Beat the Streak (not the MLB game)

Let's see who has gone the longest at a newspaper without a raise or some sort of increase in pay.

I've had one raise in the last eight years, albeit an admittedly pretty decent hike. My current streak is now at three years without any raise at all --- no cost of living adjustment or anything. What I made in 2012 is what I make today. Before that, my last raise came in 2007.

Where do the rest of you newspaper guys stand?

 

You're in my dust. I don't even know exactly but has to be at least five years. More likely seven or so. In fact, I had the pleasure of taking a 10 percent cut in May or so that appears to be permanent. Not to mention the same pay cut for a few months last summer and various furlough days. Fun times!

 

Oh, and benefits costs have been steadily rising. Thanks Obummer!!

 

OK this is another reason newspaper reporter/editor is listed as the worst occupation in the world right now. Do you realize how pathetic newspapers are? We're talking years of not giving employees a raise. Years. This is just disgusting behavior. The execs of companies who bully, intimidate reporters and copy editors can kiss my butt cause I'll never kiss theirs. Any company that does not raise an employee's pay over years is a disgraceful piece of dung company and worthy of nothing but scorn. To you higher ups ... you should be ashamed of yourselves in making journalism truly the worst occupation on earth. I know you don't care, but you should. You have NO RESPECT for your employees. NONE. There is no excuse for this. NONE. And don't say "you should be happy you have a job." That's a cop out. This is disgraceful and indeed working for a newspaper is the worst job on earth right now. (Lumberjack is actually listed as a better job than reporter).

 

I don't disagree. But how long have you lived in America? It's acceptable as long as they pay us. Do yourself a favor and don't look up the golden parachutes the Lee Communications folks are getting. Pure greed and beholden to stockholders

 

Guy I used to work with quit last summer. Seven years, no raise.

I used to work at a Lee paper. Pay went from a shade less than $25K to nearly $31K across a seven-year span. But, new company I'm with pays me ... Exactly what I made 10 years ago! I've actually lost money. It's fine. My exit plan is in the works.

 

Went the last eight years at my newspaper job without a raise. Made the same in 2015 that I did in 2007. In line for a raise within six months at my new non-newspaper job.

 

Holy shit, Cosmo. It's amazing you stuck around that long. Wow.

Good for you, though. Glad you're happy with the current gig!

 

Exit plan - active shooter?

 

I'm coming up on six years, but with a twist.
My last raise came right at the end of 2009, and after a few years when raises were out of the question because of legitimate financial issues, our paper was sold in 2013. A massive staff purge ensued, both through layoffs and the usual phase-out policies, to the point that me and one news reporter are now the only ones left in the newsroom from before the sale.
Now, the twist. Because of staff cuts and the resulting overtime -- there were long stretches of both 2014 and 2015 where I was the only person in sports -- I've made more money in the last two years than I ever have before. It's been about a $10,000 per year "raise" to the low $40,000 range. For the first time in my adult life, there's a few thousand dollars in the bank and I don't feel like I'm one missed paycheck away from giving blow jobs on the corner to make the mortgage payment. The wife and I aren't wealthy by any means, but we're comfortable.

So, even though it's been six years, in a weird way I'm a little afraid to ask for a raise. For one thing, they'll probably say there's no money in the budget because, hey, who needs to pay for employees? We recently had our best reporter leave and I heard the other day there's no plans to replace him. At least not until the next fresh-faced crop of recent college graduates rolls off the assembly line floor in May 2016. Asking for a raise might start a game of chicken that I can't win. As much as I do here, I don't have a lot of leverage when they've shown they're willing to let talented people walk and live with the consequences.
The business model here, as it seems to be at a lot of papers, is to trade older, more skilled, higher-salary employees (even if the difference is only a few thousand dollars per year) for younger, cheaper ones.
For another thing -- and this is really the scarier proposition -- they might try to give me some bullshit "promotion" that comes with a salary and entail doing the same amount of work for not much more (or no more, or less) money.
At the same time, I'm actually making pretty good money even if I'm working a lot of hours for it. Probably better than what I'd make starting over in a PR gig in these parts. There's a few extra perks I get because of my seniority, too, that allow me to rationalize it. Hell, we even got a Christmas bonus for the second straight year.
So, there are worse places to be even if the concept of raises is a punchline with this company.

 

See my previous post regarding my situation, but now that I think of it, my last raise was taken back after a few months as part of a pay cut. A co-worker was going through his tax returns and told me he made less last year than he did in 2004! Why am I here again?

 

And here I thought this was another Golden State Warriors thread. Sigh ...

I'm still making the same salary as when I was hired in August 2009. HOWEVER, over the past two years, our boss has slipped in $100 or $200 bonuses a couple paychecks a year to sneak around the "NO PAY RAISES" dictum from the paper's owner. He realizes we're doing more work with less people, and feels we should get at least something for the effort.

In the newspaper world, that passes for a raise, and I've been grateful for the extra money. I know way, way too many people who have had pay cuts or lost their job.