The Anchorage Daily News office in Midtown Anchorage is seen on Sept. 16, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Newsroom staff at the Anchorage Daily News, the state’s largest newspaper, have voted to unionize, according to election results published Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board.
The vote was 13-4 in favor of unionization, with two eligible voters not participating.
The Anchorage News Guild, which will represent newsroom staff, had requested that management voluntarily recognize the union, but the newspaper’s ownership declined and requested the federally managed election.
Anchorage Daily News owner Ryan Binkley did not have an immediate comment on the result.
The successful vote gives the ADN the only unionized newsroom in Alaska. Union members have said they intend to advocate for fair wages, financial transparency and a sustainable workplace environment.
The new union will be part of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, a member of the AFL-CIO.
Megan Pacer, an employee who voted in favor of the union, said the next step will be for union members to meet, elect officials and create a bargaining committee charged with negotiating an employment contract.