Morning Call Guild walks off job in 1-day strike

Journalists represented by The Morning Call Guild walked off the job in a one-day strike in Allentown, Pennsylvania, taking aim at the publication's publisher, Alden Global Capital. Union members, including reporters, editors, and photographers, gathered at Allentown’s Arts Park for a noon rally to demand fair compensation, pointing out low pay and what they described as discriminatory wages.

According to reporting by Lehigh Valley Public Media, the reporting staff has shrunk dramatically amid buyouts over recent years. Union participants expressed frustration over uncompensated work expenditures and highlighted internal disparities, stating that women at the paper make less than men, that there are no female senior journalists, and that only one journalist of color remains on staff. Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that bought out the newspaper's former owner, has been known to slash newsroom staff at sites across the country in an effort to boost profits in the struggling newspaper industry.

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Guild Vice Chair Jennifer Sheehan emphasized the human cost of corporate cost-cutting measures during the demonstration.

"We’re at a point now where we need to take this drastic action and show that our work has value,"

Jennifer Sheehan, Reporter and Guild Vice Chair, via Lehigh Valley Public Media

"We aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. We aren’t just part of the cash machine that gives [Alden Global Capital] their money. We’re people."

Jennifer Sheehan, Reporter and Guild Vice Chair, via Lehigh Valley Public Media

The Morning Call publishes daily but closed its longtime building at Sixth and Linden streets in Allentown, with newsroom staffers working remotely since early in the pandemic.

Several high-profile political figures and community leaders attended the rally to show solidarity with the striking staff. Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk voiced frustration that the work stoppage caused local news coverage to miss municipal events, noting that the newspaper has underinvested in its facilities and people. Tuerk rushed in late from an event taking place simultaneously at City Hall, where Allentown officials were raising a flag to honor the Delaware Nation Tribe. Bethlehem Mayor William Reynolds and Bethlehem Director of Equity and Inclusion Janine Santoro also spoke, alongside representatives for U.S. Senator Bob Casey, NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss, and former journalist Melba Tolliver.

Reynolds stated that every elected official should be at the rally, noting that The Morning Call serves as one of the best friends to local leadership by providing context on difficult issues. Sheehan later responded to Reynolds' show of support, stating that community comes in many forms, including people in power, elected officials, and readers, and that the guild had to shine a light on the situation through transparency.

The strike coincided with the final days of campaigning for statewide primary elections. Democratic state representatives Malcolm Kenyatta and Sims addressed the crowd, criticizing the conditions that led to the labor dispute. Kenyatta, running for an open U.S. Senate seat, demanded that workers be treated with dignity and respect and paid for their critical work. State Rep. Brian Sims, running for the lieutenant governor's office, attributed the situation directly to racism, sexism, and greed. Neither the editor-in-chief of The Morning Call nor a spokesperson for Alden Global Capital responded to requests for comment.

The guild planned to remain off the job until Saturday morning, warning readers to expect a dramatic difference in local bylines and website content as the majority of the newsroom guild participated in the walkout.