Cascade PBS workers to picket

Workers have been in negotiations for a new contract for nearly 10 months while the company stonewalls

SEATTLE, WA (April 16, 2025) — The reporters, editors, producers and videographers of Cascade PBS are ramping up their fight for a new contract as mediation fails to compel the company to bargain in good faith. The workers are represented by the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild.

Workers will picket Thursday, April 17 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in front of the Cascade PBS offices at 316 Broadway in Seattle. Union siblings and community allies are invited to join in solidarity.

Newsroom workers haven’t had raises since October 2023; meanwhile, basics like rent, child care, health care, and more have all become significantly more expensive in the Puget Sound, which has one of the highest costs of living in the U.S. Despite delivering award-worthy journalism, many of the workers are struggling to make ends meet.

Yet despite months of negotiations, the company has refused to come together on terms.

“On Wednesday, April 9, Cascade PBS spent 11 hours in mediation with the bargaining committee, only to present functionally the same offer on wages as a month ago with zero movement on numbers,” reported the union in a picket announcement. “This is not what bargaining in good faith looks like.”

Meanwhile, the union reports that Rob Dunlop, CEO of Cascade PBS makes nearly seven times the average unit member’s salary; his bonus alone in 2023 would have made him one of the highest-paid employees in the newsroom.

In March, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Cascade PBS, alleging the employer violated the workers’ right to discuss and share information on their union activity in non-work spaces.