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Sightline Media Union

@sightlineunion.bsky.social
35 followers 11 following 15 posts

The @wbng.org union for Defense News and Military Times journalists | Reach us at sightlinemediaunion@gmail.com

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Sightline Media Union @sightlineunion.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
On Monday our union came to the table ready to bargain with management, six weeks after they last gave us a meeting. We sent them a counterproposal last week in which we compromised considerably on our very reasonable demands, expecting them to find some middle ground with us. 1/3
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Sightline Media Union @sightlineunion.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Defense News and Military Times journalists past and present came together yesterday to stand up for our union and fight for a fair contract! We made sure people at these events heard us and what we want. Thanks so so much to everyone who helped out and provided moral support to us. #UnionStrong
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Washington-Baltimore News Guild @wbng.org · 04/09/2025
At the company’s Defense News Conference, the journalists of @defensenews.bsky.social and @militarytimes.bsky.social stood up for their rights. 📸 Sightline Guild members wore red, leafleted and spoke out — showing the industry that it’s time for management to stop union busting & bargain fairly!
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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Solidarity for my former colleagues, some of the absolute best in a business that isn't so much dying as being actively killed
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Stephen Losey @stephenlosey.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Union leadership — myself, @jenjudson.bsky.social and @calbon.bsky.social — showing our colors at #DNconf to advocate for a fair contract for our members.
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Stephen Losey @stephenlosey.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: Members of the @sightlineunion.bsky.social are wearing red and leafleting outside the #DNconf this morning to tell Sightline Media to STOP its union busting and give us a fair contract!
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Sightline Media Union @sightlineunion.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
SIGHTLINE MEDIA UNION UPDATE: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH We are approaching 1 year at the bargaining table & management has shown little to no real movement on the issues that matter most to us. While we continue to show up every day & keep this company running, management continues... 🧵
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Casey Laughman @caseylaughman.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
I am proud to be part of the Sightline Media Union, and I appreciate the work the negotiating committee is doing to get us a fair contract.
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Sightline Media Union @sightlineunion.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Two weeks ago, we sent our CEO Michael Reinstein this letter asking him to come to the table to negotiate directly with us. We received no response, so are releasing it publicly. We renew our call for direct negotiations with our CEO to produce a fair and equitable contract. 1/2
A letter from the Sightline Media Union to Michael Reinstein: Chairman, Regent LPWe are writing today to respectfully ask for your help resolving the gridlock that we fear is endangering the survival of Sightline Media Group and its publications.

We know you are someone who cares deeply for journalism, and the military community these publications serve. We agree that it is an honor and a privilege to support service members and their families by providing truthful, timely and trailblazing news, in a way that both informs and entertains.

But today, we are increasingly alarmed by the situation that now exists at Sightline Media Group, and are worried that unless things change soon, the already-understaffed publications will continue to bleed talent that goes unreplaced. We have lost multiple vital staff members over the last year, and if this continues, we may reach a point of no return that places the papers’ very existence in jeopardy. The heart of the issue is the unresolved contract negotiations, which have left in limbo efforts to bring on replacement reporters and severely damaged morale in the workplace. Reporters do not know what the future will hold, and as a result several vital employees have turned in their resignation notices.

We have been negotiating for nine months now, and at the table, we have clearly communicated the issues we hope to improve so we can continue creating this important journalism.

However, the company’s negotiating team has time and again rejected the vast majority of our substantive proposals. Often, they counter with nothing more than what the company already offers, or propose improvements that are so minuscule they do not come close to addressing the longstanding problems in our workplace. Most recently, negotiators rejected our proposal to set up a merit-based pay system that would provide employees incentives to produce excellent work. In its place, negotiators offered a 1% raise, and then upped the proposal to a mere 1.25% — something that would not even keep up with inflation. This comes on the heels of the mass layoffs the company instituted exactly a year ago right after our unanimous vote to unionize. The slow, incremental pace of negotiations also means that one year later, those seven employees have not yet received severance packages despite their years of dedicated service to Sightline Media Group. 

These — and other similar rejections — sends a message to experienced, knowledgeable and dedicated employees that we are not valued and not wanted. That is a hard message to receive, and if that is all the company is prepared to offer, that will prompt even more of our reporters to seek employment elsewhere.
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Sightline Media Union @sightlineunion.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Saturday marked one year since Sightline Media Group unjustly laid off 9 reporters and editors, including 7 union members. We in the Sightline Media Union continue to support our brothers & sisters, and still fight to challenge their layoffs and get them the fair treatment they deserve. #solidarity
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Sightline Media Union @sightlineunion.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Today we filed the latest unfair labor practice charge against Sightline Media Group, protesting their full-time in-office mandate. Please share this and tell @mortgreenberg.bsky.social, Kelly Facer and Regent to rescind this order and bargain with @sightlineunion.bsky.social in good faith.
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