The Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild

TNG-CWA, Local 32035

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from 1991 through 1994 so I know a lot about the history of the program and how it works.

Other than Jackie and maybe Kathy, none of you were at the table when the program was negotiated. The sabbatical program was negotiated during a time when BNA appeared to care more about the personal growth of its employees than it does now. The reasons it was negotiated were nearly all about employees. It was seen as a retention and recruitment tool. BNA acknowledged the value of length of service and wanted to give long-term employees a break from their normal routine so they could come back refreshed and renewed and hopefully be a better, happy, productive employee. At the same time employees could have the chance to see if the grass was really greener on the other side without having to commit.

The program also was seen as a way to give other employees opportunities to work temporarily in jobs left vacant by the sabbatical recipient that to get experience in other jobs, as well as provide cross-training opportunities.

Another goal I believe was to get BNA's name into the community.

From my standpoint all of these goals have been met. Of the 30 employees who have received sabbaticals to date, 23 are still employed by BNA and two of them have been promoted to management including Jackie Teague who used her sabbatical to go back to school full time in order to get her degree quicker.

Four of the recipients have retired; two have left the company, and one is deceased. I think that's a pretty good indication that the program has been successful in retaining long-term employees. A number of these sabbatical recipients, including myself, were at a point when they got their sabbaticals of not being sure if they wanted to continue a lifetime career at BNA. I was seriously considering looking for a job with a labor union so on my sabbatical I worked three months at a union and three months at a management law firm (I worked at the law firm so I couldn't be accused of bias by any of my sources when I returned to BNA).

Anyway when I returned to BNA I realized "there's no place like home." I had the opportunity to try something I thought I might like but discovered that I truly liked what I do at BNA better.

So 15 years after my sabbatical I'm still at BNA, am a productive employee, and made a lot of good contacts that I continue to use in my job, including the president of the AFL-CIO. The same can be said for most of the people who had sabbaticals, they come back to BNA, refreshed, productive, loyal and grateful to BNA for allowing them the experience they had.

The sabbatical program has helped with career advancement for some employees. When I was on sabbatical Sue Hobbs, who worked in BNA PLUS, was able to take a temporary transfer to my staff where she gained editorial experience and was able to move into an editorial job because of this experience. Just recently she received an editorial excellence award.

I don't know if she would have been able to move into editorial if she hadn't had this opportunity.
The sabbatical program also has helped in the cross-training of employees.

When Liz Walpole on DLR was on sabbatical, Pam Ginsbach, our economics editor, took over her beat covering the Teamsters as well as some collective bargaining.

When Liz came back, Pam retained some of the coverage in addition to the economics beat and has been able to jump in and cover other areas when needed giving her a welcome break from only doing economic coverage.

As the program is structured it is not frivolous and it goes beyond mere volunteer work. The first joint committee set out some guidelines as well as criteria for awarding the sabbaticals. As noted on BNA's web site activates that are considered for sabbaticals include, but are not limited to teaching, research, updating or extending professional skills, personal development, and internships.

When someone applies for a sabbatical the application is judged on several basis, two of which show that the proposed activity will enhance the personal and professional growth of the employee and that it has some benefit to BNA, self, and the community. The committee will not just award a sabbatical to fulfill a personal need but requires that the person make a difference for the community and reflect well on BNA.

In addition to the benefits to BNA which I've already mentioned—retaining long-term employees, career development opportunities, cross-training of employees--BNA has received the benefit of being seen as a good corporate citizen.

Pam Ginsbach taught an introduction journalism course to 120 5th and 6th graders at an Alexandria, Va. school. She told me after her sabbatical that one of the most telling moments for her in terms of building good will for BNA came when a parent spoke at a PTA meeting where she was outlining her plan. He said he was a BNA subscriber and he congratulated the company for supporting the project that would benefit the school.

Also, who knows, maybe some of those kids she taught will end up as reporters at BNA.

Kurt Fernandez, our Texas correspondent, described his sabbatical as his most "enriching experience in my 25 years at BNA. I can honestly say it made spending my entire career at BNA--where some of the customary rewards for writers are few--worthwhile.

Rich Bronson, who hasn't even taken his sabbatical yet, has spent a number of evenings meeting with people from the community in which he will be working next year. Very few of the people he's met have ever heard of BNA so he tells them what BNA does and how it is he will be working in the community for six months next year. In an e-mail to the bargaining committee he said he wished he could show us pictures of their lit-up faces or recordings of the accolades he hears when he explains BNA's sabbatical program.

"I believe the goodwill that has already accrued to BNA simply from these preliminary meetings has been enormous-and my sabbatical doesn't begin for months." He added that right now because of the sabbatical program everyone he talks to thinks he works for a very special company.

I could go on and on about how sabbaticals have been beneficial for BNA and for the individuals that have taken them but I just want to relate one more example.

Rhonda Oziel, who worked in the library and had ovarian cancer planned during her sabbatical in 1995 to write a survival guide for women with ovarian cancer but her project turned into the formation of a
nationwide coalition to share information and activism. She could not have done that without the time she was given during her sabbatical. It became an essential part of her life for the next six years and added value for thousands of others.

At one time BNA valued the sabbatical program and touted it whenever possible. A number of years ago, Jean Linehan, our founder's daughter, asked Sue Hobbs and me to address the Metropolitan Washington Work/Life Coalition, of which BNA is a founding member, about our sabbatical program--she was so proud of it she wanted to share our experience with other companies.

When BNA made the Working Mother magazines 100 best companies to work for in 1998 it cited the sabbatical program as one of the reasons. A synopsis in the magazine said that since the program began in 1989 10 of the 22 sabbaticals were awarded to working mothers, several of whom spent that time volunteering in their children's schools.

Washingtonian magazine also mentioned BNA's sabbatical program when it named BNA one of the best companies to work for in Washington.

Even the display in the link lobby highlights the sabbatical program as an "outstanding example of how BNA is "setting the pace as corporate citizen."

Because the program has been so beneficial to so many, the Guild is proposing expanding it, not eliminating it. I really resent the company's contention that the sabbatical program benefits few at an extremely high cost and BNA cannot measure what we get. BNA can't measure what it gets from a lot of programs but that doesn't mean it gets no benefit. What does it get from the BNA Scholarship program? or the annual holiday party? It's hard to measure the benefit to BNA, but the benefit, even if it is goodwill, is understood.

How do you measure loyalty, appreciation of the company, appreciation and admiration from the community, expansion of experiences beyond the DC metro area to Botswana, the Philippines, Eastern Europe, Guatemala? The program encourages employees to dream and experience their worlds. And those who are not long-term employees or those who qualify but have not yet applied hope that one day their turn will come.