ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Most journalists at The Morning Call newspaper will cease working for 24 hours starting Thursday morning.
That's because The Morning Call Guild will join seven other Tribune Publishing newsrooms across the country, including the Chicago Tribune and the Orlando Sentinel, in a one-day walkout.
The walkout of more than 200 Tribune Publishing staff will protest the company’s proposal to offer bonuses instead of pay increases and eliminate the 401(k) match, a news release said.
"We eventually came to a point where we felt that withholding our labor was the only option left to be taken seriously, and to have our voices heard and to be treated in good faith.”The Morning Call Guild spokesman Graysen Golter
Staff also are asking the company to address its racial and gender pay disparities.
The Morning Call staff will rally at noon at the former location of its headquarters at 101 N. Sixtth St., Allentown, which was demolished last year.
Morning Call reporter Graysen Golter, who acts as the guild’s spokesman, said the reporters and staff did not take this choice lightly.
“But we eventually came to a point where we felt that withholding our labor was the only option left to be taken seriously, and to have our voices heard and to be treated in good faith,” Golter said.
Tribune Walkout Fact Sheet by Olivia Marble on Scribd
'Hope that can lead to change'
Thursday’s walkout will be the first coordinated action against Tribune Publishing since it was bought by hedge fund Alden Global Capital in 2021.
The hedge fund has been criticized for cutting newsroom staff in an effort to boost profits in the struggling newspaper industry.
A spokesperson for Alden Global Capital and editors at The Morning Call did not respond to messages seeking comment on the walkout. Morning Call Editor-in-Chief Mike Miorelli retired at the end of 2023 and has not been replaced.
Golter said The Morning Call Guild, a union that represents reporters, editors and photographers at the newspaper, had 48 members when it first was created in 2019.
It currently has 18 members — about the size of the entire newsroom.
"I hope that that can lead to change, not only here at The Morning Call, but for normal residents as well."Graysen Golter, general news reporter at The Morning Call
The Morning Call Guild held its own one-day walkout in May 2022 to protest staffing cuts and low pay.
Golter said he thinks many people do not realize how much the journalism industry is struggling.
“If our walkout can act as a heads-up for how bad things have gotten for the journalism industry, I hope that that can lead to change, not only here at The Morning Call, but for normal residents as well,” Golter said.
Journalists at The Morning Call and other Tribune Publishing publications will also hold a Zoom rally at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
