• by Ray Schultz , June 25, 2024

A one-day strike to protest layoffs at the Everett (Washington) Herald was extended into Tuesday “due to the employer’s failure to set bargaining dates and meet other demands,” the Everett NewsGuild said.  

The owner, Alabama-based Carpenter Media, announced last week that it was laying off 10 of 18 union workers at the Herald, and a total of 62 staffers overall at Sound Publishing, according to local reports.

The layoffs included the executive editor, managing editor, page designer, web producer, six reporters and two photographers, KOMO News writes.

A post by Everett NewsGuild said, “Please support our strike by refusing to cross the picket line. Do not read or engage with @EverettHerald today.” 

“And if scab workers from Carpenter Media Group contact you, please decline to provide an interview.” 

Carpenter announced in April that it was acquiring Sound Publishing’s owner, Black Press Media of Canada, with Canadian institutional investors Canso Investment Counsel and Deans Knight Capital Management. 

Sound Publishing publishes more than 40 newspapers in the state of Washington, including the Everett Herald and Okanogan Valley-Gazette Tribune, plus three titles in Alaska and following Seattle Weekly, an online news site.