Western WA journalists strike, say owner hopes to replace 'human stories with AI'
Source: KING 5
31 workers at four Washington newspapers, including The News Tribune, Bellingham Herald, Olympian and Tri-City Herald, helped organize the one-day strike.
Author: Dalton Day
Published: 7:03 AM PDT May 26, 2026
Updated: 7:40 AM PDT May 26, 2026
TACOMA, Wash. — Journalists across Washington state took to the picket line Tuesday morning to demand higher wages and fight against what their union calls a threat of replacement with AI.
The Washington State News Guild, a union representing 31 workers at four Washington newspapers, including The News Tribune, Bellingham Herald, Olympian and Tri-City Herald, organized the one-day strike. The newspapers are owned by McClatchy Media. The strike coincided with a similar demonstration at the Idaho Statesman in Boise.
“McClatchy Media hopes you won’t notice if it replaces human stories with AI-generated content. The company thinks you’ll happily consume clickbait over real community stories,” the union wrote on its website.
Organizers say they have engaged the company in collective bargaining for a year and reached a stalemate over issues that include wages, AI policies and newsroom workloads. The union says McClatchy has refused to raise an annual wage floor above $52,000.
Credit: Robert Ashworth "theslowlane" via Flickr
A sign on the Old Herald Building in Bellingham, which the newspaper no longer occupies.
Read more: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/western-wa-print-journalists-strike/281-16d4a694-7077-43ff-988b-ce1025eb0700