San Antonio Report staff walks off job after layoff of audience editor

Fifteen staffers at the San Antonio Report walked off the job Wednesday after the nonprofit media organization unexpectedly laid off its audience editor.

The workers, who last week announced plans to organize as the San Antonio Report Union, will unconditionally return to work Thursday, a representative told the Current.

The laid-off editor, Sandra Santos, revealed her termination Wednesday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Coworkers and others expressed frustration over the situation in their responses to the tweet.

"After more than 30 years of dodging the layoffs bullet, I was finally taken out by the San Antonio Report," Santos wrote. "It's been a helluva ride and I've met some very wonderful people along the way. Onward to the next chapter. And if you know of any openings, let me know!"

After more than 30 years of dodging the layoffs bullet, I was finally taken out today by @SAReport. It’s been a helluva ride and I’ve met some very wonderful people along the way. Onward to the next chapter. And if you know of any openings, let me know! pic.twitter.com/XvsLUg7jL1

— Sandra Santos 🌊 (@sandrasantos) January 24, 2024

San Antonio Report education reporter Isaac Windes, a member of the fledgling union and a participant in the walkout, said the nonprofit may have broken the law when it terminated Santos.

"We're in the critical period within two weeks of asking for voluntary recognition, so that's why we're making an unfair labor practice filing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and why we walked out today in solidarity with our coworker," Windes told the Current.

San Antonio Report CEO and Publisher Angie Mock didn't respond to a request for comment by press time Wednesday afternoon.

Reporters, editors, business staffers and photojournalists at the 12-year-old San Antonio Report revealed their plans to unionize in a Wednesday, Jan. 17, tweet. They gave management until the following day to recognize the union.

Mock didn't meet that deadline but told the Current via email that she "signaled a likelihood and desire to work with the union as quickly as possible."

Just the same, workers moved ahead with filing NLRB paperwork to hold an election, representatives said.

Union member and San Antonio Report Senior Reporter Iris Dimmick said Wednesday that management warned staff in early January that layoffs were imminent due to budget constraints. That was before workers revealed their plans to organize, she added.

Dimmick said staff began discussing the idea of unionizing in 2022, adding that July's layoffs at the Texas Tribune upped the urgency.

Indeed, workers at the nonprofit Tribune on Wednesday announced their own intention to unionize, tweeting that they "stand in solidarity with our peers at the San Antonio Report."

Today we also stand in solidarity with our peers @SAReportUnion.

— Texas Tribune Guild (@texastribguild) January 24, 2024

Santos' termination came hours after the Los Angeles Times laid off 115 newsroom employees, many reportedly journalists of color.

"[Santos] was a member of our Women of Color Committee that we had at the Report," science and utilities reporter Lindsey Carnett told the Current. "It's hard to see another woman of color get laid off this week."

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