The Rochester City Council has penned a letter calling for leadership of the Democrat & Chronicle and its parent company, Gannett, to sign a fair contract with the newsroom’s workers.
The letter comes amid an ongoing strike of the two-dozen members of the Newspaper Guild of Rochester, who have been working without a contract since 2019. Among the guild's demands are limitations on artificial intelligence, wage adjustments, and benefits. The strike began last Friday, coinciding with another strike of reporters with the Austin Statesman, also owned by Gannett. Reporters with the Statesman returned to work on Tuesday.
The letter, introduced by Councilmember Mary Lupien, was signed by eight of nine members of Council. Councilmember Michael Patterson, who represents the northeast district, was the lone holdout.
“If we keep moving from people-based reporting, and I don’t like using this term, but we run the risk of fake news,” said Council President Miguel Meléndez. “When people put out a press release and that becomes the story. There’s a balance to that, and things need to be thoroughly vetted.”
The letter is addressed to Gannett CEO Michael Reed, Chief Content Officer Kristin Roberts, and Democrat & Chronicle Executive Editor Michael Kilian. It highlights a need for solid community-oriented journalism in Rochester.
“The strike underscores profound issues: inadequate wages, soaring healthcare costs, and the need for protection against workplace automation—which jeopardizes not just the livelihood of journalists but the very essence of responsible journalism,” the letter reads. “The literal humanity of these workers is crucial. Their human perspective allows them to connect individual stories to the broader context of our world.”
Tracy Schuhmacher, the Democrat & Chronicle’s food and drink reporter and chairperson of the guild, said the strike stands at a frustrating point — the newsroom staff is close to having its demands met, but it’s been that way for close to two years. Among other things, benefits for part-time employees have emerged as a key sticking point in the negotiations, she said.
“We need to get this contract done,” Schuhmacher said. “We’ve made a lot of progress, there’s wages to be had, some life-changing raises for some people who have been chronically underpaid, and we want to get that into people’s pockets.”
Schuhmacher puts the blame for the sluggish contract negotiations squarely on Gannett, who she described as operating in bad faith at the bargaining table.
She said, however, that the outpouring of support from the community, including Council, has reaffirmed the belief that the Democrat & Chronicle is a valued public service.
A GoFundMe meant to support the workers during the strike has thus far raised about $23,000.
“You just wonder what you’re doing has meaning, has importance,” Schuhmacher said. “Definitely the outpouring we’ve gotten has been beyond our expectations and so encouraging.”
During the strike, members of the newspaper guild are calling for people to not click on links from the Democrat & Chronicle or share its stories.
