Union leaders at the Los Angeles Times have called for a one-day, multi-city walkout Friday following news that the esteemed newspaper will see dramatic staff cuts due to a widening budget deficit.
According to the Times, the single-day strike would be the first in the paper’s 142-year history.
The decision comes following news that Patrick Soon-Shiong, the publication’s owner, intended to trim the paper’s staff to address a budget deficit, with the Times reporting cuts could be as deep as 20% or the equivalent of at least 100 journalists.
The paper has experienced multiple rounds of layoffs in the past year alone; this would be the largest reduction in staff under current ownership.
Impending layoffs have caused “widespread anxiety” in the newsroom, according to Meg James, senior entertainment writer with the L.A. Times.
News of the one-day strike comes one week after the sudden departure of editor-in-chief Kevin Merida, widely respected in the industry and across Southern California, in large part due to a rocky relationship with the paper’s owner and concerns over how layoffs would affect the quality of its work, James said.
Soon-Shiong and other managers have apparently asked the union’s bargaining team to “relax” provisions in its contract that would allow the company to let go of senior employees, which they claim would allow the paper to spare additional jobs.
The union’s contract expired last year, the Times said, but the terms of the contract are still in effect.
For many members of the LA Times Guild, abandoning seniority protections was a nonstarter, referring to the tactics as “union-busting at its core.”
“The changes to our contract that management is trying to pressure us into accepting are obscene and unsustainable,” said Brian Contreras, chair of the Guild’s Unit Council. “If this newsroom will ever be a place where reporters can have a reliable, steady job and put down roots in Los Angeles, that will only happen through the preservation of our seniority protections.”
Contreras urged management to come back to the bargaining table if the paper is interested in minimizing any potential financial losses.
The union is also asking for management to provide the exact number of layoffs expected, provide 52 weeks of pay to those let go, have current leadership host a town hall meeting with staff and for the guild to have a voice in the selection of Merida’s replacement.
The non-mandatory strike was called to protest unfair labor practices, union leaders said.
Soon-Shiong purchased the Los Angeles Times in June 2018 from Tribune Media, which also owned KTLA until it was acquired by Nexstar Media in 2019.
The Times isn’t the only news organization navigating through financial instability made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Layoffs have also hit NBC News, The Washington Post, Condé Nast and other publishers in recent months.
About 2,681 news jobs were lost last year, according to a report from employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Union members at The Washington Post held a one-day strike in December as they continued contract negotiations with the paper’s representatives. Union members later received “the best deal employees have seen in 50 years” later that month.
Guild leaders said, “There is no reason it cannot happen here.”
As for the L.A. Times, layoffs seem to be all but certain.
A statement provided by a Los Angeles Times spokesperson Thursday said the paper needed to reduce its operating budget going into this year and said layoffs were anticipated.
“The hardest decisions to make are those that impact our employees, and we do not come to any such decisions lightly. We are continuing to review the revenue projections for this year and taking a very careful look at expenses and what our organization can support.”
Hillary Manning, Los Angeles Times spokesperson
Los Angeles Times staffers are expected to hold rallies in both Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Friday at 12 p.m. PST and 3 p.m. EST, respectively.
