• by Ray Schultz , January 24, 2024

The Texas Tribune staff announced Wednesday that it is unionizing, a move that follows the publication's first layoffs months ago.  

Eighty-six percent of eligible staffers asked editor-in-chief Sewell Chan and CEO Sonal Shah to recognize the union.

“For more than a decade, The Tribune has been an aggressive watchdog covering and demystifying state politics and policy for all Texans through voter guides, events and news coverage of the Texas Capitol and Congress,” the group’s mission statement says, according to NiemanLab. “We cover the entire state of Texas, with staff who live and work everywhere from Lubbock to San Antonio, Lufkin to El Paso. We want to work with our management to shape the next era of the Tribune. That is why we are forming a union.” 

In August, the digital nonprofit laid off 11 employees, 11% of its staff that included members of newsroom, engineering, design and operations teams. Two individuals had been with the Tribune since its launch in 2009.