The New York Times reached a contract deal with the bargaining committee representing the unionized employees in its newsroom, the guild announced on Tuesday evening.
The agreement comes after more than two years of fierce negotiations, which included a one-day walkout by more than 1,100 staffers in December. It has not yet been ratified, and was called “groundbreaking” but “tentative” in a guild statement.
“As we have said since the beginning of negotiations, this contract is more than an investment in us,” the guild said on Twitter. “This is an investment in the future of @nytimes, in our readers and in the public that we serve.”
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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.
Other victories highlighted by the union in an email headlined “We. Have. A. Deal.” include the guild’s first contractual agreement on hybrid work; a solvent health care fund; expanded benefits; and a ban on the use of nondisclosure agreements in cases of workplace abuse or harassment.
“This deal is a victory for all the union members who fought for a fair contract that rewards our hard work and sacrifice,” Bill Baker, the guild’s unit chair, said in a statement. “It shows that the company cannot take us for granted and must be held accountable.”
The guild said that its members, who constitute about 1,450 of the more than 1,800 people who work in the newsroom, will vote to ratify the agreement in the coming weeks. In its email, it wrote, “We proudly and unanimously recommend this contract for ratification.”
In an email to the newsroom, Cliff Levy, a Times deputy managing editor, called the many months of bargaining “challenging,” but expressed his gratitude to the guild’s members for offering management feedback on negotiations.
“We know that both sides have been united throughout this process in our collective belief in The Times’s unwavering mission as our newsroom continues to set the standard for independent, original and trustworthy journalism,” he wrote.
