Newspaper journalists across Washington and Idaho have ratified a three-year contract with McClatchy Media that creates protections against generative artificial intelligence and guarantees pay increases. This followed reporters going on strike in the spring.
The Washington State Newsguild and Idaho News Guild announced on Monday that its members had secured an agreement that bars McClatchy from using AI to replace staff or to reduce their work hours. It also protects reporters from being impersonated by AI and requires McClatchy to disclose to readers when it uses AI-generated content.
The unions represent 52 members at five newspapers across the two states: the Tacoma News Tribune, Tri-City Herald, The Olympian, Bellingham Herald and the Idaho Statesman.
“We fought long and hard for these protections. We plan to use them to ensure our communities get the news they deserve, not more AI slop,” said Idaho News Guild Chair Michael Lycklama, a sports reporter for the Idaho Statesman, in a news release.
Contract negotiations took more than a year, which led to staff walking out for a one-day strike on May 26. Along with AI protections, journalists called on McClatchy to increase their wages.
Kristine Sherred, a Tacoma News Tribune food reporter and chair of the Washington State Newsguild, told reporters at a press conference in Tacoma that the majority of the union’s 31 members made $55,000 or less annually.
“A third of them earn just $50,000 or less,” Sherred said at the event. “These are not just entry level jobs. Many of these reporters and photographers standing with me today have years, even decades of experience."
News Tribune reporter Becca Most marched with colleagues for better pay during the strike. Most is a union steward at the South Sound paper. She told KNKX many of her colleagues have struggled financially.
“I've talked to colleagues who have had to choose between buying groceries and paying their rent,” Most explained. “I've talked to people who can't go home for the holidays because they can't afford the plane ticket.”
The contract guarantees the union members raises between 7.2% to 15.5%, which will be spread out over three years. It establishes $52,000 as the minimum salary for current employees. According to a news release, McClatchy agreed to consider merit raises for employees on an annual basis. If a pay raise is not awarded to an individual, they must be told why.
This may not be enough to keep up with the region’s high cost of living, according to Most.
“Honestly, a lot of us are still scraping by and this is not enough to live in Tacoma [or] to live in Washington,” she said. “Some of us will have to leave the news industry.”
Still, Most said this contract was a hard-fought victory for journalists at McClatchy papers in Washington and Idaho. She said reporters from other outlets have expressed interest in their agreement, especially regarding the AI protections.
KNKX reached out to McClatchy Media for a comment on this story, but the company did not respond.
