The Guild Eagle: Buyouts, AI blowback

Buyouts hit newsroom hard, irreplaceable institutional knowledge lost

Hi everyone: 

This is Laura Nelson, a reporter in the Times’ California section and a steward in the Los Angeles Times Guild. You’re receiving this message because you’ve signed up for updates from the union that represents Times journalists.

I wanted to open this edition of our newsletter by recognizing and thanking the 48 journalists, 40 of them members of the Guild, who are leaving our newsroom in our latest round of buyouts.

These editors, reporters, photojournalists, columnists, copy editors, news librarians and other staffers have amassed hundreds of years of shared institutional knowledge and service to The Times and our community. They’re also cherished colleagues and friends. We will really miss them.

Notably, these buyouts will further hollow out the Times’ Editorial Board, which, starting in April, will have no writers left. Our Opinion section has also shrunk dramatically. Meanwhile, the size of our Washington, D.C. bureau has been reduced by more than half, with the departure of five Guild reporters and editors.

We’d like to offer a special thank you to the departing journalists who served in Guild leadership, including unit chair and editorial board member Carla Hall, at-large unit council member and assistant editor Paloma Esquivel, and a half dozen Guild stewards. 

Now, on to other news items:

Some kick-ass journalism
Even as we faced a shrinking newsroom, The Times’ journalists continued to produce outstanding work. Libor Jany and Richard Winton broke the details on the racist, sexist and homophobic comments uttered by officers in the LAPD’s recruitment office. Jack Harris in Sports wrote about Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ recent visit to the Pacific island of Okinawa, the place of his birth, and his embrace of his Japanese heritage.

Julia Wick pressed Mayor Karen Bass on the deletion of her texts from the week of the Palisades fire. And our entertainment team produced masterful work covering the Oscars, including the winners list, the story stream and the best and worst moments.

Brittny Mejia shared a harrowing tale from the operating room of a leg-lengthening procedure. 

Adam Tschorn talked to actor-comedian Joel McHale about how to have the best Sunday in L.A., which late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel asked McHale about in a recent interview.

Laurence Darmiento exposed the challenges L.A. fire victims insured through State Farm General are facing from California’s largest home insurer. Those interviewed said they’ve tried to get environmental testing to determine their homes’ damage and have been denied.

Finally, the LAT's Jeanette Marantos looked into the question: why did some trees burn in the Jan. 7 fires, while others survived? Some trees lived, she writes, because they have "thick bark, a shape that sheds embers and higher moisture content." Give it a read!

— David Zahniser

Insulting our artificial intelligence
Now, some less encouraging news. Earlier this month, The Times unveiled a new AI bot called "Insights," whose content is now attached to the online edition’s editorials, op-eds and columns. 

The reviews were mostly unkind.

Touted as a counterweight to partisan bias, the Op-Bot set off alarms in its first day, after it appeared to many readers that the AI tool, while assessing Gustavo Arellano’s column on the history of the Ku Klux Klan in Orange County, was defending the KKK. CNN concluded that the new AI tool was offering “pro-KKK arguments.” Futurism simply wanted to know: "Seriously — who asked for this?"

Margaret Sullivan, writing in the Guardian, told readers there's "one firm rule about the use of AI in journalism" — that a human should be in the loop before publication. "Because AI, at least at this point, is often wrong on the facts, and because many news consumers are suspicious of it," she wrote.

Arellano, in a follow-up piece, called the controversy more nuanced, saying the AI tool used “fuzzy and clumsy phrasing” but did not defend the KKK. He also noted that his piece, which called for readers to remember the KKK’s history in Anaheim, was branded as a politically “left” viewpoint by the AI tool.

The Times swiftly removed the AI analysis from Arellano’s piece. Matt Hamilton, the Guild’s unit vice chair, argued that without human safeguards, such AI tools will undermine trust in the work of our members.

“The money for this endeavor could have been directed elsewhere: supporting our journalists on the ground who have had no cost-of-living increase since 2021.”

— Sonja Sharp 

Marking the calendar
Speaking of cost-of-living increases, here’s another unsettling milestone: Contract negotiations at The Times recently passed the two and a half year mark.

The Guild began bargaining with management on a new contract for salaries, benefits and worker protections on Sept. 6, 2022. The contract was expected to cover three years.

A final Guild reminder
Despite the losses to our newsroom and new concerns over AI, The Times still has 235 unionized human journalists who are dedicated to bringing you the news you need.

We promise to remain vigilant in our newsroom and in our communities. That means producing strong accountability journalism on such topics as the recovery from the recent wildfires, Trump’s impact on California and the Democrats’ differing responses. But we also intend to speak up when our newspaper’s owner makes moves that threaten the quality of our own journalism.

If you believe in the need for critical reporting in our city and state, led by people who live here, then please continue to follow us as we seek your help in our fight for a fair contract and job protections. More on that soon.

— James Queally

Open letter to L.A. Times management on proposed layoffs

Dear newsroom leaders,

Since the Los Angeles Times Guild started negotiating our new contract in September, our bargaining committee has met with management representatives more than two dozen times. Executive editor Kevin Merida has attended twice. No managing editor, deputy managing editor or section editor has ever participated.

Now, the company has blindsided us with proposed layoffs — which we will begin bargaining over today — and Kevin Merida and newsroom leadership initially only planned to speak with us on Monday, five long days after announcing their intention to upend many of our lives. This is deeply insulting.

