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Northampton Newspaper Employees Rally Against Outsourcing

Employees of the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Massachusetts, rallied Thursday against outsourcing of local newspaper jobs.

Employees say the staff of the 235-year-old newspaper has shrunk by half in the last couple years, while printing of the paper is no longer done on site and other roles are now outsourced.

A few dozen union members and supporters held picket signs outside the longtime Gazette building, which is up for sale.

Caitlin Freed, who works in the circulation department, said she's worried about local jobs going to outside contractors.

"One would hope that a community newspaper was built by the community for the community," she said, "and not, you know, built from a Frankenstein of different places all over the world that doesn't have the community's interests at heart."

Union members say they're going back to the bargaining table this week to argue for better pay and guarantees against outsourcing.

In a statement on behalf of the Gazette's parent company, Newspapers of New England, publisher Shawn Palmer said the company has been bargaining in good faith and offered proposals that were accepted at other newspapers.

Karen Brown is a radio and print journalist who focuses on health care, mental health, children’s issues, and other topics about the human condition. She has been a full-time radio reporter for NEPM since 1998.
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