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Yesterday was Union Day. The journalists of the Capital Gazette, the Carroll County Times and the Baltimore Sun Media Group have united to form a union. Want to learn more? Visit the Chesapeake News Guild website. And here’s their promotional video. 

Taken from their mission statement:

We are tired of bearing a workload that requires a newsroom four times the size. We are tired of not receiving reasonable cost of living raises, despite the fact we bear the additional responsibilities of our former co-workers. We are tired of having staffs too small to cover all the stories our readers care about.

It seems as though we were just talking about this, doesn’t it?

BaltSun reporter Pamela Wood tweeted this morning:

Speaking to a political club in Columbia (the Columbia Democratic Club) tonight, I heard concerns from members that they want a strong @HoCoTimes/Columbia Flier. I urged them to show support for @ChesapeakeGuild in order to support the dedicated journalists who cover their community.

If you want to support stronger local journalism and fair working conditions for local journalists, here’s what you can do:

SUBSCRIBE

I subscribe to the Baltimore Sun purely to have access to local coverage. I also subscribe to the Capital Gazette to support the paper. Considering a subscription? These are the publications represented by the Chesapeake News Guild:

The Capital Gazette, Caroll County Times, plus all the local publications under the Baltimore Sun Media Group, such as The Aegis Of Harford County, Howard County Times, Towson Times, and Soundoff of Ft. Meade.

Another way you can support local journalism while you are out and about in the world and on social media is to kindly explain why those articles people want to read are behind that troublesome paywall. Remind them that nobody works for free and that journalists have to eat. For more ways to support, go here.

Something to ponder, from Capital Gazette’s Joshua McKerrow:

The BSMG papers are paid DRASTICALLY lower wages than union-protected Sun journalists. And they use our work to fill their paper...They get my 18 years of photojournalism experience at a third of what they pay Sun photogs.

On Tuesday evening the live recording of local podcast Elevate Maryland concluded in its usual fashion, with this question:

What do we all need to do to Elevate Maryland?

Guest Alec MacGillis: I would say top of the list would be to do everything we possibly can to support Maryland media. It matters so much to have people covering stuff. To do everything you can, subscribing, donating...

Subscribe. Spread the word in support of the Chesapeake News Guild. Let your friends, neighbors, and coworkers know you are proud to pay for local journalism.