Journalists at Bay Area community news and entertainment publisher Embarcadero Media have announced they are unionizing, saying they want a “seat at the table” to work on a contract addressing newsroom diversity, workloads and wages.
In a statement, newsroom workers at such publications as Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice, The Almanac and Pleasanton Weekly said the past few years at the company have been marked by layoffs, cuts in hours and employees leaving for higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
“As the backbone of Embarcadero Media — reporters and designers, editors and visual journalists — we demand a more diverse, equitable newsroom where employees earn living wages and aren’t forced to take second jobs to make ends meet,” according to the statement, which was issued by Embarcadero Community News Guild. “We deserve to have a say in our job descriptions and workloads, to be compensated fairly for working overtime and to be supported through mentoring and professional development opportunities.”
The workers are asking Embarcadero Media to voluntarily recognize their union, which is represented by the Pacific Media Workers Guild, the same organization that represents journalists at this newspaper. They note other news organizations that have recently voluntarily recognized unions include CalMatters, ProPublica and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.
Embarcadero Media CEO Adam Dawes said Wednesday he is new to such labor relations and is studying the issue with the organization’s management team to respond effectively. He said some layoffs and reductions in hours were done this year to cut costs amid declining advertising revenue, adding that no editorial employees were affected by those reductions. In order to pursue the company’s mission, Dawes said, Embarcadero Media must to get closer to profitability than it currently stands. He said the company is proud of its editorial staffers and looks forward to working collaboratively with them going forward.
Founded in 1979, Embarcadero Media operates three community newspapers and eight news and entertainment websites, serving Bay Area communities from the Peninsula to the East Bay, according to the company. About 45 people work at the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto and East Bay office in Pleasanton.
Source: www.mercurynews.com