Gannett’s Rochester journalists objected in 2024 after a contract draft dropped language saying AI-generated news must supplement, not replace, local reporting. The April 24 draft allowed AI to generate news content without that limit. After a 19-day strike, the journalists ratified a June agreement that restored the supplementary-use protection as a contractual commitment. That describes the 2024 agreement; the wording of any successor contract is not established here.
What changed between the April contract drafts?
The dispute was about proposed contract wording, not a report that Gannett had already used the clause to publish unrestricted AI-generated local news. In its May 14, 2024 report, Digiday quoted two drafts sent during negotiations:
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| Draft | AI language and effect | Gannett AI policy |
|---|---|---|
| April 11, 2024 | AI “may be used to generate news content that is supplementary to local news reporting and is not a replacement for it.” The draft expressly limited AI to a supporting role. | The draft did not include the later wording that the policy could be modified “from time to time.” |
| April 24, 2024 | “Artificial intelligence (AI) may be used to generate news content.” The supplementary/not-a-replacement limit was removed. | The revised wording also said Gannett’s AI policy could be modified “from time to time.” |
The April 24 text was a bargaining proposal, not the final contract. The change mattered because it removed an express boundary on AI’s role in news production while leaving the company’s policy open to modification.
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Why did the journalists object?
The Rochester union’s concern was job security and the absence of written limits on AI’s role. Digiday reported that the Rochester unit had been bargaining for about two years and that members said they had received no explicit notice of the change between drafts. Justin Murphy, an education reporter and Newspaper Guild of Rochester member, told Digiday, “It was shocking and frustrating and disappointing.” He described the union’s demand as a written acknowledgment that AI would not replace journalists’ work or the journalists themselves.
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Digiday counted 25 newsroom members in the Democrat & Chronicle union in its May 2024 report. In its June announcement, the NewsGuild-CWA described the Rochester and Canandaigua bargaining group as 24 journalists. Those are separately dated counts from different sources, not a reconciled headcount. Digiday also reported that the NewsGuild represented more than 1,000 Gannett employees across more than 50 bargaining units.
What did the NLRB filing establish?
The union filed an unfair-labor-practice charge on April 24, 2024, alleging regressive proposals during bargaining. The NLRB case page lists a charge filed April 25, 2024, against Gannett’s Democrat & Chronicle operation. A charge records an allegation and a procedural filing; it is not, by itself, an NLRB finding that an unfair labor practice occurred.
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What did the ratified agreement say about AI?
On June 17, 2024, journalists at the Democrat & Chronicle and Canandaigua Daily Messenger unanimously ratified a two-year collective bargaining agreement after a 19-day strike, according to the NewsGuild-CWA. The union and WXXI News reported the agreement’s AI commitment: AI was “supplementary to local news reporting and is not a replacement for it.”
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThat negotiated commitment restored the core boundary missing from the April 24 draft. It is the outcome of the 2024 negotiations, not proof of the wording in a later successor contract. The two-year agreement’s term also means readers should not assume that its language remains in force in September 2026; the successor language is not established by the available reporting cited here.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does the dispute fit the wider labor debate over AI?
A November 2023 NewsGuild-CWA survey found that 90% of responding members said unions have a strong responsibility to enforce ethical and responsible AI use. That figure describes respondents to the union’s survey, not all journalists or the public. The result is published in the NewsGuild-CWA survey report.
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