Everett NewsGuild Strike Fund

My name is Isabella Breda and I’m a member of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild and a former reporter at The Daily Herald of Everett.

On Wednesday, Carpenter Media Group, owners of the Everett Herald, announced the decimation of the newsroom. The company intends to lay off 10 of its 18 union-represented workers, along with talented editors and other staff across Sound Publishing newspapers in Washington and Alaska.

I started this GoFundMe to raise funds for my former colleagues at the Herald, one of the few remaining newspapers serving Everett and Snohomish County – one of the fastest growing counties in the state.

The Herald’s journalists work passionately and tirelessly to keep Snohomish County informed. A sizable reduction in the staff would be immediately felt in residents’ access to information about how their local government works, what’s on their ballot, local prep sports scores and so much more.

Members will go on a one-day strike on Monday, June 24, to protest these layoffs, along with the company’s secretive implementation of a quota system that judges journalists not on the quality of their work, but on their story counts and page views.

Under federal labor law, the employer cannot implement layoffs without first bargaining with the union.

These workers are not being paid while they’re on the picket line, so we’re asking for your help to make these journalists whole for their time.

I will work with the Everett NewsGuild’s leadership to transfer funds directly to members. Any money raised in excess of our goal will go to support workers affected by the company’s cuts.

Why is the Everett NewsGuild on strike?

Workers at the Everett Herald voted to unionize in September of 2022, and have been locked in contract negotiations with the company ever since.

The company has slow-walked negotiations, taking a year to present an insultingly low wage proposal – which starts at $19.50 an hour – that does not reflect the cost of living in Snohomish County. Last week, the employer announced layoffs that would severely undercut remaining journalists’ ability to report on the community they love.

This GoFundMe is meant to provide support for the Everett NewsGuild union members who are on strike and experiencing an interruption to their normal pay and benefits.

*Funds from the Everett NewsGuild strike fund are collected independently from the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild.