07/28/2026
Some bosses still don’t get it. Support another newsroom’s fight against AI and for a living wage 👉 https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-keep-ai-out-of-your-newsrooms
SKAGIT NEWS WORKERS TO STRIKE THROUGH TUESDAY
Unionized journalists at the Skagit Valley Herald, Anacortes American and Stanwood-Camano News will continue their strike Tuesday, July 28, after the journalists and owner Adams MultiMedia failed to reach a deal during contract negotiations Monday.
The journalists, represented by the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, began their limited, three-day strike Friday, July 24, with the goal of reaching a deal Monday that would end the strike early. Instead, they will remain on strike until Wednesday morning.
Since November 2025, the journalists have been negotiating the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement with Adams MultiMedia, which continues to insist there be “no limitation” on its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate news content in the contract.
The journalists believe that is unacceptable, and so do the vast majority of readers the journalists have interacted with during their strike.
The company’s refusal to commit to any meaningful safeguards on AI usage within the contract threatens not only reader trust and the accuracy of the company’s news content but also the careers of its journalists and the future of its newspapers.
On Monday, the journalists proposed the company incorporate its own, existing guidelines for newsroom AI usage into the contract — something the company has so far been unwilling to do.
Beyond common-sense protections against AI, the journalists are seeking modest annual pay increases and a minimum wage of $20 per hour — which is only 90 cents more per hour than the company’s existing minimum wage.
Currently, the eight college-educated journalists make between $19.10 and $22.29 per hour, including members who have been with the company for more than 20 years.
A living wage in Skagit County is $23.87 per hour for a single adult with no children, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator.
The journalists often work second jobs to make ends meet while paying off student loans and struggling to both find and keep housing they can afford.
Without steady wage increases, the journalists that are dedicated to reporting on your community will be priced out.
On Monday, the journalists countered management’s most recent proposal with a two-year contract containing a minimum wage of $20 per hour in 2026, followed by a 2% annual raise, for employees with less than three years of service to the company. By 2027, those employees would receive $20.40.
Under that proposal, employees with three to five years of service would receive $22 per hour in 2026, with annual raises culminating in $24.44 per hour in 2027. Employees with five or more years of service would receive $24 in 2026, rising to $24.48 in 2027.
By contrast, the company has proposed a minimum wage of $19.48 in 2026, rising to $19.87 in 2027, for employees with less than three years of service.
For those with three to five years of service, the company has proposed $21.85 in 2026 and $22.09 in 2027. For those with five or more years of service, the company has proposed $22.47 in 2026 and $23.19 in 2027 — still 68 cents shy of a living wage.
The company also wants to treat journalists at the Anacortes American and Stanwood-Camano News differently than their peers at the Skagit Valley Herald by setting their minimum pay at $18 per hour.
The company’s own metrics show that the Anacortes and Stanwood-Camano reporters are producing the same if not more news content compared to their peers at the Skagit Valley Herald.
By contrast, the journalists’ wage proposal would apply equally to journalists at all three newspapers.
The journalists and the company are next set to negotiate in the latter half of August. If that meeting does not result in a deal, the journalists may strike once again, this time for an indefinite period of time.
The journalists are asking readers, subscribers and advertisers to contact the company’s management directly, including Publisher Rebecca Poynter and Human Resources Manager Deb Brooks.
Poynter can be reached at 360-416-2100 or [email protected]. Brooks can be reached at 360-416-2187 or [email protected].
The journalists are also asking readers and subscribers to refrain from clicking on articles from the Skagit Valley Herald, Anacortes American, and Stanwood-Camano News through the remainder of the strike.
The journalists plan to picket in Stanwood on Tuesday afternoon, and supporters are encouraged to join them. They will be at the corner of State Route 532 and Lien Street Northwest beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 28.
To support the journalists during their strike, consider donating to their GoFundMe. Donations help the journalists pay their bills while they fight to keep local news free of AI.
To learn more about their fight and to stay updated, please follow Skagit News Workers on social media.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Skagit-News-Workers/61584607364327/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skagitnewsworkers/
To contact the journalists directly, please email [email protected].
