Herald Newsroom Employees Vote To Unionize, Seek First-Ever Contract

Received the following press release today from the Everett News Guild.

Journalists of The Daily Herald newsroom won formal recognition of their union on Thursday. The vote total was unanimous, with 19 members voting in favor of forming a union.

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.

The union includes reporters, editors, photographers, page designers and web producers at the Herald. Newsroom workers say they sought a union to preserve the quality of local news in Snohomish County. High turnover, pay disparities and the rising cost of living affect the newsroom’s ability to continue producing quality work, and staff want a seat at the decision-making table.

“We are thrilled by today’s unanimous win,” said education reporter Mallory Gruben. “This is a big step forward for creating sustainable jobs and journalism for our current and future staff
members — and for Snohomish County. We look forward to bargaining in good faith for a contract that properly recognizes the valuable work we do for our community.”

Newsroom employees at the Herald announced their intention to unionize in July. The company declined to voluntarily recognize the unit, even though about 95% of the eligible workers signed
union authorization cards. With the successful vote Thursday, the Everett NewsGuild can now move forward in bargaining a contract.