AUSTIN, Texas — Journalists and employees with the Austin American-Statesman held a strike on Thursday, protesting the paper's parent company Gannett over wage concerns.
The primary root of the conflict stems from Statesman employees requesting a wage floor of $60,000 annually. Gannett countered by offering a $48,000 wage floor.
The 152-year-old paper has been owned by Gannett since 2019, which has seen several job cuts at each of its properties, including the Statesman.
Staff at the Statesman held a similar protest in June 2023. At that event, Austin staff said the $60,000 wage floor request came as the average price of living in Austin has grown to a point where the average home price in the city is over $625,000.
In 2023, the Austin NewsGuild, the union representing Statesman staff, claimed that management at the Dallas Morning News agreed to a $55,000 wage floor for union members and management at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram agreed to a $52,000 wage floor. For reference, the average home price in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is $484,603, the union said.
The picketing from the Statesman staff comes as other news organizations across the area have also looked to unionize. In January, staff with the Austin-based Texas Tribune announced their intention to unionize, citing their desire to unionize as the Texas Tribune Guild, part of the Media Guild of the West and the NewsGuild-CWA.