The Everett Herald saga continues: Everett Guild members strike on Monday

On Tuesday, June 18, Sound Publishing’s new owners, Mississippi-based Carpenter Media Group, announced within a day that they Dismissal of 55% of the workforce.

The next day was filled with sadness, especially at their largest newspaper, the 123-year-old newspaper company The Everett Herald. One by one, employees were told they were being laid off.

Herald reporters tried to capture this moment by writing an article about it. Then it was censored the next morning – completely removed from the site. It was then reinstalled, but significantly modified.

The boldest statement in this article remained: Everett Herald editor Rudi Alcott noted: “There will be no major changes to the company in the future. Readers will not notice anything.“As if the 62 people who were just released really didn’t matter.

Carpenter Media Group was probably looking forward to the news dying down over the weekend, but the Everett NewsGuild has other plans.

On Monday, June 22nd, Everett NewsGuild members will strike. 10 of 18 have been released, but eight are still there.

Although it is only a one-day strike, it is intended to protest against the layoffs, as well as the company’s “secret introduction of a quota system that judges journalists not on the quality of their work but on the number of stories and page views they write,” writes former Herald reporter Isabella Breda.

According to the Federal Labor Law, the employer cannot dismiss employees without first negotiating with the union.

And if the 55% figure is correct, then a quick calculation tells me that Carpenter Media Group and Sound Publishing may also violate the WARN Actrequires the company with more than 100 employees to notify workers and state and local officials 60 days before a mass layoff. If the U.S. Department of Labor finds this to be the case, the former employees may be entitled to an amount equal to back pay and benefits for the period of the violation, up to 60 days.

The strike will take place on Monday, June 24, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.starting at the intersection of Colby & Hewitt in downtown Everett and ending at the intersection of Colby & 41st near the Herald office.

Meanwhile, former Herald reporter Isabella Breda has launched a GoFundMe campaign that has (at the time of writing) already raised $6,755 of the $8,000 goal to help offset lost wages during the one-day strike.