The Chicago Tribune Guild, a six-year-old union representing almost 80 Tribune editorial employees, announced Friday that its members ratified a two-year contract with Chicago Tribune Company, which is owned by New York-based investment firm Alden Global Capital. It is the union’s first-ever contract with Tribune.
The pact calls for 3% pay raises for newsroom employees each year — their first pay raises in several years — plus a 401(k) match and bonuses.
The union long had battled with the company over some of the agreement’s terms and held a one-day picket on Feb. 1 outside Freedom Center, the Chicago plant where the newspaper was printed at the time.
In May, seven guild members filed an equal pay lawsuit in federal court against the newspaper and its owner, Alden Global Capital, alleging female and African American employees had been unfairly treated by receiving lower pay for their work. That lawsuit remains pending.
On Friday, the vote to unionize was nearly unanimous, according to the union.
The contract includes raises, salary minimums and bonuses, said guild chair and Tribune City Hall reporter Jake Sheridan. The contract also includes protections against artificial intelligence, he said.
Alden Global Capital owns the Tribune, the New York Daily News, the Orlando Sentinel and the Orange County Register, among other papers.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
