The New York Times on Tuesday reached an agreement for a new contract with the union representing the majority of its newsroom employees, ending more than two years of contentious negotiations that included a 24-hour strike.
The deal, if ratified, will give union members immediate wage increases of up to 12.5% to cover the last two years and 2023, and raise the required minimum wage to $65,000, from around $37,500. The previous contract expired in March 2021 and union members have not received contract raises since 2020.
The union negotiating the deal, which is part of the NewsGuild of New York, represents nearly 1,500 employees in the newsroom, advertising and other areas of the business. More than 1,800 people work in the Times newsroom.
The union said members would vote to ratify the five-year deal in the coming week.
“This agreement is a victory for all union members who have fought for a fair contract that rewards our hard work and sacrifice,” New York Times Guild unit president Bill Baker said in a statement. . “It shows that the company cannot take us for granted and must be held accountable.”
Cliff Levy, associate editor of the Times, said in an email to Times union members that the contract offered them “significant and well-deserved raises, a big bonus and a range of important new benefits”.
“From the beginning of this negotiation process, we have been determined to secure a contract that shows how much we value the contributions of NewsGuild members to the success of The Times,” Mr. Levy said.
The deal includes a contractual agreement on hybrid working and eligibility for a four-week paid sabbatical for 10 years with the company. The company also agreed that new jobs in the newsroom, including any expansion into local markets, would be part of the union and pay fair minimum wages.
Negotiations over the contract were frequently heated, with divisions sometimes spilling into public view. Negotiators differed on wages, health and pension benefits and other issues. The union accused the Times of slowing negotiations and refusing to share company profits with employees, while Times executives stressed the need for careful budgeting in an uncertain economy.
In December, members of the Times Guild staged a one-day strike, a rarity at the Times, which has not seen a work stoppage of more than one day since the 1970s. Last month, members of the union protested outside the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting and delivered a letter to the publisher, AG Sulzberger, signed by more than 1,000 members, which read, “Enough is enough.”
Under the new contract, which would cover 2021 to February 2026, union members would receive a one-time retroactive bonus of 7% of their base salary from the expiration of the previous contract.
Unionized workers would receive an initial pay increase on a sliding scale, with larger increases for those who are paid less. Workers earning less than $100,000 per year would receive an immediate 12.5% raise, while those earning more than $160,000 per year would receive an immediate 10.6% increase.
All Guild employees would receive a raise of 3.25% in 2024 and 3% in 2025.