Journalists from the Thomson Reuters news agency in the United States will go on strike for 24 hours today, citing dissatisfaction with their salary. The journalists say that the 1% annual pay rise offered by the company was insufficient due to rising inflation.
In the United States, inflation has now surpassed 9%, outstripping wage growth for many workers. The strike, organised by the Communication Workers of America subsidiary NewsGuild, will include around 90% of Rueters 300 affiliate members.
The striking workers accuse Reuters of acting in ill faith. According to one union-affiliated journalist, before the Covid pandemic, employees of the company were asked to increase their workload without any additional remuneration in return. The journalists believe that they are being treated unfairly.
Reuters, in an email addressed to the union, said that it was “fully engaged in constructive salary negotiations” with the strikers. The company hopes to reach an agreement with the striking journalists in the near future.
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The NewsGuild union represents journalists from major U.S newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Bloomberg News Agency, and others. Recently, the union organised strike action against working conditions at the Miami Herald and online news website BuzzFeed.
The workers began their strike action at 06:00 in New York (12:00 in Belgium). Reuters has said that it will attempt to limit the impact of the strike on readers. The company is set to publish its quarterly report today.
