Leaders of the Los Angeles Times editorial guild called a one-day strike Friday to protest cuts planned to offset the large financial losses that owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and his family have absorbed since acquiring the newspaper almost six years ago.
The Times revealed on Thursday that substantial layoffs were occurring due to a growing budget deficit. The one-day strike represents the first union-organized work stoppage in the newspaper's 142-year history.
Management has not publicly revealed the number of editorial positions that will be eliminated, but people with knowledge said the plan is to lay off at least 100 journalists, or about 20% of the newsroom, the biggest staff cut since the paper became owned by Tribune Co.
The looming cuts have sparked widespread anxiety in a newsroom already shaken by the abrupt departure last week of editor-in-chief Kevin Merida, who resigned amid tensions with Soon-Shiong, largely over Merida's fears that The magnitude of the proposed cuts will hinder the newspaper's progress toward strengthening its journalism to become a sustainable business, according to insiders.
The proposed layoffs will mark the third round of cuts since June, when more than 70 positions, or about 13% of the newsroom, were cut.
“The company and the Guild are currently in discussions about how to proceed,” newsroom managers said in a message sent to the newsroom on Thursday. “We believe our shared goals are to preserve as many jobs as possible and maintain coverage areas that best represent the communities we serve and that our readers have shown us are vital to the business.”
This week, Soon-Shiong and other managers asked the union's bargaining unit to relax provisions in their contract intended to protect senior journalists from layoffs. If the union agreed to that, the company would offer affected employees a severance package before any layoffs, managers said.
Soon-Shiong wants to make cuts while retaining diverse staff members who have joined the newspaper in recent years, as the organization has prioritized its efforts to increase the number of journalists of color to better reflect the community to which it serves. that works.
“After so many decades of falling short, we are finally taking real steps to accurately reflect our city and region,” LA Times Guild Caucus leaders wrote in a letter to Soon-Shiong and his wife, Michele Chan Soon-Shiong, to earlier this week. . The group includes groups representing Black, Latinx, Asian American, Middle Eastern, South Asian and LGBTQ staff members.
“As you navigate the financial pressures in our industry, we urge you to avoid undoing the diversity we have worked so hard to build,” Guild Caucus leaders wrote. “Layoffs would be catastrophic, eliminate new and essential voices, and diminish the progress we have made under your family's leadership.”
Managers have told staff that relaxing seniority rules in the contract would save 50 newsroom jobs from an undisclosed number. Managers would like to be able to avoid cuts to newer hires and instead turn to a group of more veteran employees.
Union members were furious that they were, in effect, being asked to make an “impossible choice” by asking them to suspend seniority protections to make it easier to fire people.
“Management is trying to pit colleagues against colleagues to execute a plan that will be detrimental to the long-term success of the LA Times and a blow to the free press in America's second-largest city,” the Black co-chairs said. Guild Caucus. Erin B. Logan and Erika D. Smith in a statement.
The one-day work stoppage, described by the union as an “unfair labor practice strike,” was intended as a way to demonstrate unity and win concessions from managers.
Guild members did not vote on the action. Leaders said a vote was not necessary because the strike was not indefinite and union members were told it was their decision whether to participate or not.
“We need to show you that this place doesn't exist without workers,” LA Times Guild unit president Brian Contreras told more than 300 journalists who joined an emergency union meeting, held over Zoom, on Thursday.
“The company is disappointed by this decision, but respects the union's right to strike,” the editorial management said in a note.
Some union members emphasized that seniority was “a fundamental principle” of any union contract and allows staff members to put down roots in the community and develop resources.
The union contract expired more than a year ago, but the terms are still in effect.
Soon-Shiong has told management that, while he is willing to continue subsidizing the operation in the future, cuts are necessary to offset declining revenues. The company lost between $30 million and $40 million last year, said two sources familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.
Union members were frustrated that the company has not revealed how many jobs will be eliminated.
“The Negotiating Committee cannot say how many union members the company wants to fire. But folks: this is the big one,” Media Guild of the West president Matt Pearce told his colleagues in an email calling for the emergency meeting.
Los Angeles Times owner and CEO Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong walks by to watch workers place the new sign on top of the new Los Angeles Times headquarters in June 2018.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Soon-Shiong and his family acquired The Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune for $500 million in June 2018 from Tribune Co., returning the 142-year-old Los Angeles institution to local ownership after more than a decade of endless turmoil and waves. of cost-cutting that led to an exodus of talented journalists and a weakening of ambition.
The newsroom is currently being managed by a committee made up of senior editors after Merida departed on Friday. He cited several reasons for his departure, including differences of opinion with his boss about his role and “how journalism should be practiced.”
One source of friction arose over Mérida's response to a letter signed by three dozen employees denouncing the deaths of Palestinian journalists and Israel's actions.
Citing the company's newsroom ethics policy that prohibits participation in political causes, Mérida quickly removed those journalists from all coverage of topics that were directly or indirectly related to the Middle East conflict for at least three months.
Soon-Shiong said he was “disappointed” that Merida had not informed him before making the decision, although he cited other factors for Merida's departure, including a lack of progress toward meeting readership goals.
The Times has faced setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a rapidly changing news environment and financial headwinds that have hampered its goal of making the organization self-sustaining. Last summer, the Soon-Shiong family sold the San Diego newspaper to an affiliate of Denver-based MediaNews Group, which is owned by The controversial New York investment firm Alden Global Capital.
The latest wave of staff cuts comes amid a troubled media landscape with NBC News, the Washington Post, Condé Nast and other publishers laying off staff. The news industry witnessed a decline of 2,681 jobs last year, according to a report late last year from employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Media giants including Google, Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery and Walt Disney Co. have also cut thousands of jobs.
“We need to reduce our operating budget heading into this year and anticipate layoffs,” Times spokeswoman Hillary Manning said in a statement Thursday. “The most difficult decisions to make are those that affect our employees, and we do not make those decisions lightly. “We continue to review revenue projections for this year and take a very careful look at expenses and what our organization can support.”
