Press Release: Los Angeles Times Staff Petitions for NewsGuild-CWA Representation

TIMES JOURNALISTS CITE TRANSPARENCY IN THE NEWSROOM, EQUITABLE PAY, AND RESTORING COMPETITIVE BENEFITS AS THEY PUSH FOR UNION REPRESENTATION AT THE HISTORICALLY ANTI-UNION NEWSPAPER.

Los Angeles, Dec. 4 – The editorial staff of the Los Angeles Times filed for a union election Monday with the National Labor Relations Board. An overwhelming majority of newsroom employees signed cards authorizing union representation by The NewsGuild, the international union representing nearly 25,000 media professionals at publications such as The New York Times, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and the AP, among others.

The editorial staff requested voluntary recognition from management and simultaneously filed for an election with the NLRB. They have yet to receive a response from Tronc, their parent company.

”We’re excited to take this step toward securing representation by the Guild and ensuring a seat at the table for our newsroom. We're asking management to voluntarily recognize our union so we can begin the collective bargaining process, but we've filed for an NLRB election to prevent any further delay. We're prepared to pull our election petition once management makes the decision to recognize our union,” said Anthony Pesce, L.A. Times data journalist and member of the union’s Organizing Committee.

The journalists of the L.A. Times have endured years of corporate turbulence and management problems, creating growing concerns about the future of the newsroom. Staff members have long complained of eroding benefits, difficulty retaining talent, and salaries that don’t keep pace with inflation or with industry competitors.

"Today is the start of the L.A. Times newsroom taking its fate in its own hands,” said The NewsGuild President, Bernie Lunzer.  “Journalists make the Times the valuable institution it is, and a strong, democratic workplace will ensure their voice is heard in the decisions that determine the publication’s future. Let the staff of the L.A. Times be an example: It's time for all journalists to have a seat at the table."

The union anticipates a successful election will take place in early January.

Monday is the 136th anniversary of the first edition of the Los Angeles Times, which was published Dec. 4, 1881. The newsroom has never had union representation.

More information can be found at the LAT Guild website, latguild.com.

###

Mission statement from the Organizing Committee:

To safeguard the future of the Los Angeles Times and its journalists.

“The Los Angeles Times is an essential institution. As employees, we take enormous pride in the journalism we produce, fighting each day to serve our readers and make our product better. We give our community a voice, and we deserve a voice as well. That’s why we are forming a union with the NewsGuild, the organization that represents our peers at The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press and many others.

A union is the best way for us to protect ourselves and ensure that we have a say in the critical decisions that shape our journalism.

We deserve to be compensated fairly for our hard work, our skills and our depth of experience. We are determined to halt the rampant turnover and knowledge flight that has destabilized our newsroom. With a union, we can begin to address stagnant wages, pay disparities and declining benefits. And we can create a workplace that reflects the diversity of Southern California.

Our No. 1 goal is the long-term success of The Times and its journalism. We believe the company shares that goal. The best way for the Los Angeles Times to flourish is through collective bargaining for its journalists.

We are asking Tronc, The Times’ parent company, to recognize the NewsGuild as our representative, and we are eager to work with management to achieve our shared goals.”

###

About the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America:

Representing 25,000 media workers across the country, the NewsGuild-CWA seeks to improve our lives through the building of community, at home and in the workplace. Through commitment to open democratic function we improve not only our own organization and the lives of our members, but fight most effectively for our common interests: sustainable jobs, equality in the workplace, dignified working conditions and the defense of ethical practices in our work. More at newsguild.org.

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Letter to the newsroom: We’ve filed for an election

Colleagues,

This morning we’re taking the next step toward forming a union.

We have filed with the National Labor Relations Board for an election to have the NewsGuild-CWA represent our newsroom. We expect the vote to be held next month.

It’s been inspiring to hear your stories and reasons for supporting this historic effort. We’re excited to begin addressing the issues we’re fighting for: job security, regular pay increases, more competitive salaries, equitable pay for women and people of color, more workplace protections and other concerns.

We have a strong majority of union authorization cards from the newsroom and that number continues to grow. With such substantial support, we’d like to take this opportunity to formally ask Tronc to voluntarily recognize our union.

We are looking forward to a positive and productive relationship between our newsroom and management and are hopeful Tronc will put its anti-union campaign to rest.

