Northampton City Council backs NewsGuild in contract dispute
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Published: 5/7/2021 5:50:35 PM
NORTHAMPTON — Reporters and their co-workers at the Daily Hampshire Gazette got some support Thursday from the very people whose feet they’re paid to hold to the fire.
Northampton’s City Council, on first reading, voted unanimously — with one councilor, at-large councilor William Dwight, recusing himself — to stand in solidarity with the paper’s unionized employees, and to pass a resolution calling for Newspapers of New England to swiftly bargain a fair contract with them. NNE is the Gazette’s parent company.
“The key to effective government is an unbiased media. A newspaper is critical to that,” council President Gina-Louise Sciarra said. “Reporters need to know that their work is valued.”