The NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Inquirer LLC reached a new tentative three-year contract with raises and a workforce diversity provision, the union and company said Thursday.
The 338 union members began voting on the tentative contract on Thursday and are expected to continue voting through midnight Monday.
The tentative contract contains a one-time lump sum payment equivalent to 2.5% of a union member's salary in the contract's first year, plus a $500 signing bonus.
In second year, the company will raise pay for guild members by 3 percent. The third year includes a 2% raise.
The across-the-board pay raises in 2021 would be the first since August 2009 for newsroom reporters, photographers, digital producers, audience engagement and other editorial staffers, in addition to finance, advertising and circulation employees.
With news breaking about the coronavirus, the company and the union concluded talks more than two weeks before the current contract expires on March 31. The two sides negotiated for five months. The company is owned by the nonprofit Lenfest Institute for Journalism.
"I said it would be a win for all of us for this (no-pay-raise) narrative to change," said an emotional Diane Mastrull, the guild president and lead negotiator. "We have so many important things to do here for them to be overshadowed by something like no raises."
"By no means is anyone getting rich from this contract but we could not have employees worried about whether they would be able to pay their bills year to year," she added.
Inquirer publisher Lisa Hughes spoke with negotiators on Thursday and told them given the coronavirus and the potential impact on the economy, they had to finalize a deal, Mastrull said.
Hughes, a former magazine executive and New Yorker publisher who took her position in Philadelphia in early February, declined to comment on specifics before union members voted on the contract. She noted that the process was far advanced when she arrived.
Hughes added, "I am happy with where we are."
Hughes said that "our industry is certainly not immune to what's going on in the world. We are in a bear market and I think everyone is aware of that. With a tentative agreement we are focused on what's important, serving the community with journalism that matters."
The tentative contract continues its health benefits and "includes extensive language language committing the company to the recruitment, employment, promotion, training and career development of a diverse workforce," the union said in an email announcing the tentative contract.
