Skip to main content
Join the Labor Heritage Foundation and help keep
the art and soul of the labor movement alive!


Find Out More

News / Articles

Workers at Five Pacific Northwest Newspapers Ratify Contract

Harold Phillips | Published on 7/1/2026

In an update to a story that we’ve previously reported on, union newsroom workers at McClatchy Media-owned outlets the Bellingham Herald, Olympian, Tacoma News Tribune, Tri-City Herald, and Idaho Statesman have secured a new collective bargaining agreement after more than a year on contract negotiations. The ratification comes after workers walked out on a one-day strike in May; at the time, the chair of the Washington State News Guild shared that many newsroom workers had gone without a raise for nearly two years.


“Solidarity works. By working together and leveraging our collective power, we made a raft of improvements that will make an immediate impact on our members,” said Eric Rosane, Washington State NewsGuild secretary and Tri-City Herald


Contract wins include raises of 7.2% to 15.5% over the three years of the contract, with immediate raises ranging from 3% to 11%. reporter. Workers are also celebrating language on artificial intelligence the Washington and Idaho NewsGuilds have characterized as some of the strongest AI protections in the news industry.


Read more