We’re calling on Tribune Publishing to work with the Guild to create a more equitable work environment for all - regardless of race or gender - and to take concrete, measurable steps towards increasing diversity and inclusion across our newsrooms.
Solidarity shining a light on inequity
It’s no secret that journalists across the U.S. are overworked and underpaid, and, when looking at compensation through the lens of race and gender, those disparities are amplified.
In the spirit of working to rectify this, NewGuild members have created a pay equity study encompassing 13 unionized Tribune Publishing newsrooms across the country.
The results, compiled from data including 351 members’ wages and based on anonymized data obtained from Tribune and survey responses, show that Tribune does not equitably compensate workers, employees are taking on more work while being denied raises, that collective bargaining has made a positive impact, and much more.
Key findings
White members have a higher median pay than non-white colleagues, earning about $4,000 more than Hispanic or Latino members, $7,500 more than Black members and $9,000 more than Asian members.
Median pay for women is about $8,000 less than for male colleagues across the company’s unionized newsrooms.
Average pay is significantly higher at the Baltimore Sun, where members have benefited from collective bargaining for decades.
More than two thirds of members said they are undercompensated for their work.
About a third of members said they work unpaid overtime most weeks and nearly 15 percent said that happens every week. In some newsrooms, more than half of members said they work overtime most weeks.
Women report they are assigned more work than men and non-white members reported they were assigned more work than white colleagues.
