Posts tagged New York Times
Journalists turn to picket lines as the news business ails
February 16, 2024 // At the L.A. Times, where Schleuss got his start as a labor activist, owner Soon-Shiong made deep cuts last June and again last month, saying he is losing tens of millions of dollars a year on the paper. He says the union's refusal to give him greater leeway in making job cuts in January forced him to lay off more journalists. He had offered buyouts in exchange for relaxing protections by seniority. The union instead went out on strike.
New York Times reporters form ‘Independence Caucus’ over concerns about union interference
December 19, 2023 // Dozens of New York Times employees have formed a group to stand up for journalistic independence amid concerns the union representing the Times and hundreds of other news organizations is becoming too much of an advocate for various issues. The newly-formed “Independence Caucus” comprises high-profile journalists like Megan Twohey, Julian Barnes and Emily Bazelon. It would work within the confines of the NewsGuild-CWA, and would be open to staffers of rival publications, the Wall Street Journal reports.
ProPublica, lauded journalism nonprofit, is latest newsroom to unionize
July 31, 2023 // Reporters at investigative journalism nonprofit ProPublica announced Wednesday they are unionizing, bringing an industry wave of labor organizing to a somewhat unexpected corner of the media world. The announcement, timed to the 15th anniversary of ProPublica, comes as its corporate peers are grappling with layoffs and cutbacks that have stoked employee discontent. By comparison, ProPublica, a donor-supported nonprofit that counted over $57 million in assets on its most recently available tax forms, has been comparatively insulated from the economic challenges of the industry. In a statement, staffers said a union “is essential to preserving the best parts of working at ProPublica and ensuring our values do not waver regardless of leadership changes or turbulence within the industry.” The campaign could shift labor relations at ProPublica, which is one of few national news outlets of its size and distinction where staffers do not have union representation.
New York Times to disband sports desk, reassign staffers, incorporate more The Athletic coverage
July 10, 2023 // This is quite a dramatic move from the Times, affecting more than 35 journalists and editors in their sports section (to say nothing of the freelancers who have contributed there). And it ends a long and storied history of the paper’s own sports department, which includes 1896 Summer Olympics coverage, the since-1927 Sports of the Times column, four Pulitzer Prizes (won by columnists Red Smith, Arthur Daley and Dave Anderson and feature writer John Branch), and much more. It also comes after nearly 20 layoffs at The Athletic last month and discussion of a shift there to more national and less team beat coverage. And it comes with potential union tensions, as The Athletic is not unionized, while the Times itself is. The letter Sunday signed by nearly 30 Times sports staffers, as reported by Ben Strauss of The Washington Post, discussed the union issue and more
New York Times Union Inks a Contract With Management
May 24, 2023 // The terms of the five-year deal include immediate raises of up to 12.5 percent to cover the years 2021 through 2023, with raises of 3.25 percent and 3 percent to follow in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The required minimum salary will be boosted to $65,000, tens of thousands over the previous floor.
400,000 Los Angeles Students Missed School As Union Employees Launch 3-Day Strike Demanding Better Wages, Benefits
March 22, 2023 // Aaron Withe, CEO of Freedom Foundation, a Washington-D.C.-based think tank advocating for public employees from political exploitation, told The Daily Wire in a statement that the organization frequently hears from teachers who are sick of union politics — especially after seeing what the COVID school shutdowns have done children, he said, calling the latest strike from union officials “unconscionable.” “They just want to teach their students reading, writing, and math, Withe said, adding, “they’re fed up.”.
Reuters to Allow Employees Mostly Work From Home in Tentative Agreement with Union
January 2, 2023 // The agreement between Reuters and the union expired nearly two years ago. In August, Reuters employees held their first strike in decades over stalled wage negotiations. Reuters reportedly offered 1 percent wage increases over three years, despite a 9 percent inflation rate for urban consumers. Last month, unionized employees authorized another strike. The agreement lets Reuters change its work-from-home policies after the 2023 year. It also limits management’s use of nondisclosure agreements in harassment and discrimination cases, according to Bloomberg. Union members will vote on the contract today (Dec. 28).
The Standoff Between Workers and Their Bosses Is Set To Heat Up in 2023
December 15, 2022 // Now, the strong labor market that emboldened workers is softening. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7% in November—it had gone as low as 3.5%—–and high-profile tech and media companies have recently cut their payrolls through steep layoffs. But that doesn’t mean workers are losing the upper hand, says Thomas Kochan, a professor of employment research at the MIT Sloan School for Management. If anything, the current economic conditions mean labor strife may accelerate next year. “I expect what we’ll see is more conflict, more strikes, and more contract rejections,” Kochan says. Workers are still focused on companies’ profits during boom years, he notes, while companies are starting to trim costs to prepare for an economic downturn. “It’s that difference in expectations,” he says, “that creates a higher probability of conflicts and strikes.”