Workers at local newspapers owned by Hearst have accused the media giant of trying to “destroy unions” through anti-union tactics including violating contracts and bargaining in bad faith. The Albany Newspaper Guild, representing the Times Union in New York, said it has been more than 17 years without a contract, with little progress towards a new deal.
Wendy Liberatore, president of the Albany guild and a reporter at the paper, said the lack of pay increases had burdened employees struggling with rising living costs and higher healthcare deductibles. She also expressed concern that Hearst might outsource jobs to artificial intelligence. “Hearst newspaper management – in Albany, Connecticut, Austin and Dallas – is doing its best to destroy unions at its papers,” she said.
In Texas, the Austin NewsGuild said Hearst discarded a contract reached with the previous owner, Gannett, after acquiring the Austin American-Statesman in February 2025, removing pay raise guarantees and bolstered benefits. The union has been raising money for a potential strike. Meanwhile, the Dallas News Guild filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board after Hearst laid off 26 employees in November, two months after acquiring the Dallas Morning News, alleging a contract violation. Their contract expires on 30 June.
Hearst, which owns 30 daily and 50 weekly newspapers in the US and reported record revenues of $13.5bn in 2025, said it could not comment on pending complaints but was “committed to good faith bargaining” and had “actively met with union representatives for years”. A spokesperson described claims of stagnant wages as “simply inaccurate”, noting an annual merit cycle and that union employees had received increases even during negotiations. The company also said it had a strict policy on artificial intelligence with human oversight.
