South Bend Tribune, NewsGuild reach two-year agreement

SOUTH BEND — The union representing The Tribune’s reporters, photographers and some other newsroom employees on Tuesday signed a two-year contract, the first collective bargaining agreement since the newsroom voted in 2020 to form the South Bend NewsGuild, a union affiliated with the national NewsGuild-CWA.

The Tribune, founded more than 150 years ago, is part of Gannett, which publishes USA TODAY and more than 200 local news products across 43 states. The newspaper is one of nine USA TODAY Network newsrooms in Indiana, with sister newsrooms in communities including Indianapolis, Bloomington, Lafayette, Muncie and Evansville.

The contract raises base salaries for starting journalists and at two other experience levels, and it includes a pay increase in the second year.

"I'm excited that we've reached an agreement with the Guild," said Ismail Turay Jr., The Tribune executive editor and Midwest Group editor of the Center for Community Journalism. "We value our journalists and the important work that they do covering the South Bend region. So, it's always been our goal to reach an agreement that pays them fair wages."

Four years after voting to organize, the South Bend News Guild is pleased to have finally reached a collective bargaining agreement with Gannett, said Gayle Bell, the NewsGuild's president.

"Last month (during negotiations), we were happy to see some movement in wages by Gannett, as many of our members have not had a raise in many, many years," she said.

Guild units in Indianapolis and Phoenix ratified their own contracts with Gannett earlier this year.

"We are thrilled to reach this agreement for the benefit of our loyal readers and our valued newsroom colleagues as they champion the stories of the communities we proudly serve," said Kristin Roberts, Gannett’s chief content officer.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Tribune reaches contract agreement with news employee union