Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild

Overview

Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, part of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), represents our editorial staff members.

Negotiation Teams

Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild

David Kroman, Staff Reporter

Dorothy Edwards, Staff Photographer

Margo Vansynghel, Staff Reporter

Beatriz Costa Lima, Producer

Katie Gillespie, Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild Representative

Cascade Public Media

Rebecca Farwell, Senior Vice President & COO

Carole Williams, Director of HR

Theresa (Terry) Briscoe, Attorney, Archbright

Stephanie Curran, Sr. HR Generalist (Observation)

Frequently Asked Questions

As of October 1, 2019 there are 21 editorial team positions represented.

Contract negotiations will take place until representatives from Cascade Public Media and News Guild reach a tentative agreement and the contract is ratified by bargaining unit members.

As we work through the contract negotiation process, our editorial team will continue to produce the same high quality, award winning journalism that our readers know and trust.

Cascade Public Media recognizes the right of employees to form a collective bargaining unit. The organization is not opposed to unions. Currently, we have many employees represented by IBEW and Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild. Our organization is committed to fair labor practices, and we will follow the processes and procedures as outlined by the NLRB.

On the morning of July 8, a group of employees gathered to deliver a document entitled Crosscut Employees Union Mission Statement. This document gave an overview of the group’s desires for representation, and was signed by 18 staff members. In the afternoon, CPM received a copy of formal notice of petition from the NLRB.

Democracy is a core value of civic journalism and, as a fundamental belief, we felt that everyone who could potentially be a part of this union should have a chance to vote in a secret ballot election. Because not every employee who may be subject to union representation was included on the Crosscut Employees Union Mission Statement submitted July 8, 2019, we declined to voluntarily recognize the union. We believe in giving every one of our staff a voice, and we are committed to following the processes and procedures as outlined by the NLRB.

The Crosscut Employees Mission Statement identified pay, vacation and benefits, and layoff protection as primary reasons for organizing.

Cascade Public Media is committed to local journalism today and for the long run. We have tripled the size of its newsroom since acquiring Crosscut in December 2015. The organization was founded on the belief that an informed public is essential to solving the challenges of our time. We are dedicated to a sustainable and vibrant future for nonprofit journalism in the Northwest.

The current, average pay for the editorial team bargaining unit positions is $61,000, based on role and level of experience.

Cascade Public Media has completed comprehensive, external compensation reviews the past two years and made adjustments to ensure that we are offering competitive pay to all employees.

We also conducted two external surveys of our benefits package to ensure they were competitive. All CPM employees working 20 hours or more hours per week are eligible for benefits. We offer medical, dental, vision, retirement with employer 401k contributions, life and disability insurance, paid leave (vacation, sick and holidays), tuition assistance, and transportation allowance. The benefits package is equivalent to about 25% of base compensation. Details are listed on our benefits page.

As of July 1 2019, including managers, six people have departed the editorial team over the past 12 months for a variety of reasons including retirement, other opportunities, and performance-related issues.

From June of 2018 through June 2019, we recruited and hired for 16 positions in the newsroom. Our editorial team continuously produces high-quality, award-winning journalism.

Unions