We would have been willing to discuss alternatives to layoffs had your representatives at the bargaining table broached the issue at any point in the last nine months. In fact, the Guild has a track record of finding solutions to newsroom budget problems. In the depths of the pandemic financial crisis in 2020, Guild leadership proposed an innovative work-sharing plan to Times management that averted 84 newsroom layoffs.

Instead, the company surprised us with this proposed layoff. We deserve better. The livelihoods of dozens of our colleagues are now on the line. Nothing could be more important for our day-to-day well-being and our professional futures at The Times.

Your handling of this proposed layoff sends a clear message to the newsroom: You don’t care about the contract, and you don’t care about us.

This layoff proposal comes after months of little progress in contract talks. The company’s representatives may be reluctant to discuss what’s happening at the bargaining table, but we’re not. Hundreds of Guild members have observed the negotiations, and the problem is clear. No one representing management is actually in charge.

Most of the team selected to represent you — a lawyer in San Francisco, representatives from HR — aren't journalists. Those representatives don't know the newsroom. They don’t even know which issues are worth fighting for. For example, our bargaining committee was forced to spend several sessions discussing limitations around desk decor, specifically what procedures we should follow if we wanted to bring in birthday balloons for a colleague.

We know it’s tempting to think that, because contract negotiations can be complicated, it’s better to stay out of it and let the company’s lawyer do her work.

But in your absence, your representatives have resorted to intimidation tactics to try to keep us from observing our contract talks. We've filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board because, as journalists, we stand for openness and transparency. We expect the same of our company. What are you afraid that we’ll see? The fact that nothing is getting done? 

Our contract expired more than six months ago. No journalist would ever treat a deadline in such a cavalier manner. Now, you have proposed a reduction in staff with no warning or discussion. It’s difficult to imagine an issue more urgent. We expect to see meaningful movement, and soon. We are tired of waiting.

We're willing to do whatever it takes to win the contract that this newsroom deserves. You should be too. Starting now, we need to see a senior newsroom leader at every bargaining session — not just observing, but participating. Show us that you want to make progress. Show us that you care.

