Where Local News Unions Are Being Formed
Twenty-seven states have laws to bar unions and employers from requiring union membership or dues as a condition of employment. These laws, and the states that have passed them, are commonly called “right to work.” Right-to-work laws are typically viewed as weakening unions. In such states, workers can still organize a union, and all workers are still protected by the agreements negotiated by the union regardless of whether or not they are a member, but unions have to collect dues from members rather than deduct it from paychecks.
We wanted to know if local newsrooms are more likely to unionize in a state without right-to-work laws than states with such laws. We found that seventy percent of the local newsrooms that have unionized in the past five years have been in states without right-to-work laws with only 30% being in states with right-to-work laws.
Local Newsroom Unions and Right-to-Work States Over Time
Looking across each year, in general, local newsrooms unionized mostly in union-friendly states except for 2020. In 2020, 20 of the 26 local newsrooms which unionized were in a right-to-work state.
Outcomes and Right-to-Work States
Despite local newsrooms being less likely to unionize in right-to-work states, unions in these states are still more successful than their counterparts in states that are union-friendly. All local newsrooms in right-to-work states that have unionized have been successful in gaining union representation compared to 85% of local newsrooms that have unionized in union-friendly states.
Regardless of location, most unions come to be recognized through elections rather than voluntary recognition. One-third (33%) of local newsrooms in union-friendly states were voluntarily recognized by management, compared to 25% of local newsrooms in right-to-work states.
Local Newsroom Unions by State
Over the past five years, local newsrooms have unionized in 29 states, with California, Florida and New York having the most local newsrooms that have unionized, most likely because they are also among the top four states in terms of the number of local newsrooms. The remaining 26 states have fewer than 10 unionized local newsrooms, with 10 states having only one unionized newsroom. The map below highlights states the 29 states where these local newsrooms are located.