Reporters, Photographers, Newsroom Workers Asking Herald To Recognize Union

July 19, 2022

Everett

Received a press release this morning from a recently formed group called the Everett News Guild. The group is made up of 23 workers. Here’s the release sent out this morning.

Click to see the Everett NewsGuild Twitter page with more information.

Here’s the Everett NewsGuild Mission Statement. Click to enlarge.

Journalists of The Daily Herald newsroom announced Tuesday their intention to organize a union. About 95% of the Herald’s eligible newsroom employees signed union authorization cards, as well as a mission statement organizers presented to Herald publisher Rudi Alcott. The journalists are asking for voluntary recognition of the union from Sound Publishing, the Herald’s parent company.

The Everett NewsGuild will be represented by The NewsGuild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The NewsGuild is the largest union of journalists and media workers in North America.

“It’s a big step. It’s urgent we take it now and we take it together,” said Jerry Cornfield, a Herald reporter since 2004. “This isn’t simply a conversation about wages, benefits and working
conditions. This is about sustaining the newsroom’s talent and ingenuity for today, tomorrow and many years to come.”

The union is seeking recognition of a bargaining unit of 23 journalists, including reporters, editors, photographers, page designers and web producers. The Herald’s journalists believe in the necessity of local news to hold power to account, connect and inform communities. However, high turnover, pay disparities and the rising cost of living affect the newsroom’s ability to continue producing quality work.

“We’re trying to lay the groundwork for our current and future journalists to have not just a fulfilling career, but the ability to stay and invest in the community,” said local government
reporter Isabella Breda.

“Snohomish County can’t afford to lose another passionate journalist to a publication a few miles down the road. Newsroom workers at the daily paper have been working in unsustainable conditions to produce what the community demands. Sometimes that means covering a murder trial for poverty wages, getting a second job to afford rent, or working unpaid overtime to pull off a project.”

The Herald’s journalists are unionizing to preserve the quality local news Snohomish County deserves, and give staff a seat at the table.

“Journalism is the last bastion of functioning democracy,” said public safety reporter Ellen Dennis. “This move is not only about the future of local news, but also about the future of
Snohomish County and its residents’ right to be informed.”



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