At an organizational meeting held on August 21, 1947, editorial and newsroom employees of the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper voted to end their affiliation with the American Newspaper Guild's Madison chapter, which represented them and the editorial and newsroom employees of the Capital Times in collective bargaining. Attributing the move to the national union's “radicalism,” the Wisconsin State Journal employees formed their own union, the Wisconsin State Journal Editorial Association (WSJEA). On September 24, 1948, the WSJEA was officially authorized in an election sanctioned by the National Labor Relations Board. The new union's purpose, as stated in the 1947 constitution, was to “promote through appropriate activities the interests of the editorial staff members...including...bargaining collectively, maintaining provisions of the contract, pursuing grievances, and equally representing Association members.”
During the 1950's and 1960's the WSJEA was in a weak bargaining position due to its lack of a strike fund and a general inactivity on the part of its membership. Meeting only once a year, it became little more than a social club. An effort to remedy this began in 1974 when remerger with the Newspaper Guild of Madison was discussed, but no vote was taken at that time. This prompted a “reawakening” of the union's activities including filing of the union's first grievances against the company, and more intensive bargaining over hours, wages, benefits, and working conditions. Another attempt to merge WSJEA with the Guild was not successful, when on April 29, 1977 the proposal failed to receive the necessary two-thirds vote of the membership.
Today the WSJEA continues to provide the necessary dialogue between the editorial room employees and the management of the Wisconsin State Journal.
