Op-Ed: I Support the Hudson Valley News Guild

from County Executive Ed Day

What has happened to local news coverage is both obvious and distressing with continuing cuts to staffing having a noticeable effect here in Rockland and around the Hudson Valley. I support the efforts of local journalists at the Journal News, Times Herald-Record and Poughkeepsie Journal in forming a union to fight for fair wages and a seat at the decision-making table.

As the son of a union electrician and a union member myself I recognize that America was built by unions; they fought to improve working conditions and established many of the benefits we all enjoy today like an eight-hour workday, child labor laws, health insurance and vacation time.

I wish these new Hudson Valley News Guild members well and call on Gannett to voluntarily recognize their union and begin the negotiation process immediately. These hard-working journalists and our residents who rely on them for local news deserve nothing less.