The New York Times building on October 26. Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
More than 1,000 members of the New York Times union, which includes hundreds of editorial staff, plan to quit the job if management doesn’t agree to the terms of a new contract by Dec. 8, the union said announced Friday.
Why it matters: The two parties have been at odds over a number of issues, most notably wage increases, for more than a year and a half. These tensions have reached a boiling point over the holiday season.
Push the news: In a letter sent to management on Friday, the NewsGuild of New York reiterated its demands for management and expressed a degree of frustration at the lengthy talks.
- “We spent more than 120 hours in 40 negotiation sessions exchanging and amending dozens of proposals,” the letter said.
- “We have carefully listened to management’s positions and concerns and made countless revisions to address them. In return, we’ve been educated on the company’s bleak economic future — even as the company tells Wall Street it’s a successful company that can afford to pay millions in salaries and benefits to its top executives.”
- The letter, which was sent to Times publisher AG Sulzberger and its president and CEO, Meredith Kopit Levien, listed key demands, including a new salary increase structure, retention of pension plans and changes to performance evaluation.
Between the lines: A big part of the union’s argument has long been that the Times’ management has refused to bring reasonable wage-rise proposals to the negotiating table, even though the Times is doing better financially than it has been in many years and dividend payouts continue to increase to shareholders.
- “In 2022, the @nytimes spent millions of dollars buying Wordle and The Athletic and provided their investors with $150 million in share buybacks,” a tweet read from the guild. “Yet it’s still offering wage increases of this magnitude to pay for wage cuts during record-high inflation.”
- The letter sent on Friday represents more than 1,036 union members represented by guilds. Both signed a pledge giving the guild’s negotiating committee the power to “call for and stipulate a 24-hour work stoppage” if the two sides fail to make progress at the negotiating table.
What you say: “While we are disappointed that the NewsGuild is threatening to strike, we stand ready to ensure The Times continues to serve our readers without interruption,” a New York Times spokesman said in a statement shared with Axios. “We remain committed to working with the NYT to deliver NewsGuild a deal of which we can all be proud.”
- “Our current tariff proposal offers significant increases. The majority of bargaining unit members would earn 50 percent or more additional earnings over the term of the new contract than if they continued with the old contract,” the spokesman said. “Additionally, our companion health and retirement offerings provide sustainable, premium options for guild members.”
- “As additional context, a reporter in the union making $120,000, which is slightly below the median base salary in the unit, would receive about $33,000 in additional income over the term of the new contract — or 57 percent more than if “A reporter in the union earning $160,000 would receive approximately $44,000 additional income over the term of the new contract, or 108 percent more than if the previous contract had lasted.” contract would have been continued.”
Catch up fast: The guild’s last contract with management expired in March 2021. Since then, the two parties have met regularly to discuss a new contract, but the longer the talks go on, the more palpable the tension becomes.
Be smart: This isn’t the first time that unionized Times employees have left or threatened to leave.
- Hundreds of employees spoke out in 2017 against the company’s decision to get rid of its standalone copy desk.
- Last year, the union representing workers at the Times’ consumer ratings site, Wirecutter, held a five-day strike to protest management’s negotiations with their union.
The big picture: Work stoppages, strikes and work stoppages have become more frequent in recent months as editorial staff look for better contracts amid the pandemic.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a statement from a spokesman for The New York Times.