You’ll hear more from us in the coming weeks about the process of negotiating a new contract. We want to hear from everyone about what is important to you: both the existing benefits you want to protect and the areas where you think we can negotiate a better deal.

We look forward to working with each of you to safeguard the future of the Los Angeles Times and its newsroom.

The Los Angeles Times Guild Organizing Committee

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December 04  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.


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December 03  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Textile strikers win 10-hour day, Fall River, Mass. - 1866
 
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passes an ordinance setting an 8-hour workday for all city employees - 1867
 
IWW union Brotherhood of Timber Workers organized - 1910
 
Canada’s Quebec Bridge, spanning the St. Lawrence River, opens to traffic on this day after the deaths of 89 construction workers in the course of the job.  A flawed design was blamed for a 1907 collapse that killed 75; another 13 died in 1916 when a hoisting device failed as the central span was being lifted - 1919
 
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The express passenger train "20th Century Limited" ends more than 60 years of service when it takes its last run from New York City to Chicago - 1967
 
Some 5,000 union construction workers in Oahu, Hawaii, march to City Hall in protest of a proposed construction moratorium by the city council – 1976

At least four thousand people die, and as many as 20,000, in one of the largest industrial disasters on record.  It happened in Bhopal, India, when poisonous methyl isocyante was released into the atmosphere at a Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant.  The results of investigations by Union Carbide and the government were never released to the public; one authoritative independent study laid blame at the feet of Union Carbide for its failures on training, staffing, safety and other issues - 1984
 
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Our executives have an $8,500 an hour private jet: how the other half lives

Members of the L.A. Times Guild organizing committee show their support for Times Community News

When it comes to unionizing, Tronc management has urged you to ask hard questions.

We agree.

We asked some tough ones last week about the jaw-dropping compensation of Tronc executives. (Don’t miss it if you’re interested in private jets, golden parachutes and salaries that make you facepalm.)

Today, let’s look at how the other half of Tronc lives — specifically the hard-working and dedicated staff of Times Community News.

The Los Angeles Times Guild bargaining unit will include these reporters and editors at the Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press, La Cañada Valley Sun and Daily Pilot in Orange County.

COVERING COMMUNITY

TCN journalists cover their communities like blankets. They write about crime, town council, schools, zoning, local businesses and sports. Reporters are incredibly productive, often filing as many as three stories a day. Many have years of experience. Some have a decade.

TCN journalists also contribute significantly to The Times. The flagship paper has published hundreds of their stories in the California section and elsewhere, and they are an important source for community contacts and tips.

In fact, it was a TCN reporter who first broke the news of the case that would become the blockbuster series “Dirty John” and suggested it had the makings of a compelling narrative.

HARD WORK AT LOW PAY

So how much does Tronc pay these vital members of the newsroom?

Less than $40,000 annually — even for those with years on the job.

Let’s put those wages in context:

• The average TCN salary is less than what Tronc pays for five hours of flying time on Michael Ferro’s private jet.
• It is less than two days of Justin Dearborn’s $8.1-million compensation last year.

Living on less than $40,000 a year in Los Angeles is very difficult. Some TCN staffers struggle to pay for groceries, health insurance deductibles and gas. Plus, those who work in the downtown L.A. newsroom have to shell out more than $1,000 annually to park in the company garage.

And in one of the nation’s most expensive real estate markets, TCN staffers can barely afford rent. Meanwhile, Dearborn enjoys an annual housing allowance of $175,000.

Tronc has the money to pay our TCN colleagues a salary that reflects the essential role they play at The Times. And Tronc has the money to give all newsroom staffers the kind of guaranteed annual raises our peers receive at NewsGuild-represented newspapers throughout the country.

-- The Los Angeles Times Guild Organizing Committee

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Your Questions Answered

Newsroom employees have asked a number of questions about unionization and other matters through an anonymous Q & A link. Some questions were asked multiple times and, in those cases, we have provided one answer below. We will provide answers to the additional questions we received early next week. This site will be updated with answers as additional questions are submitted.

Q: Why is Tronc CEO Justin Dearborn’s compensation $3 million more than that of New York Times CEO Mark Thompson, whose company has revenues similar to ours but a market value many multiples of Tronc’s?

