Reporters and other news staff at the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska’s largest newspaper, announced today that they’re working to establish Alaska’s first unionized newsroom.
The Anchorage News Guild said in a news release today that it has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, a step necessary to hold a unionization vote. The group has also asked for voluntary recognition from the paper’s ownership.
Journalists across the country have pushed to unionize newsrooms in recent years, according to a report by the journalism industry-focused NiemanReports, in response to repeated rounds of layoffs, cuts and increasing workloads. Coming out of the pandemic, more than 100 newsrooms unionized, securing newsroom employees regular raises, better health coverage and protections against mass layoffs.
In its announcement, the Anchorage News Guild said it will “advocate for fair wages, increased transparency and a sustainable workplace environment.” About 80% of the newsroom publicly supports the guild joining The NewsGuild-CWA, which currently represents more than 25,000 newsroom employees, including The New York Times and Associated Press.
“Collectively, members of ADN’s unionization effort say they love working for the paper and feel honored to produce the award-winning journalism Anchorage deserves,” the announcement says. “They say they are unionizing to ensure they can continue to tell the stories of their community for decades to come.”
Like many newspapers, the Anchorage Daily News has adapted to a changing environment for media as print subscriptions have continued to fall. The paper moved to a twice-a-week publication model for its print edition, focusing on daily online content where online-digital subscriptions have continued to grow. It has broken several major stories in recent years, including stories that led to the resignation of two different attorneys general.
As the group’s unionization efforts move forward, it has asked for the community to sign a petition urging the paper’s ownership — the Fairbanks-based Binkley family — to give the guild voluntary recognition.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
