Staff at the Missoula Independent weekly newspaper will formally vote Friday on whether to unionize.
A year ago the Missoula Independent was bought by Lee Enterprises, which owns nearly 50 papers across 21 states, including in Billings, Butte, Helena and Missoula.
Last month, all 10 of the Independent’s non-management employees supported taking steps to unionize.
A formal vote Friday morning could make them the only current news guild in Montana, and the second paper owned by Lee Enterprises to unionize.
Alex Sakariassen has been a reporter at the Independent for 9 years. Speaking for himself in March, he said he wants a seat at the table to protect his editorial voice as changes are discussed at the paper.
"I just want to make sure that I have every opportunity afforded to me to voice my concerns to my higher-ups make sure that they're heard."
Employees at another Lee-owned newspaper, Wyoming’s Casper Star-Tribune, voted to form a union in February.
Seth Klamann, a reporter at the Star-Tribune and a member of the Casper News Guild says it now appears management at the paper is retaliating against employees to punish them for unionizing.
The Star Tribune Wednesday laid off Editor Elise Schmelzer, who recently was recognized as Wyoming young journalist of the year. Schmelzer was not a member of the union.
Klamann says management’s explanation that Schmelzer was fired for financial reasons is hard to believe because managers recently told staff there’d be no layoffs.
"If you're trying to find a way to break morale, or get people to leave who might be drivers behind a unionizing effort, or people who are going play hardball at the bargaining table, or whatever it may be. If you’re trying to hurt a union effort, then a cynical person could say a good way to do it would be to lay off a very popular reporter."
Casper News Guild expects to begin its collective bargaining meetings April 19.
The publisher of the Casper Star-Tribune declined to comment on the Casper New Guild or Schmelzer’s firing. The publisher for the Missoula Independent and a representative for Lee Enterprises could not be reached by deadline.
Non-management staff at the Missoula Independent will vote on unionizing Friday morning.
