Press release from the Everett NewsGuild (June 26)
Everett Herald union members to end strike, return to work June 26
Following a two-day strike, Herald reporters, photographers and designers vote to go back on the job Wednesday.
Everett Herald staff plan to return to work Wednesday after company leadership agreed on a date to begin layoff negotiations this week.
Everett NewsGuild members represented by the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild (TNG-CWA #37082) participated in a one-day strike Monday in protest of significant newsroom layoffs from The Herald’s new parent company, Carpenter Media Group.
The Mississippi-based company announced layoffs of roughly half the Herald newsroom last week. Of 12 workers cut, 10 were NewsGuild members.
On Monday afternoon, members voted to extend the strike after company leadership failed to provide meeting dates to negotiate layoffs with the union. Before the strike, the company’s proposed date to implement union layoffs was July 1.
On day two of the strike, the employer offered a meeting on Friday, June 28 — the last business day before the company’s proposed date for the layoffs.
Under federal labor law, Carpenter Media Group cannot implement its proposed layoffs without negotiating the terms and effects with the union.
The upcoming bargaining session is set for 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. It’s unclear how many meetings it will take for NewsGuild members and the company to agree on layoff terms and effects. Prior to the layoffs, the company hosted one or two bargaining sessions each month with the union.
“We are so grateful to everyone who showed us support this week with letters, by joining us on the picket line or by donating to our strike fund,” said Sydney Jackson, a reporter and member of the union bargaining committee. “Together, we’ve shown this community cares deeply about local journalism. We’ll continue fighting to protect our paper.”
BACKGROUND INFO:
The Everett Herald is one of 43 media outlets in Washington and Alaska under Sound Publishing, the largest local news organization in Washington. The Herald is by far the most read, with 3.2 million monthly online page views and a print circulation of 18,627 each month.
The Herald is the oldest and most prominent source of news in Snohomish
County, the third largest and fastest growing county in the state – projected to hit 1 million people in the next few years.
This year, Herald staff won seven regional Society of Professional Journalism awards.
On March 25, Sound Publishing’s longtime parent company, British Columbia-based Black Press, sold to new ownership after filing for Canadian creditor protection, a process similar to bankruptcy in the United States. The new ownership includes Mississippi-based Carpenter Media Group as well as two Canadian investors, Canso Investment Counsel and Deans Knight Capital Management.
When Carpenter acquired Black Press, the company more than doubled its size.
• Carpenter Media owns more than 100 papers in the U.S. and has continued its shopping spree for other local newspapers, including about two dozen Oregon publications under Pamplin Media Group, the largest media company in the Portland metro area. Layoffs at The Herald have stoked fears for other Carpenter-owned papers.
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The Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild (TNG-CWA Local #37082) represents more than 250 workers in Washington and Idaho, united in the belief that strong jobs preserve strong journalism in the Northwest. Find more at pnwguild.org.
Earlier:
Press release Tuesday:
Everett Herald union workers extends strike, will picket in Everett on June 25
Following the layoff of 10 union workers and two editors, Herald reporters, photographers, editors and designers and community members are picketing to save jobs
Everett NewsGuild Layoff Picket
DATE: Monday, June 25
TIME: 9am – 3pm
LOCATION: Intersection of Colby and 41st near the Herald office.
The workers of the Everett NewsGuild on Tuesday announced the extension of their strike due to the employer’s failure to set bargaining dates and meet other demands.
Journalists at Everett’s Daily Herald newspaper, represented by the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA #37082, informed the company of their intention to conduct an open ended strike until the employer provides adequate time and dates for negotiations.
Carpenter Media Group, the Mississippi-based company that purchased The Daily Herald in March, announced its intention to lay off more than half its newsroom employees last week. Of those, 10 are in the 18-person union. Members went on strike Monday to protest the devastating cuts to the newsroom.
Though the company had initially informed the Guild of its desire to conduct layoffs effective July 1, it has so far rejected bargaining dates proposed by the union without offering alternatives.
“Carpenter has done nothing productive since wrecking our newsroom last week,” said Ryan Berry, a Herald photojournalist and member of the Guild’s bargaining committee.
The Guild has been in negotiations for a first contract with the company for more than a year.
Prior to reaching a contract, Carpenter Media Group cannot implement its proposed layoffs without negotiating the terms and effects with the union.
“Our owners are obligated to negotiate with us, and we’ve been ready to begin that work since Wednesday,” Berry added. “It’s become clear, though, that they’re not prepared to address the impact these layoffs will have – on those destined to lose their jobs as well as the newsroom workers who will remain.”
The Guild on Monday contacted Josh O’Connor, senior vice president for Carpenter Media Group, demanding that the employer move back its target layoff date and propose bargaining dates. As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, the company had not responded to that request.
“If company executives seriously believe that layoffs of this magnitude and breadth are necessary to the Herald’s future, they will not hesitate to meet us at the table, to begin hashing out the consequences of their wisdom,” said Nicholas Johnson, the Herald’s lead copy editor and page designer.
Dozens of community members, including local politicians and representatives from other unions in Snohomish County, joined the picket line in solidarity on Monday. A strike fund supporting the workers had raised nearly $12,000 by Monday evening.
“What gives me hope is seeing how much support we’ve received from our readers,”
Herald reporter Maya Tizon said. “They clearly love and care for this community as much as we do, and they see how the Herald’s journalism benefits their community.”
Members will picket from 9 a.m.
-30-
Monday:
On Monday, June 24, at 9:00 a.m., instead of clocking into work at The Everett Herald, Everett NewsGuild members, represented by the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, will participate in a one-day strike and picket in downtown Everett.
After a wave of layoffs Wednesday that cut newsroom staff in half, including 10 of 18 union workers, the Everett NewsGuild is asking new owner Carpenter Media Group to come to the bargaining table and reinstate these jobs.
“We are walking out to remind them that there is no product to leech off of without the journalists who go out and cover Snohomish County every day,” said Ryan Berry, a photographer on the bargaining committee who was laid off.
The NewsGuild is also protesting the company’s secretive use of a quota system in the layoff process that judged journalists not on the quality of their work, but on their story count and page views.
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