A: Quoting a number out of context doesn’t tell an accurate, fact-based story. Like most public company executives, the vast majority of the compensation is awarded in the form of stock ($6.9 million of the $8.1 million).  The $6.9 million represents a theoretical value at some time in the future, and is tied directly to how our stock performs. 

Our senior executives are compensated similarly to others at comparable companies. In fact, we work closely with external compensation consultants to ensure we fit within basic guidelines for our industry.  Justin, like similar executives here and throughout the industry, has a base salary, a bonus and is granted equity.  Both the bonus and equity are closely tied to overall company performance.

Justin’s equity compensation was granted to cover a three-year period and is not an annual equity grant.  The equity vests equally over a three-year period.

So how does equity work?  Let’s start with stock options.  A stock option is simply the right to buy tronc stock at today’s price (the “option price”) sometime in the future.  Justin received the 225,000 stock options at $14.87 per share.  That means that at some point in the next seven years, Justin has the opportunity to purchase 225,000 shares of tronc stock for $14.87 per share, should he remain employed during the vesting period.  In order for the stock option to have any real value, the stock price has to be above $14.87 per share– otherwise it has no value… or it’s “under water.” Thus, if the stock were trading at $17 per share, and he had vested in all 225,000 shares, the total profit of those shares would be $2.23 per share x 225,000 shares or a little over $500,000.  Not 225,000 shares x $17 (or nearly $4 million as the post would have you believe).

As for the other stock awards, those are in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).  You will see that Justin was granted 375,000 RSUs.  RSUs are typically given to senior executives to retain them with an organization and also ensure that a CEO has ownership in the company.  In order for Justin to receive any value, he has to stay with the company through a series of vesting dates.  In his case, one third of the award vests equally over the three-year period.

Terry Jimenez’s compensation package works the same way.  As does Ross Levinsohn’s.

Comparing the past three years of equity grants with the two executives identified in the Guild post, as reported in their companies’ proxies, shows that Justin makes far less annually than either Mark Thompson (at $5.406 million) or Robert Dickey (at $6.656 million).

Additionally, the two executives mentioned above both receive a much higher annual cash compensation (base & bonus) package than Justin.

​

Again, keep in mind that Justin’s stock compensation is meant to cover a three-year period, whereas these other executives receive grants every year.

Like many public companies, executive payouts tied to company performance have proven key to overall company growth.  Since the appointment of Justin, tronc’s stock price has increased 240% to today’s $17.31 per share.  We pay our executives well and in line with others in comparable positions within the industry, because we know that growing the company is critical to our ability to serve our customers.

Since Justin’s current compensation package reflects both his annual cash compensation and three-year equity compensation, his 2017 reported compensation in next year’s proxy statement will be more than 80% less than his 2016 reported compensation.

Justin received a one-time taxable moving package that sought to cover moving, selling and temporary housing costs. Again, misleading and factually inaccurate information undermines the mission we all seek to uphold.

For additional questions and answers visit Los Angeles Times Facts

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December 02  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

A Chicago "slugger," paid $50 by labor unions for every scab he "discouraged," described his job in an interview: "Oh, there ain't nothing to it. I gets my fifty, then I goes out and finds the guy they wanna have slugged, then I gives it to ‘im" - 1911
 
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December 01  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

The Ford Motor Co. introduces the continuous moving assembly line which can produce a complete car every two-and-a-half minutes - 1913
 
Kellogg cereal adopts 6-hour day - 1930
 
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More than 12,000 members of the Insurance Agents Union strike in 35 states and Washington, D.C., against the Prudential Insurance Co. - 1951
 
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November 29

Clerks, teamsters and building service workers at Boston Stores in Milwaukee strike at the beginning of the Christmas rush. The strike won widespread support—at one point 10,000 pickets jammed the sidewalks around the main store—but ultimately was lost. Workers returned to the job in mid-January with a small pay raise and no union recognition - 1934
 
The SS Daniel J. Morrell, a 603-foot freighter, breaks in two during a strong storm on Lake Huron. Twenty-eight of its 29 crewmen died; survivor Dennis Hale was found the next day, near frozen and floating in a life raft with the bodies of three of his crew mates. He had survived for nearly 40 hours in frigid temperatures wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, a life jacket, and a pea coat - 1966

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