21.266 A Resolution in Support of Workers of the Hampshire Gazette City of Northampton
MASSACHUSETTS
In the City Council, May 6, 2021
Upon the Recommendation of: Councilor Karen Foster
Councilor Marianne LaBarge
Councilor Rachel Maiore
Councilor Gina-Louise Sciarra
R-21.266 A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF WORKERS OF THE HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE
WHEREAS: the Daily Hampshire Gazette has been an institution in our community for nearly
235 years; and
WHEREAS: the Gazette has tirelessly chronicled the triumphs, tragedies and history of the
people of the Connecticut River Valley, keeping the public informed and proving
itself invaluable in exposing injustice in Northampton and beyond; and
WHEREAS: local news is critical to a working democracy, ensuring communities have
accurate information, uplifting marginalized voices, and providing crucial oversight
over local governance; and
WHEREAS: Northampton’s municipal government relies on the Gazette to communicate
issues, events, projects and public notices to the public; and
WHEREAS: the Gazette is made by its workers and this Council appreciates how they have
persevered through a global pandemic, despite losing over half their staff, to keep
the Valley informed of vital information, and in the early stages of the
pandemic making the important decision to provide coronavirus-related news to
our community at no charge to readers; and
WHEREAS: the Gazette’s unionized workers have been in contract negotiations with the
Gazette’s parent company, Newspapers of New England, for nearly two years; and
WHEREAS: the Gazette’s workers deserve protections against the outsourcing of their work
as well as a contract that provides for a fair wage with cost of living increases and
remains intact no matter who owns the newspaper; and
WHEREAS: the Gazette’s workers who were laid-off deserve the opportunity to be rehired if
their positions return to the paper;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Northampton City Council stands in solidarity with
the workers of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and asks Newspapers of New
England to swiftly bargain a contract that improves the well -being of its workers,
which will strengthen the newspaper and help it continue for years to come. We
call on Newspapers of New England to invest in the Gazette and its workers, and
to make a commitment to local ownership;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Northampton City Council recognizes the importance of the
Daily Hampshire Gazette to our region, and encourages our local community to
support the Gazette to help maintain the financial viability of this critical source
of local news;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Administrative Assistant to the City Council shall send a copy
of this Resolution to U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, U.S.
Representative Jim McGovern, Senator Jo Comerford, Representative Lindsay
Sabadosa, Newspaper of New England President and CEO Aaron Julien, Daily
Hampshire Gazette Publisher Shawn Palmer, Editor-in-Chief Joan Livingston and
the Pioneer Valley News Guild.