Quick summary: The Los Angeles Times Guild and management have reached a tentative contract after three years of bargaining, averting an authorized strike. Leaders say the deal is imperfect but represents the furthest management would go. Key elements: management kept seniority "skips" (20% cluster, 15% universal), the pay-increase structure remains unchanged, and the company agreed to hire three assistant editors. A ratification vote is scheduled for Nov. 30–Dec. 2.
LA Times Guild Reaches Tentative Deal After Three Years of Talks, Averts Strike — Ratification Vote Nov. 30–Dec. 2
Quick summary: The Los Angeles Times Guild and management have reached a tentative contract after three years of bargaining, averting an authorized strike. Leaders say the deal is imperfect but represents the furthest management would go. Key elements: management kept seniority "skips" (20% cluster, 15% universal), the pay-increase structure remains unchanged, and the company agreed to hire three assistant editors. A ratification vote is scheduled for Nov. 30–Dec. 2.
09:39 AM, 11/15/2025Society
LA Times Guild and Management Reach Tentative Agreement
The Los Angeles Times Guild and newspaper management have reached a long-sought tentative agreement, ending a tense, three-year bargaining impasse and averting a potential strike, the union said.
Guild leaders informed members on Friday that they had resolved "all outstanding issues in the contract," according to a status report. Guild president Matt Hamilton said the agreement does not fully meet the union's goals but represents the farthest management was willing to go.
“We have a tentative agreement with the company that follows more than three years of bargaining,” Hamilton said. “The contract will be put for a ratification vote on Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, and we will meet with our members to go over the details and answer questions.”
What the agreement includes — and what it doesn't
Management refused to change its policy on seniority-based "skips" during layoffs. Under the agreement, the paper will continue to apply 20% skips within a layoff cluster and retains universal skips of 15% that it can deploy across departments, the guild said.
The company also kept the same pay-increase structure as in the previous round of talks. Management did, however, agree to hire three assistant editors to offset elimination of that role, and the first job posting is expected within a week of the contract's ratification.
Context and union reaction
The tentative deal follows a historic union vote in which 85% of members authorized a strike in hopes of securing a stronger contract. It was the first strike authorization by the guild since it was formed in 2018 and capped years of bargaining over cost-of-living increases, layoff protections and outsourcing.
During the bargaining period, the L.A. Times underwent multiple rounds of layoffs that reduced the number of union members from roughly 450 to about 200. The Local of the Media Guild of the West represents more than 200 reporters at the paper, and the guild reported that 98% of eligible members participated in the strike authorization vote.
The contract will be presented to members for a ratification vote from Nov. 30 through Dec. 2. Guild leadership plans a member meeting to review the agreement and answer questions before voting.