the newsroom. For the past 20 years, I’ve been privileged to work with talented journalists who covered 9-11, Sandy and now COVID. And I’ve seen lots of them leave either through layoffs or buyouts, or because they couldn’t afford to stay. Waiting for that strategy to change seems like a bad idea. I don’t want to be part of the last generation that made a career in local journalism. It’s time to try something else.

Journalism is, at its heart, storytelling —amplifying people’s voices, telling their stories and using them to understand and improve the world around us. But when journalists tell our own stories, they’re usually similar — not having the resources to do the best work we can, struggling to make ends meet, not being positioned properly to best serve our communities and often looking at structures that don’t represent us or those communities. That’s why our story needs a new chapter: the APP-MCJ Guild.

I'm joining to stand in solidarity with my colleagues for a fair wage and benefits, which we deserve for the work we put in. I'm tired of taking on additional responsibilities, growing my skills and buying my own equipment without any sort of compensation. I'm sick of my colleagues leaving or retiring and having to fill the gap by doing more and more work for no extra pay. I'm tired of working an extra 80 hours a week at other jobs just to make ends meet and still be anxious and stressed about retirement. The APP-MCJ Guild will let us focus on the things that matter, doing our jobs to bring excellent journalism to the public, who deserve the best we have to offer. I am extremely proud to be one of the founding members of this guild.

I’m joining the APP-MCJ Guild because I want to see this talented and dedicated staff of journalists finally receive the compensation we all deserve, compensation that doesn’t make it impossible to live in the community we serve. I’m tired of seeing the mistreatment of my colleagues at the hands of Gannett. I’m tired of seeing the constant cuts and the increased responsibilities with no subsequent raise. We’ve voiced our concerns, but they have fallen upon Gannett’s deaf ears. We’re not asking for much. Just basic decency.

I truly believe we should not be writing about oppression, lack of equity and unfair work practices by corporations while suffering from it ourselves. Our basic human needs – food and housing – should not be competing stressors because of lack of a living wage. We should not be living a life based on the daily mantra “be grateful you have a job,” repeated and re-enforced by upper management. We should be working in an environment of professional respect – shown through quality benefits, policies and salaries. We should be heard. We should be believed. We should be respected.

I am joining my colleagues in the APP-MCJ Guild because I’m tired of watching so many extremely talented journalists leave because they are not paid enough to stay in this area. Those who do try to stay often have to work second jobs in order to afford to live here. Local news is a vital part of the fabric of the communities we serve, and we are very proud of the essential work that we do. But for far too long we have been asked to take on more work for the same pay, while living under the constant threat of layoffs for the past 13 years. I chose to make my career covering local news, and I want others to be able to make that same choice. It’s time to try something new, and for us to have a seat at the table.

I’m joining the APP-MCJ Guild because I have not received a raise in years, and because I know talented people need fair compensation for long and late hours, for working holidays and weekends, for being ready to drop everything and respond to cover breaking news and disasters. We have covered superstorms, forest fires, civil unrest and a deadly pandemic as the cost of living in New Jersey has outpaced our pay. While we put our lives at risk to perform our jobs, the corporation canceled 401(k) contributions and froze salaries. That’s why I am joining our union.

I’m joining the APP-MCJ Guild to help secure fair and equitable treatment for our talented staff. Gannett’s constant cuts have forced far too many talented journalists out the door, causing our newsrooms and the communities we serve to suffer. We are routinely asked to take on more responsibilities and duties while compensation remains stagnant, an issue that evidently evades Gannett executives, who too often reward themselves with bonuses and raises. We are not asking for anything we don’t deserve. We are simply joining together to ensure we always have a seat at the table and a say in the futures of our careers. Gannett’s constant cuts and policy of doing more with less left us no choice but to form this union.

I joined my first News Guild 25 years ago. It’s simple. We provide a public service like police, firefighters and teachers, each of them have unions. We are a creative industry, like actors, authors and musicians, and each of them have unions; and we are professionals at our craft like athletes, electricians and plumbers, who each have unions as well. But unlike them, our profession is the only one with constitutional protection. That deserves job protection and fair treatment, too.  

Why am I joining a union? My disillusionment began after the last round of furloughs. I was told I was exempt because I made under the cutoff salary range. Many people would think that would be good news, except I have been with the company for more than 31 years, and I made under the cutoff range? I have given sweat and tears to Gannett, and even blood if you count a paper cut or two. I am joining the union to make sure that we're all on an equal playing field.

I support my colleagues in our collective pursuit of pay equity, a strong united newsroom, and a say in our future. Local news is the bedrock of our communities. After years of cuts and diminishing resources, it’s time to try something new at the Asbury Park Press, the Courier News and the Home News Tribune.