The Baltimore Sun Guild filed a federal labor complaint on Friday alleging that a former employee was fired from the newspaper because she was participating in activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act — and said the firing aimed to discourage other employees from doing the same.
Madeleine O’Neill was fired from The Baltimore Sun in mid-September. At the time, the guild said she was fired “because of her outspoken advocacy on behalf of the journalistic and workplace standards that the Guild is fighting to protect at the Sun.”
O’Neill was fired for speaking up about workplace concerns, which Christine Condon, the guild’s unit chair, said was wrongful. The guild concedes that O’Neill was a probationary employee and therefore able to be terminated “at will,” but said that does not mean the Sun could have fired her for an illegal reason.
The National Labor Relations Act is a federal law that protects all employees, not just unionized ones, from being disciplined or terminated for participating in “concerted activity.” According the the National Labor Relations Board, that includes multiple employees “discussing work-related issues beyond pay” and an employee “speaking to an employer on behalf of one or more co-workers about improving workplace conditions.”
Baltimore Sun management and owners did not respond to a request for comment.
Condon said O’Neill’s termination from The Baltimore Sun was related to O’Neill using the messaging platform Slack to share workplace concerns about journalism standards and content in a public setting, not anything to do with O’Neill’s job performance.
“We feel strongly that terminating her for that reason flies in the face of labor law,” Condon said.
O’Neill said in a text message she was grateful to have the guild’s support.
“My firing was clearly intended to discourage other reporters from speaking up when they have concerns about the Sun’s coverage under its new owners,” she wrote. “The union journalists still working there deserve better.”
O’Neill has been working on a freelance basis for The Baltimore Banner since she was terminated from The Sun, covering the city’s ongoing trial against opioid distributors.
The Baltimore Sun Guild is also charging management with implementing a rule that “prevents or discourages employees from participating in concerted protected activities.”
After O’Neill was fired, Condon said, managers changed a channel description in Slack to discourage employees from publicly expressing criticism or concerns in the channel and directed them to speak directly with a manager or supervisor instead.
The Baltimore Sun Guild, which represents reporters, photographers, sales representatives and other employees at the 187-year-old newspaper, has repeatedly raised concerns over “distressing changes” in the newsroom since it was purchased by David Smith and Armstrong Williams, and said journalistic ethics have been “tossed aside.” Smith is also the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group.
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