Pay Equity | The NewsGuild

Study Reveals Racial Disparities in Performance Evaluations at The New York Times

The New York Times’s performance review system has for years given significantly lower ratings to employees of color, an analysis by Times journalists in the NewsGuild shows.

The analysis, which relied on data provided by the company on performance ratings for all Guild-represented employees, found that in 2021, being Hispanic reduced the odds of receiving a high score by about 60 percent, and being Black cut the chances of high scores by nearly 50 percent. Asians were also less likely than white employees to get high scores.

Newsletter: You get a contract! You get a contract! You get a contract!

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I just came back from Minnesota for Pride at Work, an organization that builds the power of LGBTQ+ members in the labor movement. It was a total blast and the convention honored AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Fred Redmond and me with their Solidarity Awards.

Newsletter: We are worth more.

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Over the weekend there was devastating news out of Buffalo, N.Y. Ten people were killed and three wounded when a gunman opened fire in a supermarket on Saturday in an act of racist violence. My heart goes out to the people of Buffalo, which is known as the city of good neighbors. I commend the brave reporting by Buffalo Newspaper Guild journalists. Members “jumped into action to faithfully tell the story. It’s a task we will continue to vigorously pursue.”

Newsletter: Packing bargaining to deliver a message

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Workers at the Chicago Reader took to the streets to save their publication. Last Tuesday they tweeted “We won,” after co-owner Len Goodman stepped down, ending his attempt to delay the publication’s transition to a nonprofit.

Newsletter: Could a Pulitzer do it?

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First, I hope you have been staying safe! After about two years of avoiding COVID, I came down with it along with several others (in unrelated gatherings). The pandemic is still very much here. Please take steps to get vaccinated, boosted, test yourself regularly if you can and wear a mask if you’re around other people indoors. I luckily healed quickly, but know many who are still suffering from the lingering effects of the virus. So, please take care of yourself and each other.

Could the chance to win a Pulitzer motivate news organizations to be transparent about diversity – or the lack of diversity – in their newsrooms? That’s the question Meredith Clark, Sisi Wei, I and others have been asking for awhile.

Washington Post Guild releases 2022 pay study and powerful new report from Black employees

Study finds “The Washington Post still operates with systems that perpetuate inequalities.”

After almost two years of work by a team of dedicated union members, the Post Guild’s 2022 Pay, Diversity and Retention Study and Black Caucus testimonial report were released Wednesday.

These reports build upon work the Guild presented in its 2019 pay study, with additional data, striking testimonials and detailed analysis that support a growing concern shared across employees at the company: The Washington Post still operates with systems that perpetuate inequalities.

After two years of contract talks, journalists at Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald, Bradenton journalists stage one-day work stoppage

Journalists at the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and the Bradenton Herald held a one-day work stoppage on April 1 to demand a fair contract and to insist that McClatchy, the publications’ parent company, respect unionized journalists.

Newsletter: Meet the new Guild staffers

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This every-other-week newsletter is packed with a lot of news. My hope is that we help communicate all the fights of our members through this newsletter and build solidarity within the Guild. Can you do me a favor and forward this newsletter to at least one of your colleagues and ask them to subscribe?

Folks can subscribe right here.

We’ve got two new staffers! I’m thrilled to announce them after a lot of work to make it happen. Danielle Newsome (she/her) joins us as a new staff representative, with a focus on the jobs that used to be part of the Guild’s director of collective bargaining. This comes after all of our discussions last year to increase capacity and provide more support to our locals. And while CWA still has a hiring freeze, this position was created after the passage of the SMART resolution at CWA’s October Convention.

Philly Guild files grievances over discrimination in pay

The NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia has filed two discrimination grievances against the Philadelphia Inquirer since mid-February, protesting the fact that specific Black members were paid less than less-experienced white colleagues who were performing the same or similar jobs.

Newsletter: Still smiling

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Members of Tribune Publishing Guilds released a study last week documenting rampant pay disparities based on race, gender and ethnicity at more than a dozen Tribunes newsrooms across the country.