September 20, 2019

As unionized employees of media outlets, we are members of Unifor, the private-sector trade union that represents more than 300,000 Canadian workers in 20 sectors of the economy. But many of us are also journalists whose livelihoods depend on being able to report the news free of outside influence.

Like the vast majority of Canadians we have the right to join a union and defend our jobs and working conditions. Sometimes, this aligns us with the broader labour movement — unionized workers in a variety of sectors who can and do take stands on many issues. We recognize that for them, this is fine. But it may leave some observers with a false impression of Unifor-affiliated journalists because we are under the same labour umbrella. While we have no doubt that our journalism is uncompromised by our union membership, others may see things differently.

Public perception of our work matters for us in a way that it doesn’t for workers in most industries. Having the trust of our audiences is what gives us credibility. And these days, the perception of journalists is not always great. This is magnified in an election year. Readers and politicians alike may harbour suspicions about the motivations of the journalists who cover politics, and their bosses. But we hope and believe that most audiences understand this fact: our professionalism and integrity are too important to be subject to the whims of our employers — or our union.

We have been watching with growing concern as the president of Unifor, Jerry Dias, has led a very public campaign against the leader of the federal opposition, Andrew Scheer, and his Conservative Party. When the head of Unifor speaks, many of our readers assume that his words reflect the views of his members, including media workers. Attacks aimed at any political party, leader or candidate can introduce doubt among readers about bias and the independence of journalists. Meanwhile, those on the receiving end of such attacks will gladly inflame such doubt to further their own agendas.

To us, it doesn’t matter which political parties Mr. Dias or the Unifor executive decide to support or oppose. Our response would be the same if Unifor’s political action was against Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. Journalists must remain independent to be taken seriously.

Mr. Dias says that he and the national union office will carry on with an “aggressive campaign” to warn Canadian voters about the Conservatives’ “anti-worker” platform ahead of election day. As journalists first and foremost, we would like to make this point clear: On matters of partisan politics, Jerry Dias and Unifor do not speak for us.

Signed,

Mason Wright, The Globe and Mail

Adrian Morrow, The Globe and Mail

Amberly McAteer, The Globe and Mail

Doug Saunders, The Globe and Mail

Matt Lundy, The Globe and Mail

Steven Chase, The Globe and Mail

Daniel Leblanc, The Globe and Mail

Evan Annett, The Globe and Mail

Adrian Lee, The Globe and Mail

Peter Scowen, The Globe and Mail

Michael Haslett, Global National

Carrie Tait, The Globe and Mail

Bryan Gee, The Globe and Mail

Sean Silcoff, The Globe and Mail

Elizabeth Renzetti, The Globe and Mail

Joy Yokoyama, The Globe and Mail

Simon Houpt, The Globe and Mail

David Akin, Global News

Cliff Lee, The Globe and Mail

Carine Abouseif, The Globe and Mail

Janice Dickson, The Globe and Mail

Michael Snider, The Globe and Mail

Chris Hannay, The Globe and Mail

Campbell Clark, The Globe and Mail

Marieke Walsh, The Globe and Mail

Michelle Zilio, The Globe and Mail

Erin Anderssen, The Globe and Mail

Kristy Kirkup, The Globe and Mail

Nicolas Van Praet, The Globe and Mail

Jeffrey M Jones, The Globe and Mail

Sherrill Sutherland, The Globe and Mail

Jeremy Agius, The Globe and Mail

Renata D’Aliesio, The Globe and Mail

Christine Dobby, The Globe and Mail

Melissa Tait, The Globe and Mail

Josh O’Kane, The Globe and Mail

Nathan VanderKlippe, The Globe and Mail

Shannon Proudfoot, Maclean’s

Ricardo Veneza, CTV News Windsor/AM800 News

Brian Thomson, The Globe and Mail

David Parkinson, The Globe and Mail

Robyn Doolittle, The Globe and Mail

Judith Pereira, The Globe and Mail

John Daly, The Globe and Mail

Adam Radwanski, The Globe and Mail

Tom Cardoso, The Globe and Mail

Jeff Gray, The Globe and Mail

Ryan Thorpe, Winnipeg Free Press

Kathy Tomlinson, The Globe and Mail

Matthew Uhrig, Winchester Press

Justin Ling, Freelance, member of the Canadian Freelance Union

Joe Castaldo, The Globe and Mail

Tim Smith, Brandon Sun

Max Wark, CTV Kitchener

Oliver Moore, The Globe and Mail

Tom Brodbeck, Winnipeg Free Press

Steve Alexander, Global News

Tim McKenna, The Globe and Mail

Joe Fries, Penticton Herald

Erik Pindera, Global News Winnipeg

John Ibbitson, The Globe and Mail

André Picard, The Globe and Mail

Mark Bryson, Waterloo Region Record

Mark MacKinnon, The Globe and Mail