In solidarity,

Matt Pearce 

Jeanette Marantos

Gabriel San Roman

Julia Wick

Brian Contreras

Jaclyn Cosgrove 

Jay L. Clendenin

Sam Dean

Denise Guerra

Mary Kate Metivier

Andrew Turner

Carlos Santana

Laura Nelson

Mark E. Potts

Gale Holland

Alison Dingeldein

Phil Willon

Lauren Raab

Nicole Vas

Jared Servantez
Jad El Reda

Isabelle D’Antonio

Glenn Whipp

Mackenzie Mays

Adam Tschorn

Hugo Martin

Courtney Lewis

Carolyn Cole

Georgia Geen

Tracy Brown 

Leslie Cory

Connor Sheets

Robert Gauthier

Lee Rogers

Calvin B. Alagot

Paula Mejía

Maret Orliss

Victor Barajas

Eduard Cauich

Kenan Draughorne

Marisa Gerber

Thuc Nhi Nguyen

An Amlotte

Sonja Sharp

Alexandra E Petri

Sean Greene

Debbie Truong

Lisa Horowitz 

Nathan Fenno

David R. Campbell

Brittny Mejia

Anne Elisabeth Dillon 

Andrew Khouri

Jerome Adamstein

Andrea Castillo

Yvonne Villarreal

Marina Watanabe

Angie Jaime

Tom Carroll

Taryn Luna

Alison Sneag

Jeong Park

Jim Buzinski

Vanessa Martínez

Jenny Jarvie

Patrick Hruby

Ben Oreskes

Ada Tseng 

Jack Dolan

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu

Elsa Luna Jones

Ross May

Katie Licari

Dania Maxwell

Kiera Feldman

Kenya Romero

Iris Lee

Lorraine Ali

Jaweed Kaleem

Ben Bolch

Danielle Dorsey

Agnus Dei Farrant

Kasia Broussalian

Jess Hutchison

Angela Jamison

Jim Barrero

Matt Hamilton

Crystal Villarreal

Tyrone Beason

Ben Brazil

Ben Mims

Carla Hall

Ryan Kartje

Ashlea Brown

Scott Smeltzer

Vincent Nguyen

Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee

Javier Calle

elena villanueva

Karin Klein

Denise Florez 

Julie Giuffrida 

Jie Jenny Zou

Valerie Hood

Brian Merchant

Gustavo Arellano

Craig Marks

Amy Kaufman

August Brown

Stephanie Breijo

P.K. Daniel

Soudi Jiménez

Sammy Roth 

Todd Martens

David Zahniser 

Selene Rivera

Rachel Schnalzer 

Marisa Martinez

Joshua Letona

Paloma Esquivel

David Viramontes

Nicholas Ducassi

Carlos De Loera

Alex Wigglesworth

Doug Smith

Marissa Evans

Colleen Shalby

Gillian Glover

Joseph Binoya

Bill Shaikin

David Lewis

Christi Carras

Sandhya Kambhampati

Samantha Masunaga

Jackie Calmes

Elena Gooray

Dwayne Rogers

Erika D. Smith

Suhauna Hussain

Summer Lin

Asal Ehsanipour

Helen Li

Jennifer Arcand

Mark Olsen

Abhinanda Bhattacharyya

Jason Sanchez

Kerry Cavanaugh

David Toledo 

Jack Flemming

Nafeesa Syeed 

Mike DiGiovanna

Arit John

Matthew Cooper

Eric Terrazas

Nunzio Ingrassia 

Dawn Burkes 

Corinne Purtill

Lila Seidman 

Hailey Branson-Potts

Brandon Choe

Alexandra Del Rosario

Javier Panzar

Jessica Garrison

Yadira Flores

Myung Chun

Jason Armond

Thomas Curwen

Jonah Valdez

Steve Eames

Deborah Netburn

Hamlet Nalbandyan 

Brian van der Brug

Karen Kaplan

Christopher Knight

Christian Martinez

Eric Licas

Robert Greene

Phi Do

Jim Rainey

Julia Carmel

Suzy Exposito

Jessica Roy 

Kevin Ueda

Doug Norwood

Gina Ferazzi

Robert Lloyd

Eduardo Gonzalez

Christian Orozco 

Melanie Mason

Maneeza Iqbal

Chris Price

Liam Dillon

Deborah Vankin 

Josh Rottenberg

Laura Newberry

Wendy Lee

Allen Schaben

Matt Szabo

Paul Ybarrondo

Nardine Saad

George Skelton

Jessica Gelt

Emily Alpert Reyes

Greg Braxton 

Priscella Vega

Greg Diaz

Paul Duginski

Paul Thornton

Daniel Miller

Matt Wilhalme

Angeline Woo

Justin Chang

Albert Lee

Frank Shyong

Noah Bierman

Sarah Mosqueda 

Laura Schinagle

Parisa Hajizadeh-Amini

Alexander Higgins

Carolina Miranda

Jessica Martinez

Michael Finnegan

Ben Poston 

Steve Lopez

Kelly Corrigan

Sarah Valenzuela

Lucas Kwan Peterson

Doyle McManus

Ashley Lee

Melissa Gomez

Brady McCollough

Jenn Harris

Bill Addison

Dakota Smith

Anita Chabria

Steve Henson

Evita Timmons

Ed Stockly

Genaro Molina

Laura Blasey

Sonaiya Kelley

Tony Barboza

Jamil Smith

Cody Long

Amy Wong

Nicolas Perez

Dorany Pineda

Elsie Ramos

Robert J. Lopez 

Nick Leyva 

Rachel Uranga

Matt Ormseth

Christie D’Zurilla

Hayley Smith

Jose S. Mancia

Jeff Amlotte

Salvador Hernandez

David Carrillo Peñaloza

Lisa Boone

Karen Garcia

Kevin Leung

Kevinisha Walker

James Queally

R. Marina Levario

Sergio Burstein

Seema Mehta

Katie Antonsson

Raul Roa

Rebecca Ellis

Mel Melcon

Mark Z Barabak

Christopher Reynolds

Rachel Dunn

Faith E. Pinho

Kay Scanlon

Dan Woike

Keri Blakinger

Steven Vargas

Charles McNulty

Jeremy Childs

Grace Toohey

Libor Jany

Sara Cardine

Melody Gutierrez 

Roger Vincent

Christina House

Jessica Q. Chen

Tony Briscoe

Paul Feldman

David Santillan

Noah Goldberg

Cindy Carcamo

Teresa Watanabe

Reed Johnson

Jack Herrera

Brennon Dixson

Emily St. Martin

Taylor Arthur

Don Ragland

Ian James

Hamed Aleaziz

Susanne Rust

Andrew J. Campa

Curtis Zupke

Diana Shantic

Kate Sequeira 

Vanessa Franko

Joe Mozingo

Lorena Elebee

Joy Park

Gerard Lim

Paul Pringle

Robin Abcarian

Julissa James

Gary Coronado

Hannah Wiley

Sue Worrell

Jessica Perez

Elvia Limón

Kevin Crust

Jen Yamato

Andrea Chang

Andre Vergara

Liv Paggiarino

Judy Pryor

Mariah Tauger

Paige St John

Carolyn Horwitz

Adam Elmahrek

Andrew Greif

Kevin Rector

Eric Sondheimer

Rubaina Azhar

Laurence Darmiento

Vanessa Arredondo

Hannah Fry

Meredith Blake

Nathan Solis

David Wharton

Scott Wilson

Jean Guerrero

Jan Molen

Lynn Meersman

Katrina Ten

Kevin Baxter

Wally Skalij

John P. Scheibe

Jim Brooks

Rong-Gong Lin II

Dave Bowman

Jaimie Ding

Alene Tchekmedyian 

Russ Mitchell

Jevon Phillips

Shani Escalona

Dave Bennett

Mark Swed

Laura King

Michael Ottey 

Aida Ylanan

Erin B. Logan

Sarah D. Wire

Mary McNamara

Jorge Castillo

Kailyn Brown

Luke Money

Michael Ordoña

Broderick Turner

Ameera Butt

Richard Winton

J.R. Lizarraga

Don Lee

Courtney Subramanian

Thomas Suh Lauder

Charles Schilken

Jason Neubert

Lara Hochuli

Kent Nishimura

Ryan Fonseca

Lilly Nguyen

Astrid Kayembe

Statement from LAT Guild Unit Council on proposed layoffs

Press contact: Reed Johnson, LAT Guild Unit Council Chair
unit-council@latguild.com

We are outraged by management's announcement this morning that it plans to lay off 57 Guild members across several departments, amounting to roughly 15% of our entire newsroom membership, including several Guild leaders.

This list of targeted layoffs is not final. Under our contract, management is required to bargain with the Guild over proposed layoffs. Management also so far has failed to offer buyouts to staff as is required by our contract.

We were blindsided by this news. Management did not consult us in advance about other options for cutting costs and saving money, short of layoffs. We have been bargaining a new contract since September, and this was never hinted at during bargaining.

This is a case study in bad faith and shows disrespect for the newsroom, which recently added two more Pulitzer Prizes to its long list of awards and recognition for its top-shelf work.

