Mission Statement

As one of San Francisco’s largest nonprofit newsrooms, Mission Local has come a long way from the small UC Berkeley project it started out as. Workers at Mission Local have uncovered important untold stories, exposed injustices and revealed corruption. We have won national awards, and more recently, have grown dramatically, more than doubling our workforce and increasing our revenue by 65 percent in 2024. We hope to continue to grow steadily year-to-year. Now, we take another step: we’re forming a union, as a part of the Pacific Media Workers Guild Local 39521 The NewsGuild - Communication Workers of America.

We pride ourselves in our pursuit of truth, fairness, and empathy in our reporting — and scrappiness in the field that has kept us competitive with much larger organizations with far more resources. We want our work environment to reflect these same values — caring for ourselves the same way we care about the stories we tell.  

Our readers know that a Mission Local story means a reporter went out and knocked on a door. Our newsroom has also succeeded without excessive hierarchy, with everyone having a voice at the table. We want to preserve this adaptability and collaborative spirit. At the same time, we want to minimize disorganization and confusion. 

Amid growing threats to the press, locally and internationally, we aim to strengthen our protections as journalists. We are also conscious of the very high cost of living in San Francisco, and want to ensure Mission Local is a viable place to work long term, for our diverse staff with a range of needs.

How we approach news in San Francisco is different from the rest. Likewise, we hope Mission Local can foster a unique workplace culture: one where staff is supported financially, professionally, and as human beings. 

We request from Mission Local management and the Board of Directors that they voluntarily recognize our union so we can begin bargaining soon. We hope you’re as excited as we are to work collectively and strengthen the future of Mission Local. We hope you will support us in this effort.