The Union members of the New York Times and labor demanded raise in their pay because of the increase in the cost of living. There has been unrest among the staff in the US which caused first major work stoppage faced by New York Times.
Kevin Draper a sports reporter said that the proposals company has made are barely better than the last time. He acknowledges the company by saying they are very fortunate to work at one of the few places in media or print media that is profitable but at the same time they are disappointed by the decision but are prepared to serve readers without any disruption.
More than 2000 employees are part of journalism and 5000 total employees in New York Times have been hired since the end of 2021. There are many union members planning to participate in the walkout on 8th November the numbers are approximately more than 1100.
Even though the walkout is being done on a large scale yet the union has assured that they would leave some departments unaffected. The international staff according to Mr. Draper are not part of the union so the coverage related to the FIFA World cup will remain unaffected which is dominating sports news.
NewsGuild of New York the firm that is represented by Union members said that the company’s performance and ability to spend millions on executive compensation, share buyback and dividends had been informed about members’ demands.
“My rent went up 8% last year,” senior staff editor Andrea Zagata said. “So, I guess my question is: what is a 2.8% raise doing for me, especially when the company is spending so much on executive salary, stock buybacks, and dividends?”
On Tuesday in a 12-hour session company agreed to pay higher than it offered previously including 3% guaranteed raises in 2023 and 2024 and scrapped pensions from the proposal among other changes.
The two sides have been at odds over issues such as starting pay, wage increases, retirement and health care policies, and remote work since the expiry of the contract in March 2021.
The proposal is said to push to secure a $65000 starting salary and pay raise of 5.5% in 2023-24. The union is not satisfied with the proposal and says that the company’s proposals have not made a rise as per cost of living.
The union roughly includes 1400 people including moderators, reporters, and security guards. About 6500 workers in media have become members of the union in the last 5 years as per the president of NewsGuild the two smaller newspapers Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are on a multi-week strike.
“The New York Times in particular can pay everything that the workers are asking for at the bargaining table,” said Mr. Schleuss and he was hopeful that the workers at New York Times had a good chance of winning concessions.
The action at the New York Times comes after a wave of labor organizing in the wider media industry, which has been grappling with years of job losses, erosion in benefits, and merger pay.
