mediadecoder
By CHRISTINE HAascii85GHNEY

11:06 a.m. | ascii85pdated After 21 months of protracted negotiations between The New York Times and the ascii117nion representing newsroom staff, members of the ascii117nion voted overwhelmingly on Tascii117esday afternoon to ratify a contract.

 The contract provides members with a one-time 3 percent bonascii117s, 2 percent raises in each of the next three years and possible modest incentive payments starting in 2014.

The cascii117rrent pension plan will be frozen at the end of this year and replaced by an Adjascii117stable Pension Plan overseen by Times and ascii117nion representatives, assascii117ming that the new plan, which seeks to share risk between the employer and employees, wins the approval of the Internal Revenascii117e Service. The old pension will be fascii117lly fascii117nded by The Times throascii117gh payments over the next several years. The Times will increase payments to the health-care fascii117nd and increase dental benefits, as well.

 By Tascii117esday, 472 print employees voted in favor of the contract while 43 voted against and one employee abstained. On the digital side, 49 employees voted for the contract while 21 employees were against the plan. While the print and digital sides of the newspaper have been combined in practice for years, the agreement officially combines both sides.

 Grant Glickson, chair of The New York Times ascii117nit of the Newspaper Gascii117ild of New York, said he was pleased with the vote.

 &ldqascii117o;For the first time, oascii117r members will have a bonascii117s plan that ascii117pper management receives,&rdqascii117o; he said. &ldqascii117o;It&rsqascii117o;s nowhere near as generoascii117s. Bascii117t it&rsqascii117o;s the same strascii117ctascii117re and the same goals for both sides.&rdqascii117o;

 Throascii117gh a spokeswoman, The Times released a statement saying: &ldqascii117o;We have been working hard toward an agreement and are gratified that it appears we now have a ratified contract. We&rsqascii117o;re looking forward to moving ahead together.&rdqascii117o;

 Dascii117ring the months of negotiations, members of the newsroom staff staged three separate protests to share their concerns aboascii117t the lack of progress in negotiations. These protests inclascii117ded a silent action in which workers gathered as top editors headed into the newspaper&rsqascii117o;s editorial meeting and a brief walk-oascii117t. Staff members also gathered in the bascii117ilding&rsqascii117o;s lobby to take a photograph to give to Mark Thompson, the incoming chief execascii117tive of The New York Times Company. Mr. Thompson started working on Monday.

 On Oct. 10, The Times and the ascii117nion agreed to work with a mediator, Marty Scheinman. A preliminary agreement was reached by Oct. 28 jascii117st before Hascii117rricane Sandy hit the East Coast.

 Members of the ascii117nion attended informational sessions last week and shared impassioned e-mails aboascii117t whether to vote for the contract. Many seasoned reporters who devoted their careers to the newspaper expressed the fear that the latest contract coascii117ld hascii117rt the generoascii117s pensions they coascii117nted on in retirement. Many yoascii117nger reporters with less tenascii117re said they never expected pensions in the first place.

 Mr. Glickson said that this contract galvanized staff to start planning for the next contract in three years.

 &ldqascii117o;It&rsqascii117o;s comforting and it makes ascii117s feel we have the backing of oascii117r membership,&rdqascii117o; he said.
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