The Guild is pushing back against this outrageous and reckless action by management. The company must discuss alternatives to their unnecessary and short-sighted decision.

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

The L.A. Times staff includes more than 80 journalists with roots in Asia, the Pacific Islands, the Middle East and North Africa. We are coming together as the AAPI Caucus of the L.A. Times Guild. Here is our mission statement:

To: Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong
Cc: Kevin Merida

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.  

Many AAPI staff members have come together in recent months in the wake of the Atlanta shootings to talk about our shared interests and ideas for improving our company. These are some of our main broad goals:

Solidarity: We stand in solidarity with the Black and Latino caucuses, which inspired us with their calls for necessary change, and want to collaborate with them on shared goals of correcting The Times’ past shortfalls, such as fanning the flames of racism, with improved equity and better coverage of communities of color.

Coverage: We call on The Times to invest in producing the nation’s best coverage of our diverse and complex AAPI communities. At a time when the "othering" of our communities has contributed to the rise in anti-Asian racism and violence, we need coverage of Asian Americans that is accurate, nuanced, comprehensive and fair more than ever. We also want the newsroom to strengthen coverage of the Pacific Rim, as our large diaspora communities continue to share deep bonds with their homelands. These are first and foremost civic responsibilities but they are also smart business strategies, as AAPIs are the fastest growing racial group in America who make up 15% of both the Greater Los Angeles area and California more broadly. 

Representation: We want to help create a diverse and inclusive newsroom, staffed by more people with the critical language skills and the cultural understanding needed to cover our complex communities. AAPIs are composed of more than 50 ethnic groups with different languages, cultures, religions and histories in the United States, including those with roots in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific Islands. 

Community: We aim to build stronger bonds with our AAPI communities to understand their collective needs and develop trust, relevance and credibility so we can improve our coverage and better serve them.

Connection: We also want to create a support network for our AAPI staffers so we may build deeper connections with each other across departments, strengthen our collective voice and help advance our career aspirations through mentorship and retention activities. 

To help accomplish these goals, we established the Los Angeles Times AAPI Caucus in November 2021.

We hope you share our goals and will commit to working with us on specific strategies to accomplish them. 

Sincerely,

Teresa Watanabe

Shannon Lin 

Ada Tseng

Seema Mehta

Aida Ylanan

Szu Yu Chen 

David Pierson 

Frank Shyong

Don Lee

Maneeza Iqbal

Samantha Masunaga

Jaweed Kaleem

Albert Lee

Ashley Lee

Jessica Chen

Phi Do

Michael Ordoña

James Kim

Justin Chang

Adrienne Shih

Richard Martin

Irfan Khan

Anh Do

Wendy Lee

Victoria Kim

Andrea Chang

Kevin Leung

Iris Lee

Sandhya Kambhampati

Kevin Ueda

Jie Jenny Zou

Jenn Harris

Suhauna Hussain

Rubaina Azhar 

Kent Nishimura

Rosanna Xia

Amy Wong

Ken Kwok

Thuc Nhi Nguyen

Kelvin Kuo

Rahul Mukherjee

Lilly Nguyen

Cindy Chang

Denise Guerra

Asal Ehsanipour

Lucas Kwan Peterson

Calvin B. Alagot

Rong-Gong Lin II 

Kay Lai Scanlon

Sarah Parvini

Christina House

Heba Elorbany

Alice Su 

Ameera Butt

Adam Elmahrek

Dylan Hernandez 

Thomas Suh Lauder

Katrina Ten

Gregory Yee

Alene Tchekmedyian

Matt Ormseth

Ashley Dunn

Nicole Vas

Calvin Hom

Robbin Nagatoshi-Goddard

Millie Quan

Taylor Le 

Christian Stone

Craig Nakano

Gustavo Arellano

Erin B. Logan

Marissa Evans

Christian Orozco 

Paloma Esquivel

Jevon Phillips

Arit John

Kurtis Lee 

Priscella Vega

Jade Cuevas

Efrain Hernandez Jr.

Andrew J. Campa

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

Brian Contreras

Jared Servantez

Eduardo Gonzalez

Eduard Cauich

Soudi Jiménez

Karen Garcia

Gabriel San Roman

Jad El Reda

Carolina A. Miranda

Dania Maxwell

Erika D. Smith

Martina Ibanez-Baldor

Jessica Martinez

Nancy Rivera Brooks

R. Marina Levario

Lorena Elebee 

Vanessa Martínez

Andrea Castillo

Daniel Hernandez

Carla Hall 

Alex Tatusian

Carlos Lozano

Terry Tang

Henry Chu

This letter was signed by members of the AAPI Caucus of the L.A. Times Guild, other non-Guild AAPI staff of the L.A. Times, and members of the Guild’s Black Caucus and Latino Caucus in solidarity. Media Guild of the West’s Executive Committee unanimously voted to support this statement.

Latino journalists at the L.A. Times pen open letter for better newsroom representation

As a union, we support the efforts of our journalists in shaping a newsroom that is more reflective of the people we serve and the communities we cover. Despite being the largest demographic group in the State of California, Latinos at the Los Angeles Times remain chronically underrepresented in the newsroom. In an effort to advocate for better representation, The Times’ Latino employees have come together as the Latino Caucus under the L.A. Times Guild. They are sharing the following demands for change:

To: Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong
Cc: Norman Pearlstine, Kimi Yoshino, Scott Kraft

For much of its history, the Los Angeles Times has covered the Latino community in dehumanizing ways, painting us as criminals or victims or simply ignoring us.

