Herald union takes stalled negotiations with parent company, Digital First Media, to the masses.

The people who write the news generally try not to make the news themselves. But roughly 40 employees at the Monterey Herald are doing just that.

On April 28, members of the Pacific Media Workers Guild posted a petition on change.org “to keep the Monterey Herald as a valuable community resource by improving conditions for employees.”

“We have turned to social media to make sure our readers are aware,” Herald reporter and guild spokesman Larry Parsons writes by email. “They are a most important voice in getting the company to see the newspaper as a valuable enterprise.”

The union has been negotiating with Publisher Gary Omernick and parent company Digital First Media since a three-year contract expired in November. They’re asking for annual 3-percent raises for the next three years, and to keep employees’ share of health insurance at 34 percent. Omernick did not respond to calls for comment.

As of press time, 50 people had signed the petition, including Monterey City Councilman Alan Haffa, who wrote: “My wife and I are close to unsubscribing. If we see the workers’ concerns addressed… we will continue to support the paper.”