Bargaining update 3/17: Union presents initial proposal
Hi everyone,
First, thank you to everyone who shared our Instagram updates, changed their Slack profile picture or wore a T-shirt to advocate for a strong union contract on our first day of bargaining.
Our first bargaining session was largely straightforward. Representatives for the company laid out their expectations and ground rules going forward.
Then, members of the bargaining committee (Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild Executive Officer Courtney Scott, Taylor Blatchford, Dan Beekman, Caleb Shapiro, Dominic Baez, Gemma Wilson and yours truly) shared our opening proposals.
This is a summary of what we’re asking for:
Across the board raises for each year of the contract
Higher salary minimums depending on job class
More company holidays, bereavement days and starting new employees with 15 days of vacation a year
Additional job security and health care protections for employees on parental or medical leave
Protections for hybrid work
Protecting our jobs from being replaced by AI and ensuring that the company has to follow guardrails around AI use
Formalizing the severance policy the company has practiced in the past for layoffs
While presenting our wage proposal, Dan Beekman shared some cost of living statistics to management, none of which should surprise you all. The cost of living in Seattle is one of the highest in the country and many of our members are struggling to make ends meet, despite working for the second largest paper on the West Coast.
The median and mean income of our unit members falls around $77,000. Meanwhile, HUD estimates a one bedroom in King County costs $2,300, meaning the median earner at the Seattle Times is rent burdened and spending more than 30% of their income on rent.
“We’re the premier news source in this region. We’ve been held up as a model across the industry, and we think we should be paid on par with the work we’re putting out. We should be able to afford to live in this area,” Beekman said.
We’ll keep you updated and as always, please reach out to us if you have any questions or thoughts about bargaining.
Achieving contract wins will mean demonstrating to the company that we are united in our goals, so please don’t hesitate to speak up, attend a mobilizing meeting or change your slack background to support the guild.