• by Sara Guaglione , October 3, 2016

Time Inc. employees who are members of the NewsGuild decided Friday to accept the company’s offer to settle and enter into a collective bargaining agreement, after the two parties were at odds over Time Inc.’s plan to outsource jobs to Asia.

According to a report from Politico, the new five-year contract includes pay raises of 14%, extra severance for some employees who are laid off, and a one-time $2,500 signing bonus for each unionized employee.

The NewsGuild represents approximately 200 print editorial employees at Time, Fortune, Money, Sports Illustrated and People.

Guild members had been working without a contract since it expired on August 2014. Previous contract negotiations had fallen through. In November 2014, Time Inc. claimed the parties were at impasse and imposed the terms of its “last, best and final offer.”

According to the New York Post, the new deal permits Time Inc. to outsource up to 50 full-time newsroom jobs (down from the previous limit of 60 full-time jobs) and 80 temporary Guild jobs.

The contract was approved by a 3-to-1 margin.

“We are very pleased that the Guild members have ratified this contract, which we believe to be in the best interest of all Time Inc. stakeholders. The contract provides Time Inc. with the operational flexibility necessary to succeed in today’s transformative media environment,” stated Greg Giangrande, Time Inc.’s executive vice president and chief human resources officer.

The new deal will also cover digital staffers who spend more than 30% of their time on print work.

“This agreement is a mixed bag,” Guild President Peter Szekely told the Post. “Everyone looked at the dispute we were in and prospect of protracted litigation and decided they’d rather have stability.”