The Times slurred Mexicans as “greasers” and “wetbacks” and immigrants without legal status as “border jumpers” and “illegal aliens.” It advocated for the invasion of Latin American countries, and vilified Central Americans as they sought refuge in Los Angeles during the exodus of the 1980s. 

Today The Times continues to fail, in its staffing and coverage, to reflect a region where nearly one of every two residents is Latino. In doing so it has neglected to serve what should be its largest audience.

For decades, we’ve asked management to hire more of us, promote us and make us editors. But those calls have largely gone unanswered. Today, only 13% of The Times newsroom is Latino. Of 109 editors and managers, only 11% of them are Latino. The Times has only ever had three Latino masthead editors. 

Despite it all, The Times has a powerful history of achievement by Latino journalists.

The Times was the home of Ruben Salazar, who inspired a generation of Latino reporters. It is the newspaper that won Pulitzers for “Latinos” in 1984, “Enrique’s Journey” in 2003 and “Bell Corruption” in 2011. It is the newspaper that continues to publish numerous stories by Latino writers that resonate locally and nationally.

We believe The Times must be a newspaper where this type of coverage isn’t the exception, but rather our guiding light toward a better future. And we believe The Times can only survive if it becomes a news organization whose staff truly reflects the community it purports to serve.

The Latino Caucus was established in July 2020 to call for change. We did so inspired by our Black colleagues, who formed the L.A. Times Guild’s first Black Caucus and pushed open the doors of what is possible. 

We are speaking up now because we want The Times to succeed. And we believe that in order for us to do so, our owner and management must act on the following demands. 

1)         We stand in solidarity with the Black Caucus and want continued commitment to their demands.

2)         Stop treating Latinos as a minority group. The newspaper must center our stories — online, in images, podcasts and L.A. Times Studio projects. Latino subscribers are fundamental to our survival, and how we regard or disregard this demographic moving forward determines our journalistic relevance and market value. 

3)         Build a newsroom that reflects the demographics of L.A. County, where Latinos are nearly 50% of the population. To start, we ask for a pledge that you hire enough Latino journalists to, at a minimum, meet the county’s demographics halfway within a period of five years. (This should not include interns, Metpros or editorial assistants). Ensure that these hires won’t be tokenized or only expected to tell Latino stories. While we take pride in telling the stories of our community, we can report on others just like anyone else.  Prioritize hiring Latinos to the following posts or departments, which currently list zero or only one permanent Latino staffer:  

• Campaign 2020

• Courts / Police / Crime

• Investigations

• Latin America

• National Desk

• Washington D.C.

• Food 

4)         Formally apologize for fomenting episodes of anti-Latino hysteria in California and the United States.

5)        Correct pay disparities for Latinos and other journalists of color and women whose salaries, post-Guild contract, remain glaringly low compared to white counterparts. 

6)         Guarantee that at least two Latino Caucus members, in addition to Black journalists and other journalists of color, are kept informed about the creation of new jobs, the search for candidates and the vetting of finalists. 

7)         Create a path for Latinos on staff to grow into influential roles: columnists, critics, editors and managers. We ask that in the next five years, you hire enough Latino editors and managers to, at a minimum, meet the county’s demographics halfway. We request that our company nurture those at Times Community Newspapers and also in entry-level positions where Latinos are now better represented, such as Metpro and editorial assistants.

8)         Establish a robust pipeline for Latino talent. Connect with and contribute to Latino journalism organizations such as the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California. We request that you build a database of Latino candidates recommended by staff; reach out to them and track their careers.

9)         Guarantee that in the next three years, you will increase outreach and hiring from public university systems with large Latino student bodies, such as the Cal State University system, where Latinos make up 43% of the student population. In nearly a decade, The Times has hosted more than 250 interns and Metpro fellows. Only 4% of those spots have gone to students from Cal State universities.

10)   Provide L.A. Times en Español the resources it needs to succeed as a key L.A. Times brand representing Southern California’s vast Spanish-speaking market. We ask that management meet with their team regularly, market their work, and elevate and respect their voice in our newsroom.

11)   Institute employee reviews for management and hold managers accountable for their track records of recruiting and retaining Black, Latino and other journalists of color. 

12)   End the practice of relying on Spanish speakers and other multilingual journalists as translators without providing a byline or additional pay. Hire Spanish-speaking translators or compensate Latino journalists for taking on additional labor translating for monolingual colleagues.

13)   Commit to adding more Latinos on The Times’ business side. Hire publicists, consultants, marketing specialists and salespeople who have an intimate sense of Los Angeles’ diverse Latino market.

14)   Invest in having The Times brand present in Latino Los Angeles. Host food, music, sports and cultural events catering to Latino audiences. Highlight Latino Times writers, invite them to create conversations and town halls across Southern California.

