Seattle 'P-I' Online Reporter Case Goes to Arbitration

By: A federal judge says a dispute between the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild and the Seattle Post-Intellingencer over the hiring of an online reporter should go to arbitration.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly on Monday was a win for the union, which says the hiring of non-guild-covered online reporter Monica Guzman was a violation of the collective bargaining agreement.

The P-I sought to prevent the dispute from going to arbitration. The newspaper argued that the hiring of an online reporter was allowed under its 1998 New Media Agreement with the union. But the judge sided with the Guild in ruling that the New Media Agreement was terminated in 2006.