Omaha World-Herald employees take steps to unionize

Members of the newsroom staff of The Omaha World-Herald have filed cards with the National Labor Relations Board stating their desire to be represented by The NewsGuild-CWA. Seventy-five percent of the 95 journalists who work as reporters, copy editors, designers and photographers in The World-Herald’s newsroom signed cards, said a news release from the guild.

The cards, filed on Sept. 13, will trigger an NLRB-monitored election by World-Herald staff members in the next 20 to 40 days unless the newspaper’s owner, Omaha-based BH Media Group, part of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway company, voluntarily recognizes The NewsGuild as the workers’ union, according to the guild.

The World-Herald, which BH Media’s website says has more than 100,000 print subscribers and 1 million unique visitors per month at Omaha.com, would become the first newspaper in Nebraska to have a unionized newsroom.

BH Media struck a deal with Iowa-based Lee Enterprises to manage The World-Herald and other BH Media papers. Lee’s management began in July.

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