Letter to Arthur, Jill and Mark

Dear Arthur,

By the time you get this email, many of us will be in front of the building, passing out leaflets that explain our contract dispute. We want you to know why we believe this and other planned demonstrations, including a mass twitter campaign that begins today, are necessary.

We were pleased that The Times and the Guild agreed to use a mediator and are glad that progress has been made on work rules and other matters. But when it comes to compensation, the issue at the core of the company’s relationship with its employees, negotiators for The Times continue to insist on substantial pay cuts – that is to say, raises so small that they would cause us to lose significant ground to inflation during the contract’s five years.

Committed as we are to the health of The Times, this push to cut our wages seems inexplicable, unjustified and dangerous. Anger in the newsroom grows by the day. Fair compensation – wages and benefits that we have more than earned, and that the company can afford to pay – is at the heart of it.

With smart, hard work by the newsroom and business side, you have steered us through the twin perils of the global downturn and the shift to digital platforms. The financial health and prospects for the NYT appear, to us, to be improving. We stood by you in the hardest times, and we stand ready to continue our work with you to make sure that our journalism is not, as one Times negotiator so regrettably put it, a “declining business.” That notion we reject not as a tactical matter, nor as a maneuver to squeeze the company; we reject it fundamentally, with clear eyes about where you have brought and are bringing the company.
Our contract proposals have been realistic in scope, made in the context of cautious optimism. The company’s unyielding stance on its harshest demands has ignited resentment over what are, in the end, not very large sums of money. It is becoming toxic.

From the stance taken by the company, one might think that Guild members are second-class citizens at The Times. The newsroom’s excluded employees received raises of 3 percent in 2011 and again in 2012, but management is demanding that the Guild accept raises totaling just 3.5 percent over five years – just a shade over what excluded employees received last year alone.

Meager as the company’s proposal is, that figure actually manages to overstate the value of the raise: the offer is for an increase against the scales listed in the past contract, not what we are actually making. What that means for many of us is an annual raise of around 0.5 percent, or just 2.5 percent over five years. During those five years, the cost of living will increase by 13 percent or so, assuming that inflation continues at recent rates.

So let us call this demand by its truthful name. The company’s negotiators are effectively proposing a 10 percent wage cut for many of us. That, after we voluntarily agreed to a 5 percent cut in 2009 because you told us that The Times needed it. After our previous three contracts failed to keep pace with inflation. And after 50% reductions in overtime. We are working harder than ever, on more platforms than ever, to maintain the Times’ position as the world’s greatest newspaper and news Web site. Yet in real dollars, our wages shrink every week.

Many excluded Times employees received bonuses of 26 percent in 2010, 32 percent in 2011 and 13 percent in 2012. The company, of course, faces significant obligations for the excluded employees’ pension plan, just as it does for the Guild plan. Yet citing the obligations to our plan, the company—in sharp contrast to the generous bonuses given excluded employees —maintains that it can’t give Guild members raises that begin to keep pace with inflation. We took the painful, unpopular step of agreeing to management’s No. 1 objective– a pension freeze. In return for that concession, we expected that the company would be forthcoming on raises. It hasn’t been.

If these negotiations fail and end in any of the bitter possibilities, we all will lose. The company’s negotiating goal of sub-inflation raises would perpetuate an era of shrinking compensation. It would have a withering effect on morale. Such a result would be a Pyrrhic win for the company. No one — not us, not newsroom management, not you or the shareholders — can afford that kind of “win.”

As it became clear that not even mediation was moving the company to realistic terms on compensation, we have taken the temperature of the newsroom. Some of our colleagues have moved beyond their bewilderment, past a sense of betrayal, to openly discussing the prospect of having to seek other work, perhaps even new careers. After building the world’s finest newsroom with people who would literally go to war for The Times, you cannot possibly regard these outcomes as desirable. We don’t.

So that is why many of us are going out into the street today, and onto social media, and will continue to. We are devoted to The Times and our shared mission. All of us want to bring the tensions and protests to an end. That is why we are writing to you now, ahead of this weekend’s important negotiations, to urge you in the strongest terms to send an offer to the table equal to the sentiments you so eloquently and frequently express about the newsroom.

The foundation of The Times as a business is built on people willing to give their all, 365 days a year, to bring the world’s greatest newspaper and Web site to life. We all know the corrosive effects of featherbedding in a business. At The Times, we need a term for reverse featherbedding. Ours is a company where employees do far more than they are paid for. This is treasure. Do not, we implore you, squander it by persisting in these indefensible demands.

