Up next: Everett (WA) Herald

62 people cut.
https://myeverettnews.com/2024/06/19/everett-herald-cutting-staff-in-half/

 

They have a newsroom staff of more than 120? Holy shit, I thought days of staffs that big were in the past, like dinosaur days in the past.

 

That's the kind of chickenshit tactics that you (often) need to sell your soul to rise to that level of management.

No problems in reporting all day long about layoffs and staff reductions at the local hospital/manufacturing plant/school district. But don't you dare look in our house!

 

That’s rough — Everett’s newsroom voted to join the NW Newspaper Guild a few years ago, and the new owner so far hasn’t worked one bit with the union.

They want to fire these veterans and, if they’re replaced at all, hire new reporters at $19 an hour. Good luck living in the Puget Sound area on that!

 

I should know this, but once they vote to join the Guild, don't they have some measure of protection? Or if the owner doesn't recognize them and refuses to negotiate, the Guild is basically window-dressing that does nothing for the workers?

 

That’s a good question — they organized under the previous ownership (Sound Publishing) and I don’t know if they ever negotiated a contract with the new owner out of Alabama.

Without totally outing myself, I can tell you the NW Newspaper Guild has had some success recently with a stronger contract at the Seattle Times and organizing newsrooms in Everett and (I think) Vancouver, Wash.

But I’m not sure what the union can do to prevent the downward spiral of this industry and the job reductions by attrition occurring at many union shops (including mine).

 

This came up during discussions of the Albertsons-Kroger merger. If the deal goes through (pray not), Krogerson would have to honor the agreed-to contract.

 

Article is up, just read it. Twelve newsroom staff cut. https://www.heraldnet.com/news/this...y-half-of-everett-herald-news-staff-laid-off/

 

Two in sports. Two left.

 

The linked article said that while the Guild was recently recognized as a union in Everett they had not yet reached agreement on a contract. In the absence of a contract I am not sure what the Guild could do, other than strike?

 

From that same blog, apparently the Herald posted a story about the layoffs, then removed it, then replaced it with another story that was frendlier to the new owners and softer about the cuts.

https://myeverettnews.com/2024/06/20/the-herald-censors-itself-after-layoffs/