Signed,

Tony Barboza
Dylan Hernandez
Maria Torres
Eduardo M. Gonzalez
Carolina A. Miranda
Tomás Mier
Brittny Mejia
Jorge Castillo
Jackeline Luna
Cindy Carcamo
Nancy Rivera Brooks
Esmeralda Bermudez
Gabriela Fernandez
Patricia Escárcega
Jessica Perez
Fidel Martinez
Paloma Esquivel
Andrew J. Campa
Elsie Ramos
Ruben Vives
Andrea Castillo
Nicole Santa Cruz
R. Marina Levario
Martina Ibanez-Baldor
Christian Orozco
Gustavo Arellano
Denise Florez
Raul Roa
Javier Panzar
Nick Leyva
Soudi Jimenez
Betty Chavarria
Eduard Cauich
Jad El Reda
Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
Selene Rivera
Steve Saldivar
Leila Miller
Sergio Burstein
Dania Maxwell
Alexa Díaz
Julia Barajas
Brian Contreras
Joseph Serna
Yadira Flores
Priscella Vega
Laura Zornosa
Jose Salvador Mancia
Melissa Gomez
Gregory Diaz
Jared Servantez
Jade Cuevas
Marilyn Ruiz
Vanessa Martínez
Dorany Pineda
Mariel Garza
Victor Barajas
Diego Medrano
Vera Castaneda
Hillary Davis
Hugo Martin
Hector Becerra
Vilma Cruz
Efrain Hernandez Jr.
Melody Gutierrez
Ruthanne Salido
Julissa James
Yvonne Villarreal
Carlos Santana
Steve Padilla
Frank Rojas
Carlos Lozano
J.R Lizarraga
Taryn Luna
Elsa Luna Jones
Victoria Hernandez
Laurie Ochoa
Lorena Elebee
Jessica Martinez
Stephanie Chavez
David Carrillo Peñaloza

This letter was signed by members of the Latino Caucus of the L.A. Times Guild, other Non-Guild Latino staffers, and the L.A. Times Guild Black Caucus in solidarity

Guild's Black Caucus thanks L.A. Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong

To: Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong
CC: Norman Pearlstine, Scott Kraft and Kimi Yoshino

Thank you for seeing us and for hearing our voices. But most of all, thank you for agreeing to be a force for long-needed changes at The Los Angeles Times. 

We were heartened to read your letter and learn that you have agreed to invest in diversifying our newsroom by hiring more Black journalists over the next 36 months. Just as important, we applaud your decision to provide equal pay and more pathways for Black journalists to advance our careers at The Times. 

We are eager to help to reshape and expand coverage to include more underrepresented Black and Latino communities and, with your support, to root out the unconscious bias that too often pervades the framing of stories and headlines, driving away subscribers of color.  

Moreover, it was encouraging to hear that you take accusations of misconduct, discrimination and harassment seriously. Like many of our Guild colleagues, we have been troubled by several serious allegations that have emerged in recent days, including some against former Food Editor Peter Meehan. We call on management to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into what happened. 

In short, we look forward to working with you to help The Times become a workplace that all of us can be proud of. One that is not only diverse and inclusive, but truly an environment of fairness, kindness and mutual respect. 

In solidarity, 

The Black Caucus of the L.A. Times Guild

Letter to Patrick Soon-Shiong from the L.A. Times Guild's Black Caucus

As a union, it is our responsibility to be a force for progress, and we cannot build the future we want for the Los Angeles Times until we clearly see its past. Over the last two weeks, Black former Times journalists have come forward with stories of racist treatment, marginalization and neglect in our newsroom over the last three decades. Many of our current Black colleagues have internally shared those same concerns as they’ve critiqued our coverage of the movement for Black lives and other communities of color. They have formed a caucus under the L.A. Times Guild to share the following demands for change, which we embrace as our own.

To: Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong
Cc: Norman Pearlstine, Kimi Yoshino, Scott Kraft

Two years ago this month, you completed your purchase of The Los Angeles Times with a commitment to rebuild our storied institution by investing in independent, local journalism. Today, we, the Black Caucus of the L.A. Times Guild, ask you to make another commitment to invest — this time to build a truly diverse and inclusive newsroom.

The nation’s reckoning over race has put a much-needed spotlight on inequities at The Times. We are in a crisis and it is not new. Those of us who have been here since the tumult of 1992 say history is repeating itself. We don’t have enough Black journalists — or, more broadly, journalists of color — to cover our overwhelmingly diverse city, state and nation with appropriate insight and sensitivity. And most of us who do work here are often ignored, marginalized, under-valued and left to drift along career paths that leave little opportunity for advancement. Meanwhile, we’re hearing the same empty promises and seeing the same foot-dragging from management.

We cannot allow this to continue. This is as much a moral imperative, as a financial one. The Times will not survive without winning over subscribers who are not white, and the only way to do that is to have a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Therefore, the Black Caucus demands:

—Commit to hiring enough Black journalists to, at a minimum, reflect the percentage of Black residents in Los Angeles County. We currently have 26 Black journalists on staff. That means The Times would need to hire 18 Black journalists over three years, including five over the next year, for a total of 44.

—Create a pipeline for Black journalists to advance their careers within The Times. Many on staff want to become editors, investigative reporters and columnists, but have found there is no path forward.

—A public apology. This is not just for the Black journalists on staff, but for the communities that The Times has maligned over the years with tone-deaf coverage that has often inflamed racial tensions. If we are to move forward, it is important to confront and make peace with our past.

—Correct pay disparities especially for Black journalists. While the Guild contract helped narrow the salary gap, many Black journalists are still woefully underpaid compared to our white counterparts.

—Hire someone to oversee the Metpro program, lead recruitment, and support the paper's equity and inclusion efforts. This should be a masthead-level position with a budget large enough to bring in coaches (for writing, copy editing, graphics, etc.) and other resources to invest in young journalists.

—Reshape our coverage to better reach people of color that the company, itself, has identified as a neglected and untapped base of potential subscribers. Often, our framing and selection of stories is designed mostly with a white audience in mind at the expense of communities of color. Our coverage must capture the nuance and complexity, in particular, of the Black community. That starts with listening to reporters.

—Commit to ending the work-share program by its intended date, August 1, without any cuts to staff.

