The union One Triibe United said the recent firing of a journalist at the Chicago-based Black news outlet The Triibe was retaliation for its labor organizing efforts.Corli Jay, The Triibe’s former community investment reporter, was fired Monday. Another newsroom employee was laid off in February, marking the second termination at The Triibe’s small newsroom in recent weeks.One Triibe United asked for voluntary recognition of its union and Jay’s immediate reinstatement, according to a Wednesday Instagram post from the group. The Triibe’s leadership stated Jay “had broken nonexistent company ethics rules,” according to the social media post.One Triibe United also created a petition calling for the newsroom’s leadership to recognize the union. It had nearly 850 signatures as of Thursday.The Triibe publisher Morgan Elise Johnson said Jay was terminated for crossing journalism ethics lines, not for union organizing.Johnson said leadership will consider voluntarily recognizing the union.“That decision will come when we are able to deliver it from a healthy headspace,” she said in an email.But One Triibe United said in a news release this week that firing Jay was “intended to send a chilling message: that, though Triibe leadership claims to support ‘workers’ rights to unionize,’ they don’t actually mean it.”The union is scheduled to vote Mar. 25, in an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. It seeks to join the Chicago News Guild.One Triibe United will file an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB about Jay’s termination.The Triibe’s website lists five team members, including Jay, Johnson and Editor-in-Chief Tiffany Walden. In an Instagram post this week, Johnson said Jay requested press credentials for herself and a non-Triibe employee without management approval. According to Johnson’s post, Jay was dishonest about the intent of the press credential and created “reputational harm” for The Triibe, among other issues. “We will not tolerate our brand being misrepresented,” Johnson said in the post. In February, a majority of eligible staff signed cards and a mission statement to support forming a union, according to One Triibe United. A February filing with the NLRB indicated four employees in the union. Three people signed One Triibe United’s mission statement, including Jay, systemic racism reporter Tonia Hill and former art director Ashley Lane, who was laid off in February.The union aims to “build an environment grounded in equity, honesty and respect, ensuring our organization’s values reflect the accountability and justice that we seek daily for the communities we serve,” according to its mission statement.Johnson and Walden launched The Triibe in February 2017 to focus on the experiences and stories of Black communities. ...read more read less