In response to the US government’s offensive against journalists and journalism, the EFJ President Maja Sever today issued a message of solidarity with American journalists’ unions. “We cannot remain passive in the face of the attacks on our colleagues,” said Maja Sever. “This offensive also has an impact in Europe. We must join forces against the enemies of journalism and press freedom.”
These are tough times for American journalists, faced with the angry hostility of the Trump administration and its allies in the Big Tech sector. This new balance of power is not without effect in Europe, where authoritarian or illiberal governments are following the example of the new masters of the United States.
“Our thoughts go out to the journalists’ unions, in particular to the three IFJ affiliates in the United States, the National Writers Union (NWU), the NewsGuild-CWA and the Authors Guild, who are multiplying actions and positions to defend journalists and journalism. The EFJ expresses its full support to them.”
On 4 February, the Authors Guild and a coalition of civil society groups sent a letter to the new U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Edward R. Martin demanding that Martin clarify public statements suggesting he would use his public office to threaten critics of Elon Musk and the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Two days earlier, on 2 February, WIRED published an article naming six young engineers hired by Musk to work for DOGE, and Musk declared to the reporters, “You have committed a crime.” U.S. Attorney for D.C. Edward R. Martin Jr. escalated this threat, promising to pursue “all legal action against anyone who impedes [Musk’s] work or threatens [Musk’s] people.”
“This isn’t just wrong – it’s an unconstitutional stance that threatens the work of journalists, authors, and anyone documenting how our government operates”, reacted the Authors Guild, condemning Trump administration’s threats to prosecute journalists reporting on facts”.
On 7 February, the NewsGuild condemned President Trump’s decision to destroy the U.S. National Labor Relations Board’s decision-making authority by illigally firing Gwynne Wilcox, first Black woman to serve on the Board. “He also fired the general counsel and the acting general counsel,” the NewsGuild said. His moves have temporarily paralyzed the NLRB which is the only federal agency charged with protecting the organizing and bargaining rights of private sector workers in the United States.
“Trump’s removal of Wilcox deprives the NLRB of a quorum,” explained the NewsGuild.” And without that, the Board cannot issue final decisions on unfair labor practice complaints pursued on behalf of workers and unions, leaving statutory violations unremedied. Board decisions have a wide-reaching impact on the labor rights of tens of millions of workers in the private sector, whether they’re in a union or not”.
In such a context, the role of unions is even more crucial in defending media workers. The National Writers Union declared itself a “Sanctuary Union.” NWU has made a commitment to ensure the safety and security of its members regardless of immigration status: “We will not voluntarily cooperate with federal agents in the prosecution or attempted deportation of members of the National Writers Union (…), we will mobilize support for Sanctuary Cities and Sanctuary Campuses”. NWU stands in solidarity “with all communities under attack, and understands that the time for unity is now, and that standing united with all workers, particularly the most vulnerable among us, will be key to beating back the attack on our unions and our standard of living in the years to come”.
“We in Europe feel full solidarity with this call for trade union unity,” concludes Maja Sever. “And we wholeheartedly welcome the commitment of our American colleagues to counter government censorship, the erosion of social protection and the government’s hunt for migrants. We want our colleagues to know that we stand with them.”
Source: EFJ
