Unionized Journalists at the Anchorage Daily News have ratified a 2 year first contract with the paper’s owner Ryan Binkly. This marks the first union contract at an Alaska news publication.
Newsroom employees unionized in November 2024, joining the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, which also represents journalists in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
The agreement between the owners and management of the Anchorage Daily News and 17 newsroom employees guarantees minimum salaries, raises tied to company revenue and workplace protections for journalists. Union members include reporters, photojournalists, copy editors, online producers, web developers and graphic designers.
- Management can only discipline or discharge employees for just cause.
- Guaranteed severance
- IRS rate for mileage
- An Average of 5.6% immediate raise for current bargaining unit to correct long standing pay inequities
- $500 per year, per employee to fund training costs
- AI Policies and Procedures that will include Newsroom input
- The employer will not require employees to board flights, boats or other vehicles that the employee reasonably believes in good faith to be unsafe. (Which is an issue when you cover the entirety of a pretty rural state)
“This is a big achievement for Alaska journalists. It feels like we’re laying a foundation for the next generation to work in a sustainable, transparent newsroom,” said reporter Kyle Hopkins.
“I’m grateful to my colleagues and to management that we were able to come together, bargain in good faith, and work towards a contract reflecting both our aspirations for the organization as well as the realities facing it. It’s a hard time for journalism,” said reporter Zachariah Hughes.
“The fact that we have a local owner who lives in Alaska, cares about it and recognizes the challenges facing it is one of the major reasons we were able to get a contract done in under a year. While our members didn’t get everything we wanted, we got a heck of a lot more than we had. We are all looking forward to being able to recommit our energies fully to the hard work of reporting and covering the news, and believe getting this union up and running makes us better able to do that.”
You can follow the workers on Twitter/X @ancnewsguild and on Instagram @AnchorageNewsGuild