—Require Norm and Kimi to meet one-on-one with all Black journalists on staff to hear their stories. Reading the Diversity channel in Slack isn’t enough to truly understand the full experience of what it’s like to work at The Times while Black.

As you wrote in the very pages of this paper, recalling your time in South Africa during apartheid, “we cannot be bystanders and enablers in a crisis.” Instead, we must “confront the racism” that affects “Black lives disproportionately.” That “we” must include the Los Angeles Times and those “Black lives” are ours. Because we matter.

Signed,

The Black Caucus of the L.A. Times Guild

Erin B. Logan
Adriana Lacy
Makeda Easter
Julissa James
Kurtis Lee
Angela Jamison
Greg Braxton
Carla Hall
Angel Jennings
Justin Ray
Carla Rivera
Sonaiya Kelley
Jason Armond
Emmanuel Morgan
Erika D. Smith 
Gabriella Angotti-Jones
Jevon Phillips
Courtney Lewis
Broderick Turner

Other members of the L.A. Times Guild signing in solidarity

Matt Pearce
Robert Gourley
Adrienne Shih
Craig Marks
Samantha Masunaga
Thuc Nhi Nguyen
Marisa Gerber
Eduardo M. Gonzalez
Eduard Cauich
Adam Tschorn
Jessica Chen
August Brown
Ryan Faughnder
Brian Park
Kelcie Pegher
Sonali Kohli
Sonja Sharp
Jaweed Kaleem
Alex Wigglesworth
Laura Blasey
James Queally
Del Wilber
Melissa Gomez
Jie Jenny Zou
Laura Newberry
Sarah Parvini
Jessica Roy
Ross May
Chris Megerian
Betty Chavarria
Maya Lau
Rubaina Azhar
Faith E. Pinho
Carolina A. Miranda
Jennifer Haberkorn
Seema Mehta
Paul Ybarrondo
Brittany Hite
Andrea Castillo
Kevin Ueda
Rahul Mukherjee
Lorraine Ali
Alexa Díaz
Cindy Carcamo
Joseph Serna
Johana Bhuiyan
Julia Barajas
Vanessa Martínez
Sue Worrell
R. Marina Levario
Deborah Vankin
Paloma Esquivel
Anh Do
Michael Finnegan
Mariel Garza
Priya Krishnakumar
Justin L. Abrotsky
Priscella Vega
Lee Tham
Dwayne Rogers
Gabriela Fernandez
Tracy Brown
Lauren Flynn
Alison Dingeldein
Matt Brennan
Nina Agrawal
Noah Bierman
Vera Castaneda
Andrew Khouri
Rachel Schnalzer
Blake Hennon
Jack Flemming
Jessica Martinez
Mark Olsen
Frank Shyong
Alan Zarembo
Vesta Partovi
Jad El Reda
Edmund Sanders
Diya Chacko
Ryan Murphy
Deborah Netburn
Ben Brazil
Stuart Leavenworth
Gale Holland
Sam Dean
Jennifer Arcand
Nardine Saad
Emily Alpert Reyes
Daniel Woike
Kiera Feldman
Dave Lewis
Paul Duginski
Suhauna Hussain
Javier Panzar
Matthew Cooper
Aida Ylanan
Jen Yamato
Phi Do
Jackeline Luna
Denise Florez
Lisa Boone
Noam N. Levey
Melanie Mason
Rebecca Bryant
Jay L. Clendenin
Mary Kate Metivier
Christopher Knight
Gustavo Arellano
Evan Halper
Carlos Santana
Allison Wisk
Joe Mozingo
Colleen Shalby
Lorena Elebee
Jared Servantez
Kent Nishimura
Anna Phillips
Luke Money
Molly O’Toole
Tara Paniogue
Jaclyn Cosgrove
Jade Cuevas
Liam Dillon
Leila Miller
Elsie Ramos
Houston Mitchell
Paul Feldman
Sandhya Kambhampati
Adam Elmahrek
Dakota Smith
Iris Lee
Mary McNamara
Lisa Horowitz
Maria La Ganga
Nicole Vas
Josh Rottenberg
Matt Hamilton
Esmeralda Bermudez 
Lauren Raab
Sammy Roth
Laura Nelson
Jan Molen
Randall Roberts
Kerry Cavanaugh
Alene Tchekmedyian 
Lilly Nguyen
Dania Maxwell
Patricia Escarcega
Ruben Vives
Dorany Pineda
Allison Hong
Susanne Rust
Anne Elisabeth Dillon
Hailey Branson-Potts
Rosanna Xia
Carlos Lozano
Hugo Martin 
Steve Eames
Maria Torres
Mark Potts
Paul Thornton
Sam-Omar Hall
Victor Barajas
Lucas Kwan Peterson
Howard Blume
Wendy Lee
Mikael Wood
Rong-Gong Lin II
Casey Miller
Andy Roberson
Thomas Suh Lauder
Calvin B. Alagot
Maloy Moore
Janet Hook
Gerard Lim
James Reed
Cindy Chang
Neal Leitereg
Amy Kaufman
Nicole Santa Cruz
Cami Buckman
Don Ragland
Melissa Etehad
Daniel Miller
Matthew Fleischer
Richard Read
Richard Winton
Kevin Rector
Jessica Perez
Martina Ibanez-Baldor
Reed Johnson
Hannah Fry
Nita Lelyveld
Todd Martens
Ben Poston
Laura King
Robert Greene
Nancy Rivera Brooks
Richard Marosi
Claire Hannah Collins
Brittny Mejia
Stacy Perman
Harriet Ryan
Stephanie Chavez
Sean Greene
Jorge Castillo
Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
Betty Chavarria 
Kim Christensen
Andrew Greif
Taryn Luna 
Mariah Tauger
Bill Plaschke
Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Lila Seidman
Eli Stokols
Robert Lloyd
John Scheibe
Paul Pringle
Justin Chang
Kevin Crust
Jennifer Lu
Sam Schulz
Craig Nakano
Gina Ferazzi
Bill Addison
Jack Harris
Brady McCollough
Jessica Gelt
Christian Orozco
Mike DiGiovanna
Robin Abcarian
Yvonne Villarreal
Jenn Harris
Kevin Leung
Joseph Binoya
Teresa Watanabe
Jeanette Marantos
Jeff Miller
Mel Melcon
Susanne Rust
Meredith Blake
Randall Roberts
Lynn Meersman
Nani Sahra Walker
Soumya Karlamangla
Noah Bierman
Martina Ibanez-Baldor 
Don Lee
Wendy Fawthrop
Andrew J. Campa
David Wharton
Robert Lloyd
Thomas Curwen
Phil Willon
Julia Wick
Ryan Menezes
Glenn Whipp
Ashley Lee
Margot Roosevelt
Christina Schoellkopf
Fidel Martinez
Jim Buzinski
Bill Shaikin
Helene Elliott
Sam Farmer 
Ryan Kartje
Tania Ganguli
Matt Tustison
Selene Rivera
Hillary Davis
Raul Roa 
Melody Petersen
Marilyn Ruiz
Victoria Hernandez
Elsa Luna Jones
Diego Medrano
Hamlet Nalbandyan
Jason Clark
Marilyn Ruiz
Sergio Burstein

