GoLocalPDX Pays $5,125 to Former Contributors Who Complained to State

Byron Beck says: "I’m very grateful that BOLI was able to help vulnerable journalists.”

By Aaron Mesh

Rhode Island-based news website GoLocalPDX has paid a total of $5,125 to three former contributors who filed wage complaints with state regulators.

The three journalists—Catalina Gaitan, Melanie Sevcenko and Byron Beck—complained to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries that GoLocalPDX owed them unpaid wages.

GoLocalPDX owner Josh Fenton says he sent checks even though one of the contributors was asking for money she hadn't earned.

Beck, who was one of the last original staffers in GoLocalPDX's Portland office, tells WW he's glad to see his paycheck.

"This was all very unnecessary," Beck says. "[Fenton] could have just paid us. I'm very grateful that BOLI was able to help vulnerable journalists."

Willamette Week

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Bureau of Labor and IndustriesByron BeckGoLocalPDXJosh Fenton

Aaron Mesh

Aaron Mesh

Aaron Mesh is WW's editor. He’s a Florida man who enjoys waterfalls, Trail Blazers basketball and Brutalist architecture.

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