The situation in Boise is dire. Rents are skyrocketing and housing supplies remain low. Still, McClatchy keeps salaries low, instead of paying to keep good reporters in Boise.

We demand McClatchy pay its workers a fair wage — and you can join us by sending a letter to management here.

Our own reporting shows this. Boise is the most unaffordable city in the U.S. Rent prices rose by 20% in 2021.

Some of our colleagues make less than $42,000 a year — meaning they qualify for low-income housing in Ada County. That’s unacceptable.

As a result, many of our staff struggle to find an affordable place to live. Some are forced into temporary housing for months. 

In Boise, it can be a struggle to afford the necessities. We aren’t immune.

For some, the only way to get a raise is to leave. Ten employees have left since we first organized in 2020. Compensation was the chief reason.

There’s no reward for experience or staying at the Statesman. And being stuck at one salary makes living in Boise untenable.

Many reporters coming up in the news business are told, “Pay your dues.” They’re paid poverty wages, with the promise being they’ll one day get paid a fair wage.

We’ve paid our dues. Now it’s time for McClatchy to bargain in good faith and pay their staff a living wage.

Of course, we need your help to make this happen. Please submit a letter and tell McClatchy you want the Statesman’s staff to be compensated fairly for their work.

No one should struggle to pay the bills — journalists included.

Year after year, The McClatchy Company subsidizes its business by refusing to adequately reimburse Idaho Statesman employees for the essentials needed to do their job. It’s time to change that. Support us by sending a message to management here.

A cell phone is needed in 2022. Our journalists constantly talk to sources. Send emails. Check Twitter. Burn through data. Take photos and videos.

Nearly all of that work is done on our personal phones. That’s only increased as we work from home after the sale of the Statesman’s office.

The company shared its interest in providing employees with optional cell phones six months ago. We’re waiting on a counterproposal, but in the meantime have been stuck using our personal cell phones at a whopping $25 a month reimbursement.

That’s a fraction of the average cell phone bill, and a number McClatchy has repeatedly cut. Employees using their personal cell phone must cover the rest of the cost for a tool necessary to their job. 

Additionally, we spend our days driving to assignments across the Treasure Valley. McClatchy reimburses us at just 33 cents per mile. That’s only slightly more than half the IRS standard rate for mileage of 58.5 cents per mile, once again shifting company expenses onto employees.

McClatchy also requires we provide and maintain a car for company use, and that we pay the full cost of insurance. This costs hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year. Meanwhile, some McClatchy employees elsewhere in the country get half their insurance paid for.

Many of us moved long distances to work here. Moving costs can easily be thousands of dollars, a recruiting expense McClatchy burdens employees with. The company leaves it to employees to “negotiate” for reimbursement, a process we’ve watched play out unfairly many times.

The bottom line: We must pay to do our own jobs. Instead of supporting us, McClatchy shovels more and more of its expenses onto our wallets. We want a fair deal when it comes to items integral to our jobs.

Let management know their actions are unacceptable.

We are calling on The McClatchy Company, owner of the Idaho Statesman, to commit to fair and equitable pay for its employees. Today, we’re talking about transparency in job ads. Support us over the next few weeks by sending a letter to management here.

Transparency remains one of the bedrock principles of the Idaho NewsGuild. This was a value we believed we shared with McClatchy, a news company that professes public transparency and holding those in power accountable.

We’ve since learned otherwise.

McClatchy refuses to list salary ranges in job postings for the Idaho Statesman. This shroud of secrecy paves the way for pay disparities in the news industry, which for decades has paid women and people of color a fraction of their white male colleagues.

Pay disparities are sadly not an issue of the past. The Statesman recently had a male and female reporter with the same job. The female employee had a decade of experience on that specific beat. The male employee had three years — yet made $3,800 more a year.

To address these diversity and equity flaws, the Idaho NewsGuild proposed as part of its first contract that all job postings must include a salary range. This will establish a level playing field for all job candidates.

Despite all this, McClatchy has refused to commit to pay transparency in our first contract over and over again. No explanation. No justification. Just, “No.” 

The message is clear: “Transparency for thee, not for me.” 

Like many companies today, McClatchy makes plenty of lofty statements about valuing diversity, equity and inclusion — but has yet to significantly demonstrate that commitment. This is a simple, concrete step toward improving our newsroom.

Pay transparency is a proven method to narrow wage gaps. Look no further than the federal government, which requires salary ranges in all job postings. Women there are paid 93 cents for every dollar a man earns, compared to 84 cents for every dollar in the private sector.

Smart companies are following suit. They know they must fight to attract talented and diverse employees in this competitive market. Jobs without basic salary information are quickly skipped over or forgotten for companies that value candidates’ time and attention.

Take a drive around town and you’ll find companies advertising their wages loudly. They’ve learned a lesson McClatchy hasn’t. 

A news organization that claims a commitment to transparency yet refuses to share its salaries can’t expect to attract the employees it needs to thrive.

McClatchy’s refusal is also quickly becoming illegal. Colorado and New York City now require salary information in all job ads. More states and cities are requiring wage info early in interviews. 

That list will only grow. McClatchy needs to get on the right side of history.

Being upfront about salaries also benefits McClatchy. The Idaho Statesman has spent significant resources vetting and interviewing candidates in the past year, only to have them withdraw when they learn what the job pays. 

Why waste everyone’s time and resources?

The kicker? McClatchy instituted a company-wide salary minimum March 1, 2021. It’s currently $42,187 a year in Boise. 

Executives have bragged about the minimum in company town halls. But they don’t want job candidates to know what they could earn. 

Why? 

We know pay transparency is not a silver bullet to fix every diversity issue in our newsroom. But it is an effective tool and a significant first step. We question why a company that publicly claims it’s committed to diversity, equity and inclusion would reject it. 

Join us in telling McClatchy it needs to treat its employees fairly and equitably by signing this petition and sending a message to management.