It’s not like Schleuss is a long-time unionist. He’s not. He’s never been a union member before, and unions weren’t a thing in his family. Schleuss, who’s married (no children, yet), comes from Arkansas, one of the least worker-friendly states in the country.
No, it’s fair to say Schleuss is a consummate white collar professional (which happens to be one of the fastest growing segments of organized labor in America as more than 420,000 professional workers joined unions from 2013 to 2017 to raise pay and increase benefits and to negotiate over professional standards).
His decision to vote, “Union Yes”, and to form a union is historic. He and the rest of the 400 editorial workers at the Times today formed the first new local newspaper union of the NewsGuild-CWA in almost 40 years. The vote wasn’t even close: 248–44.
Schleuss’s story illustrates why unionism is so attractive to professional workers like the men and women of the Los Angeles Times.
It started in 2016. Schleuss and others were concerned about the long-term prospects of the Times. The level of disconnect between the executives and the newspaper’s community of readers had grown vast.
“Good corporate leaders should invest in a company and create a path to growth, but instead we have people who are hell-bent on cutting and cutting, and enriching themselves,” he said.
The workers at the newspaper started calling around to different unions that represent media workers. They were concerned about who would uphold journalistic ethics and values at the media company.
“It hasn’t been the executives in Chicago, and that’s really unfortunate,” Schleuss said.
Schleuss and the other organizers approached the subject of organizing as if it were a major story. They had questions, and found answers. How are unions organized? What difference can a union make? How would it work? What would it look like?
The vote will be certified soon, and will give members a union voice at the 136-year-old institution. And then collective bargaining will start.
“The real challenge is ahead of us. We have to make sure we have space for everyone as we form our local. It will be a lot of work. I’m excited about it!” he said.