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.

We are thankful that management accepted our proposal to avert layoffs, but this is a painful cut. Like the vast majority of newsrooms across the country, The Times has lost significant revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite historic demand for our journalism.

With management unable to maintain full funding or secure other financial support for our newsroom, our union researched alternatives to keep our journalists employed and able to support family members who are now out of work.

We discovered a potent, but little-known, layoff prevention program known as “work-sharing.” Employers who participate in work-sharing can avoid layoffs during a temporary downturn by shortening employees’ hours. Workers maintain health and retirement benefits and are allowed to collect prorated unemployment benefits to offset lost wages. When the downturn ends, hours are restored.

These programs saved more than 500,000 U.S. jobs during the Great Recession. Crucially, the federal CARES Act stimulus has significantly strengthened work-sharing benefits through July 31. We estimate the stimulus will allow most of our members to fully recover their lost wages through the work-sharing program, buying critical time for our parent union, the NewsGuild, to advocate for alternatives that would help bring local newsrooms like ours back to full strength during this historic news event.

Work-sharing is rarely used in journalism despite its obvious utility for an industry known for layoffs. We strongly encourage other newsrooms to examine work-sharing as a possible alternative to cuts in states where the program is available. 

Together, we will get through this crisis.

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: 

• Open the L.A. Times story on our contract agreement 

• 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

L.A. Times Guild reaches agreement with management on historic first contract

Members of the Los Angeles Times Guild outside The Times newsroom in El Segundo in May. (Photo by Kent Nishimura)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: https://latguild.com/contact

LOS ANGELES — After 15 months at the bargaining table, the union representing nearly 500 journalists at the Los Angeles Times tentatively agreed to the first newsroom contract since the newspaper began publishing in 1881. The contract is pending ratification by Los Angeles Times Guild members. 

The three-year contract will improve the quality of life for the journalists who produce The Times, ensuring significant increases in pay, wage minimums across job categories, diversity provisions and strong protections against outsourcing and subcontracting. 

“This is what we fought for,” said Carolina A. Miranda, co-chair of the L.A. Times Guild. “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, which allows for due process in the event of a dismissal. This contract achieves that and more. Things like the diversity provisions we’ve negotiated will help make the Times newsroom reflective of the city we live in.”

“Our newsroom formed a union more than two years ago to address serious concerns about the direction of our company under prior ownership,” said L.A. Times Guild co-chair Anthony Pesce. “At the time, we never could have imagined the progress we’d be able to make by working together and fighting for each other. We look forward to working with management and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong on building a bright future for the Los Angeles Times.”

The contract will mark a vast improvement for a newsroom where many journalists have gone nearly a decade without a cost-of-living raise. The agreement will provide for an average raise of more than $11,000 per person in the 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. In addition, the contract establishes pay minimums for all newsroom positions and step raises based on industry experience.

The union not only pushed to improve working conditions at the 138-year-old newspaper but also fought to protect its quality journalism. The contract establishes, among other protections, extensive limits on the company’s ability to subcontract or outsource work to non-newsroom employees and bars management from imposing work or subscription quotas.

The proposed agreement also addresses newsroom diversity. The Guild negotiated 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 worked to secure 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. 

Times journalists voted to unionize in January 2018 by a landslide vote of 248 to 44, and began bargaining in July of 2018, shortly after the newspaper was sold to Los Angeles billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.

The union belongs to the Media Guild of the West, a new NewsGuild-CWA local being formed in Los Angeles.

Members of the Los Angeles Times Guild bargaining committee are: Anthony Pesce, Co-Chair and graphics and data journalist; Carolina A. Miranda, Co-Chair and culture writer; Kristina Bui, Vice Chair and copy editor; Matt Pearce, Vice Chair and national correspondent; Paul Pringle, Vice Chair and investigative reporter; Jay L. Clendenin, photographer; Hugo Martin, business writer; Alex Wigglesworth, metro reporter.

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