Journalists demand union recognition at Vancouver-based newspaper The Columbian

Scott Campbell, owner of Vancouver-based newspaper The Columbian, received “Business of the Year” award from the Labor Roundtable of Southwest Washington for good local journalism and fair treatment of labor, reports Don McIntosh.

On Monday, the newsroom employees asked Campbell to recognize their union but Campbell declined.

“Scott Campbell did not seem too surprised when we all walked in wearing our union t-shirts,” Columbian staff photographer Nathan Howard told the Labor Press. “But he did say that he was disappointed to hear that we were unionizing, and he would not voluntarily recognize us.”

“That’s not just people getting paid more,” Howard added. “It’s transparency about what people are getting paid and making sure there’s equality. Right now there really isn’t an experience scale. People have been given what you might call secret raises where you’re pulled into a meeting and you get told, ‘We’re going to give you an extra buck an hour but don’t tell anybody.’ Things like that didn’t quite sit right with people.”

In an official statement accompanying the union announcement, union supporters called The Columbian “an increasingly rare example of a thriving independent community news organization,” but said journalists there are overworked and underpaid. “We intend to bargain for equitable wages, greater diversity in the workplace, reasonable leave and health benefits, earned severance, and a fair and consistent grievance policy,” the statement said.

Back in 2011, the Southwest Washington Central Labor Council, the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, and Northwest Oregon Labor Council waged a boycott of The Columbian, in response to editorials against public employee unions. This got the owner’s attention and he agreed to improve the coverage of organized labor – and he followed through.

The new union includes reporters, photographers, copy editors, page designers and editorial assistants. They’ll be part of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, a local of The NewsGuild, which is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America. In Washington, the union represents The Seattle Times, Kitsap Sun, Skagit Valley Herald and Yakima Herald-Republic.