Sincerely,

 

cc: Mark Thompson

Michael Golden

Jill Abramson

1. Reed Abelson
2. Tanya Abrams
3. Craig Allen
4. Monica Almeida
5. Lizette Alvarez
6. Lysa Anderson
7. Jenny Anderson
8. Peter Applebome
9. Crystal Arroyo
10. Eric Asimov
11. Jessica Bagdorf
12. Charles Bagli
13. Vikas Bajaj
14. Al Baker
15. Pasquale Baldino
16. Zena Barakat
17. Walt Baranger
18. David Barboza
19. Anne Barnard
20. Karen Barrow
21. Dan Barry
22. Barry Bearak
23. Howard Beck
24. Jack Begg
25. Jack Bell
26. Ken Belson
27. Joe Berger
28. Steve Berman
29. Nina Bernstein
30. J.D. Biersdorfer
31. Nick Bilton
32. Greg Bishop
33. Mac William Bishop
34. Peter Blair
35. Matthew Bloch
36. Paul Bolognese
37. Sarah Booth
38. Kassie Bracken
39. David Braun
40. William Broad
41. George Bronner
42. Joshua Brustein
43. Herbert Buchsbaum
44. Cara Buckley
45. Cielo Buenaventura
46. Elisabeth Bumiller
47. Claire Cain Miller
48. Jackie Calmes
49. Diane Cardwell
50. Aaron Cargill
51. Christine Cetrangelo
52. Kenneth Chang
53. Andy Chen
54. David Chen
55. Stephanie Clifford
56. Thomas Coffey
57. Phil Coffin
58. Finn Cohen
59. Linda Cohn
60. Alison Colby
61. Glenn Collins
62. Tom Connelly
63. Michael Cooper
64. Nick Corasaniti
65. Amanda Cordero
66. Ray Cormier
67. Kelly Couturier
68. Alison Cowan
69. Gregory Cowles
70. Julie Creswell
71. Stephen Crowley
72. James Dao
73. Manohla Dargis
74. Andrew Das
75. John DeFeo
76. Charles DeLaFuente
77. Alain Delaqueriere
78. Bernard Delgado
79. Jeffery DelViscio
80. Jim DeMaria
81. Shaila Dewan
82. David DeWitt
83. Cate Doty
84. Mary Drohan
85. Jim Dwyer
86. Peter Eavis
87. Erik Eckholm
88. Bettina Edelstein
89. Jeremy Egner
90. Stuart Elliott
91. Goode Erica
92. Ilona Fabian
93. Celina Fang
94. Samantha Farlow
95. Ford Fessenden
96. Nicole Fineman
97. Leah Finnegan
98. Michael Flam
99. Kathleen Flynn
100. Margalit Fox
101. Henry Fountain
102. Ángel Franco
103. Dan Frosch
104. Christoph Fuhrmans
105. Denise Fuhs
106. Anita Gates
107. Robert Gebeloff
108. sandy geis
109. Justin Gillis
110. Bill Glaberson
111. Sheila Glaser
112. Grant Glickson
113. Dan Gold
114. Tim Golden
115. Jeff Gordinier
116. Gwenn Gorman
117. Kevin Granville
118. Emma Graves Fitzsimmons
119. Steven Greenhouse
120. Penelope Green
121. William Grimes
122. Michael Gross
123. Jane Gross
124. Alexandra Grullon
125. Karen Grzelewski
126. Susan Guerrero
127. Elena Gustines
128. Eileen Guzmich
129. Clyde Haberman
130. David Halbfinger
131. Mike Hale
132. Rusha Haljuci
133. Chris Harcum
134. Amy Harmon
135. John Harney
136. Anemona Hartocollis
137. Kari Haskell
138. Adeel Hassan
139. RoseAnn Hermann
140. David Herszenhorn
141. Sasha Heroy
142. Tim Hilchey
143. Rob Hoerburger
144. Hilary Howard
145. Winnie Hu
146. Emmarie Huetteman
147. Sharilyn Hufford
148. John Hyland
149. Dana Jennings
150. Gabe Johnson
151. Wayne Kamidoi
152. Ariel Kaminer
153. Andrea Kannapell
154. Leslie Kaufman
155. Amy Kellner
156. Amy Kelsey
157. Randy Kennedy
158. Michael Kenny
159. Adam Kepler
160. Aisha Khan
161. Ned Kilkelly
162. Heena Ko
163. David Kocieniewski
164. Michael Kolomatsky
165. Allan Kozinn
166. Clifford Krauss
167. Sara Krulwich
168. Nicholas Kulish
169. Steven Kurutz
170. Ruth La Ferla
171. Patty LaDuca
172. Chris Lee
173. Debbie Leiderman
174. John Leland
175. Michael Leone
176. Cheryl Levenbrown
177. Rita Levine
178. Tamar Lewin
179. Michael Lewis
180. Steve Lohr
181. Jose Lopez
182. Meghan Louttit
183. Annie Lowrey
184. Michael Luo
185. Jim Lutrell
186. Sam Manchester
187. John Markoff
188. Andrew Martin
189. Jennifer Mascia
190. Victor Mather
191. Mindy Matthews
192. Kristie McClain
193. Dan McComas
194. Patrick McGeehan
195. Jo Craven McGinty
196. Mike McPhate
197. Jennifer Medina
198. Barry Meier
199. Susan Mermelstein
200. Marilyn and Peter Miess
201. Leela Moore
202. Lori Moore
203. Michael Moss
204. Howell Murray
205. Steven Lee Myers
206. Eric Nagourney
207. Mireya Navarro
208. Sharon O’Neal
209. Joan O’Neill
210. Dennis Overbye
211. Amy Padnani
212. Ashley Parker
213. James Peason
214. Robert Peele
215. Richard Perry
216. Alison Peterson
217. Erik Piepenburg
218. Ken Plutnicki
219. Robin Pogrebin
220. Richard Pontone
221. Julia Preston
222. Richard Perez-Pena
223. Michael Powell
224. Ben Protess
225. James Quinlan
226. Claiborne Ray
227. Jeffrey Reed
228. Diego Ribadeneira
229. Mike Richard
230. Clay Risen
231. Julia Rohl
232. Michael Roston
233. Alton Rourk
234. Robert Rudinger
235. Emily Rueb
236. Patricia Ryan
237. Justin Sablich
238. Marv Salter
239. Richard Sandomir
240. David Sanger
241. Marc Santora
242. Fernanda Santos
243. Susan Saulny
244. Eric Schmitt
245. Douglas Schorzman
246. John Schwartz
247. Jack Schwartz
248. Diana Scott
249. David Scull
250. Kirk Semple
251. Somini Sengupta
252. Lew Serviss
253. Hilary Shanahan
254. Scott Shane
255. Tara Siegel Bernard
256. Ilena Silverman
257. Natasha Singer
258. Deborah Sontag
259. Ariana Souzis
260. William Storey
261. Ruth Strauss
262. David Streitfeld
263. Justin Swanson
264. Nadia Taha
265. Chris Tatti
266. Oriana Tejada
267. Katie Thomas
268. Ginger Thompson
269. Beau Tidwell
270. Vera Titunik
271. Judy Tong
272. Mark Van de Walle
273. Steve Veccia
274. Helen Verongos
275. Elinor Voldstad
276. Joyce Wadler
277. Dan Wakin
278. Matthew Wald
279. Bruce Weber
280. Andy Webster
281. Jonathan Weisman
282. Sarah Wheaton
283. Carolyn Wilder
284. Andrew Willett
285. Charles Williams
286. Damon Winter
287. Bob Woletz
288. Edward Wong
289. John Woods
290. Amy Zerba

LATEST NEWS

TESTIMONIALS

  • "We've had foreign staff who lived in terror that they would lose their positions because our pension was the only way they could ever retire."

    Read Walt Baranger's e-mail to colleagues criticizing management's announcement that it is freezing the pensions of foreign citizen employees.

    Walt Baranger

  • "I have been a foreign bureau employee for 27 years and was shocked at the content and curt tone of the letter I received at home earlier this month announcing that my pension plan was frozen. Period. Just like that. We are based abroad but we are expected to work just as hard and loyally for the paper as you all in NY. And we do, managing reporters' often complicated professional and personal situations in addition to our daily contribution to the paper's content. We expect the company to behave loyally to us in return. The unilateral decision of freezing a pension plan doesn't qualify to me as decent or acceptable."

    Anonymous

  • "I remain grateful for the commitment to maintaining the Times' quality, even as our competitors have been forced to make compromises. That commitment should set the tone for these negotiations, acknowledging that maintaining excellence means supporting the people who do the excellent work."

    John Leland, Reporter

  • "I hope you realize how devoted we are to the paper, and how far we go to get the news for you, the countless hours we put in to contribute to this great newspaper, way beyond the monetary compensation in return. This is the moment for you to step up, to show we're not merely anonymous numbers, that you care for our well-being, the same way we care for the integrity, and well-being of this great newspaper."

    Rosalie Radomsky, News Assistant/Writer

  • "As the Guild's letter states, the disconnect between the praise lavished upon us and the dismissive treatment we have experienced in negotiations has reached grotesque proportions. Talk without supporting action is by definition cheap, and a bit contemptuous to boot. The Times model is BASED on providing premium journalism; this is a business that is fundamentally about intellectual property -- that happens to be your labor force. Do what's right by your staff, and your brand will flourish. Do badly, and watch the staff leave or lose heart, and the readership flatten or slip."

    Longtime staff editor

  • "I'm sure that you must have certain pressures that I am not privy to, but I still find it troubling that The Times is compensating an executive at the expense of the rank and file, the very behavior that we criticize in our editorial pages. I am confident, nevertheless, that we can all find a way out of this struggle together. This is a wonderful and rare institution and you have made difficult and wise decisions in the past."

    Gabe Johnson, Video Journalist

  • "Signed in memory of my colleagues Khalid W. Hassan, who was shot dead in Iraq, and Sultan Munadi, shot and killed near Kabul."

    Read Walt Baranger's message to colleagues memorializing Hassan and Munadi.

    Walt Baranger

  • "Like many of us who have worked at the NY Times for decades, and feel profoundly proud of -- and identified with -- the amazing product we put out every day, I feel that the gap between what Janet Robinson will be leaving with, and what we are being offered, is simply wrong."

    Tamar Lewin, Domestic Correspondent