Journalists at the Financial Times (FT) have secured a pay deal, including a new minimum salary of $75,000 (£57,000), after almost two years of negotiations.
The FT US Guild’s bargaining committee told its members, in an email seen by Press Gazette, that the new three-year contract “helps bring benefits in the US closer in line with the package colleagues in the UK receive, it helps reduce the gender pay gap in the US and makes the FT a more competitive place to work”.
The contract still needs to be approved by FT US Guild members in a vote.
The tentative agreement means new hires at the FT in the US will now receive a minimum salary of $75,000. Press Gazette has seen job adverts that suggest the current minimum is $71,000 (£54,000).
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Employees of three years or more will move to a minimum of $85,000 (£64,500) while staff with at least one person directly reporting to them will receive a minimum of $107,500 (£81,650).
The deal also includes pay rises for “those paid the least in the US”. Staff earning $100,000 (£76,000) or less will receive an increase of $3,000 (£2,280), while those making between $100,001 and $115,000 (£87,400) will get a raise of $2,000 (£1,520).
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FT Chicago correspondent Claire Bushey, a leader of the FT branch of the US Newsguild, told Press Gazette: “Getting to this deal was hard work, but I am so, so proud that we did it. This is going to make life better for FT staff in the US, and it’s going to make the company more competitive in this market.
“This contract sets a strong foundation for future progress. I think I speak for a lot of us on the union committees when I say we’re exhausted, but we’re thrilled.”
FT says pay deal ‘cements status as employer of choice’
The contract means the FT US Guild will now be able to bargain alongside the UK’s National Union of Journalists for annual pay rises.
The FT’s NUJ chapel regularly secures annual inflation-linked pay rises for its global editorial workforce. Although in the US, particularly in New York, salaries frequently appear higher than direct UK comparisons, staff have a high cost of living as well as different retirement benefits and higher healthcare costs.
As well as the annual deals, the NUJ has previously negotiated ad-hoc salary boosts such as a one-off £1,800 cost-of-living payment in September 2022 and a £5,600 bonus for editorial staff in December 2021.
The new contract also includes an increased in the proportion of pay the FT will match as pension contribution for US staff from 4.5% to 5.5% starting next year and then 6% in 2026.
The Guild email explained: “Along with profit sharing the company has offered since at least 2018, the retirement benefit from the company rises to 7.25 per cent (which compares to a 12 or 16 percentage point match in the UK scheme). That’s up from 5.75 currently. What are those extra 1.5 points worth? It all depends on when you’ll retire and how much you contribute, but assuming a 7 percent return over 20 years and minimal inflation-linked pay increases, a person earning the median $120,000 salary today would see an extra $93,000 in their 401K.”
In addition, healthcare costs will remain the same for the duration of the three-year contract and new parents in the US will get the option to take an extra eight weeks of unpaid parental leave.
The Guild email stated: “We’d like to thank the company for bargaining constructively with us over the past 19 months, as well as the support we received from bureaus across the globe.”
An FT spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have reached agreement with the FT US Guild on a deal that cements the status of the FT as an employer of choice.”
Some advances were previously made in negotiations in March, including the right to lieu days, the right to sabbaticals for US staff, the capping of short-term contracts at one year to stop the use of six-month extensions for years on end, and a change so that US staff cannot be fired unless the company can prove there was a “just cause”.
A formal process was created to settle grievances, while severance terms were increased so staff being laid off will get a week of base pay for every six months they’ve worked at the FT, with a minimum of eight weeks.
FT US Guild received voluntary recognition from the company in May 2022, with contract negotiations beginning in February 2023.
A sister guild representing staff at FT Specialist titles unionised first and secured its own deal last summer.
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