The Newspaper Guild, which represents some New York Times employees, agreed to a 5% wage cut yesterday. The pay cut, proposed by management, was already forced on nonunion workers at the Times but must be approved by union members before it can be imposed on Guild members. The reduction would be temporary, lasting though the end of this year, and save roughly $4.5 million. The measure is an alternative to up to 80 layoffs. Management did not guarantee job security in exchange for the pay cut, but did offer an additional 10 days paid leave for those affected. The New York Times reported a loss of $74.5 million this quarter.
See "Tentative Nod to a Pay Cut at The Times", Tim Arango, The New York Times, April 28, 2009