City-Wide Guild News

July 24, 2001

For immediate release:

Washington Blade Employees Vote Against Unionization

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a July 20 vote, employees at the Washington Blade voted 10-8 against Guild representation.

The Washington Blade, often described as the national gay newspaper of record, was first published here in 1969 as a one-page mimeographed, volunteer effort.

The paper was purchased May 25 by Window Media--whose ownership of gay-oriented publications in four other cities makes it the nation’s largest gay media conglomerate. The Blade's new owners also own gay and lesbian-oriented publications in New York, Atlanta, New Orleans and Houston.

The vote July 20 capped a three-month campaign for unionization at the Blade during which the new owner threatened two pro-union employees with loss of their jobs and the union responded by filing unfair labor practice charges with the federal government against management.

The dismissal threats followed an encounter in which about a dozen Blade staffers, who had been unable to schedule a meeting with Window Media President William Waybourn, went to his office to read a statement seeking union recognition. As the statement was being read, Waybourn ended the session, saying, "You've made your statement and I don't want to hear it."

The union subsequently filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) -- the federal agency charged with enforcing labor laws -- unfair labor practice charges over Waybourn's dismissal threats.

On June 21, Waybourn retreated on his threat, issuing a written promise not to fire or threaten "any employee for engaging in any union activities." He also withdrew his claim that the two union supporters he had threatened to fire were managers outside the protection of federal labor law. In exchange, the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild withdrew the unfair labor practice charges it had filed with the NLRB.

Waybourn's letter also came after nearly 1,000 participants in the June 10 "Capital Pride Day" signed petitions in support of Blade employees' right to unionize and after four Window Media investors made public a letter in which they urged Waybourn to treat employees "fairly and impartially" during the organizing effort.

The employer waged an aggressive anti-union campaign that included taking employees to lunch and one-on-one talks with Blade employees inside the newspaper’s offices in the days before the election.

Waybourne declined an invitation from the Guild Blade Organizing Committee to debate the issue of union representation at an employee forum.

The Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild looks forward to maintaining close relations with Blade employees in the coming months. Under federal labor law, a union losing an election may petition the NLRB for another election after one year.

For more information, contact:
Calvin Zon at czon@wbng.org or 202-785-3650, ext. 17
Cet Parks at cparks@wbng.org or 202-785-3650, ext. 11

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Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, Local 32035 TNG-CWA, AFL-CIO/ 1100 15th St., NW, Suite 350 Washington, DC 20005/ 202-785-3650 /Fax: 202-7859

Copyright © 2001 Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild