The journalists of the Los Angeles Times reached a historic milestone this week: 80 percent of us have pledged to vote yes in a strike authorization vote.
The Guild Eagle: How you can help as Times journalists face more layoffs
Guild statement on more layoffs at the L.A. Times
We still believe in the Los Angeles Times and the important role it plays in our community. It is difficult to carry out our mission when our staff has been cut year after year. But we will continue to report and we will continue to fight — for our members, our readers, our subscribers and our city.
The Guild Eagle: Buyouts, AI blowback
The Guild Eagle: What's really happening at the L.A. Times?
LAT Guild statement: Our commitment to journalistic integrity
Open letter from L.A. Times staff
Statement on the L.A. Times' decision not to issue a presidential endorsement
Open letter to L.A. Times management on proposed layoffs
Statement from LAT Guild Unit Council on proposed layoffs
Latino Caucus Student Open House
The Los Angeles Times Guild’s Latino Caucus and the Washington Post Guild Latino Caucus are joining forces to co-host a bicoastal student open house on Saturday, November 13, 2021, from 10:30 AM to 2 PM PST.
How do you get into the business? What is a journalist’s day-to-day? How is the profession evolving? What are the critical issues facing Latino journalists in today’s newsrooms?
Writers, reporters, columnists and editors from The Times and the Post will be on hand for sessions devoted to exploring these issues, as well as the specifics of covering sports, politics, immigration, audience engagement and much more!
To register, go to bit.ly/LatinoOpenHouse
View our panelist schedule here.
¡Y nos vemos on November 13!
L.A. Times Guild members found AAPI Caucus
We’re proud to work for the Los Angeles Times, a publication with the largest representation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders of any major newsroom in America — from our owner and masthead leaders, to editors, reporters, columnists, podcast hosts and assistants.
But we must aim higher if we are to succeed as a modern news organization.
Latino journalists at the L.A. Times pen open letter for better newsroom representation
Guild's Black Caucus thanks L.A. Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong
Letter to Patrick Soon-Shiong from the L.A. Times Guild's Black Caucus
L.A. Times Guild strikes deal to avoid newsroom layoffs
Today, the Los Angeles Times Guild reached a deal with The Times to avoid more than 80 layoffs and other cuts to our newsroom. From May 10 to August 1, our journalists will work a 20% reduced weekly schedule to cut payroll by more than $2 million while we weather this unprecedented economic crisis. There will be no more newsroom layoffs this quarter.
Members endorse the NewsGuild's efforts to save journalism jobs
On April 20, members of the Media Guild of the West, TNG-CWA Local 39213, voted 100% to 0% to approve the following resolution:
Whereas, tens of thousands of journalists and media workers have lost their jobs, taken pay cuts and been furloughed as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic;
Whereas, many communities no longer have robust newsrooms to cover local news, and many more are now at risk of losing access to vital, life-saving information during a historic pandemic;
Whereas, Los Angeles, like dozens of cities, has benefited from world-class journalism and seen the consequences of the diminishment of its great newsrooms;
Whereas, everyone has a right to timely, professional, accurate and independent information about their communities and the democracy in which we live;
Therefore, be it resolved: The members of the Media Guild of the West, TNG-CWA Local 39213, support efforts by the NewsGuild and by their local union to save journalism jobs during the pandemic and to assist in the renewal of quality journalism in the United States of America.
L.A. Times journalists ratify groundbreaking first contract
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: https://latguild.com/contact
LOS ANGELES — Journalists of the Los Angeles Times voted 388 to 3 on Thursday to ratify the first collective bargaining agreement in the newsroom’s 138-year history. The contract will dramatically improve the quality of life for the journalists who produce The Times as well as help lift standards across the media industry.
“Our union began as a small rebellion. Now generations of future L.A. Times journalists will enjoy better pay and job protections,” said Anthony Pesce, co-chair of the L.A. Times Guild. “It’s thrilling to see so many other newsrooms across the country join our fight.”
The Guild’s three-year agreement, reached Oct. 16, will provide for:
an average raise of more than $11,000 per person in its first year. Most members will receive at least a 5% raise on ratification, followed by across-the-board raises of 2.5% in each of the next two years.
pay minimums for all newsroom positions and step raises based on industry experience.
extensive limits on the company’s ability to subcontract or outsource union work to non-union employees
restrictions on imposing work or subscription quotas.
a stronger version of the NFL’s Rooney Rule, requiring managers, when possible, to interview at least two candidates who are women or members of traditionally underrepresented groups, including Black, Latino, Asian American, Native and LGBTQ journalists.
The Guild also secured many other benefits: improved public transit subsidies, protections against increases in healthcare costs, just-cause employment protections, guaranteed severance packages, protections against harassment and retaliation, and the right to pursue personal book projects and retain intellectual property rights to those books.
“Part of the reason I unionized to begin with is because the L.A. Times was the only newsroom I’d worked in that didn’t have basic job protections — things like guaranteed severance or just-cause employment,” said Carolina Miranda, co-chair of the Guild. “This contract achieves that and more.”
The L.A. Times Guild represents nearly 500 newsroom employees, including reporters, columnists, data journalists, copy editors, librarians, web producers, audio producers, page designers, photographers and videographers. Times journalists voted to unionize in January 2018 by a 248-44 vote and began bargaining in July 2018, shortly after the newspaper was sold to Los Angeles billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.
The union campaign at The Times, the largest news organization in the western United States, has been followed by a nationwide flurry of organizing at media outlets including the Chicago Tribune, the Virginian Pilot, the Florida Times-Union, BuzzFeed News and the Arizona Republic.
The L.A. Times Guild is a unit of the Media Guild of the West, a new NewsGuild-CWA local being formed in Los Angeles whose leaders will be elected soon.
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Notice of membership meeting for Executive Committee nominations
Dear Colleagues,
We have a tentative agreement. The ratification vote is upon us. And now, it’s time to build on our strong foundation by electing our first post-contract officers. We know it sounds like we’re getting ahead of ourselves, but our bylaws require that we seat our new Executive Committee at our January, 2020, all-hands meeting.
It’s a long-ish process, but the first step is to nominate candidates for nine positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and five at-large representatives. Our nomination meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 11, at 6:30 p.m. We will be meeting in El Segundo, on the second floor, in Conference Room 202.
The term of office is two years. Any Guild member in good standing may nominate a candidate or run for office. There is one exception: No one who is on the Elections Committee may be a candidate.
In order to vote for officers, you must be a Guild member in good standing as of Dec. 13. What are the requirements to be in good standing with full voting privileges? You must have signed a membership card, be current on dues and have paid your initiation fee of $10.
We will explain the whole process in later e-mails and at the nomination meeting on Nov. 11. Officers’ responsibilities are described below, as per the bylaws. Check them out and see if you might be a good fit.
Article IV. Duties of Officers
Section 1. The President shall:
Preside at general membership and Executive Committee meetings.
Serve as an ex officio and non-voting member of all standing and special committee meetings.
Section 2. The Vice President shall:
Perform the duties and responsibilities of the President caused by the President’s absence, resignation or demise until the vacancy is filled in accordance with the Bylaws.
Section 3. The Treasurer shall:
Serve as the custodian of all assets of the Local.
Ensure that the Local’s finances are audited annually and that fiscal records of the local are properly submitted to the TNG-CWA.
Provide reports on the Local’s finances at each Executive Committee and each Membership meeting.
Sign tax returns or other reports required under state and federal law.
Section 4. The Secretary shall:
Ensure that minutes for meetings of the Executive Committee and general Membership are prepared and posted.
Ensure that agendas for meetings of the Executive Committee and general Membership are prepared and posted.
Maintain all records of the Local that are not fiscal records.
Prepare correspondence as directed by the Executive Committee.
Oversee Membership rolls.
Provide Membership lists for those who wish to circulate petitions in accordance with the Bylaws.
Accept and process referenda and petitions.
In addition to the four named officers, we will be electing five at-large representatives. These officers serve as liaisons to the general membership. They are voting members of the executive board and have whatever additional duties may be assigned to them by the the president and/or the board.
Mark your calendars: Nov. 11, 6:30 p.m., second-floor Conference Room 202.
Watch this space for more information. And think about who you want to see on your Executive Committee as we continue to build TNG-CWA 39213.
Best,
The Elections Committee: Michael Finnegan, Maria La Ganga, Vanessa Martinez, Maloy Moore, Sonja Sharp
Celebrate the L.A. Times Guild's historic contract agreement by subscribing to The Times
To our readers,
We have great news: The journalists of the Los Angeles Times have reached a tentative agreement on our first union contract with our owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.
The contract still needs to be approved by our membership. But the terms of the contract ensure that for the next three years, The Times will be a good place for journalists to work and build a future for their families.
To celebrate our historic milestone, we’re asking you to subscribe to The Times. If you are already a subscriber, thank you. Please spread the word to your family and friends.
Here’s what we’re asking you to do:
Click the subscription link at the top of the page, or the link that pops up when you hit the paywall
Spread the news! Share on Twitter that you’ve subscribed, tagging us @latguild, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
On mobile: Click the link just below the LA Times name plate that offers a deal on a digital subscription
On desktop: Click the blue “SUBSCRIBE” button in the upper right-hand corner of your screen
Our comprehensive coverage of issues that affect your lives — homelessness, education, the economy, the environment, and many others — is very expensive to produce.
To make sure that we stay locally owned and invested in this community, we need to keep growing our base of loyal readers. Our future depends on digital subscriptions from loyal readers like you.
Subscribing to The Times will directly help us expose wrongdoing, raise civic awareness, and tell stories that explain these complex times.
Thank you for your support. It means the world to us.
— The L.A. Times Guild