What impact does Carpenter Media Group have on local Pacific Northwest newspapers?
Carpenter Media Group has purchased over 70 news outlets in Washington, Oregon and Alaska in the past few years and publications without a unionized staff have faced devastating layoffs. The Portland Tribune just laid off most of its staff, leaving the paper with just a handful of journalists and no editor. This is a pattern of behavior we have seen from Carpenter, which now owns a majority of the PNW’s local media outlets.
However, when workers unionized prior to Carpenter purchasing their news outlets, they have been able to push back. In the summer of 2024, Everett Herald workers went on a 3-day strike over Carpenter Media’s refusal to bargain when announcing layoffs, which is required for a unionized staff. Because of the successful collective action of our members, management was forced to the bargaining table and workers had say how the layoffs would be handled. Non-union workplaces have no such rights.
Now a year later, management at the Everett Herald continues to stonewall our members as they seek a first contract. At the last bargaining session, management proposed a meager $20.50 an hour for their work, just over a quarter more than Everett’s minimum wage.
In addition, management are demanding that journalists write 2-3 stories per day in order to receive an additional $1 per hour. Lawyers have tried to gaslight our members by insisting that this is standard practice at other Carpenter publiations: “…at least 16 publications nationwide have an expectation that their reporters contribute at least 2 stories per day. Some require at least 3 stories per day. Again, generally, the intent is that all publications will be at a minimum of 2 to 3 stories per day. The Daily Herald is subjected to the same expectation as elsewhere. I’m not aware of any publication under Carpenter Media’s umbrella that is not or will not be held to this same standard.”
However, based on our conversations with journalists at other Carpenter Media publications, including those represented by NewsGuild locals, that a quota is not the standard. Ultimately, our members firmly believe that quotas like this will degrade the quality of reporting that the subscribers and the public deserve. It will incentivize quantity over quality. Our local communities deserve better.
In Bend, Ore., management proposed layoffs in December of last year. However, thanks to a strong pushback by our members, we’ve been able to prevent those from happening for the time being. We believe that management has not shown sufficient economic reasoning to cut staff prior to the union securing its first contract. As of July 7th, 2025, we have yet to receive a wage counter-proposal to the union economic proposal presented weeks ago. Instead, the company lawyer showed up to bargaining once again trying to lay off workers without having finished a contract.
