Citywide Bulletin -- June 26, 2003

The Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild

TNG-CWA, Local 32035

City-Wide Guild News

June 26, 2003

We Make The Sun Rise Logo We Still Make the Sun Rise!

There's no doubt about it, this round of bargaining was very tough as the Sun and its Tribune bosses demanded concessions in parts of the contract. But what their $1,500 signing bonus did not buy --- and could not buy --- is the respect of the hundreds of Guild members who make the Baltimore Sun what it is.

By their harsh demands and outrageous tactics and, most of all, denigration of our work, our efforts, our loyalty and our professionalism, Sun management and Tribune bosses have squandered the good will of their employees. Just look what a lust for the bottom line will lead you to do.

But as we move forward through these next four years it is important to remember our solidarity remains strong simply because we care about what happens to each other.

The contract ratified Tuesday night has, of course, some good elements. Among them:

Retention of our current sick leave, with accrual, accumulation and use all in place.
Improvements on the wage scales, with real dollars --- too few of them, to be sure --- going on each step.
Upgrades of three classifications with employees holding these titles getting from $15 to $100 more a week --- money they will get when this agreement is signed.
Increases in "smaller" money areas of the contract: $25/week for working in a higher classification and $50/week for working in an exempt position; 50 cents added to each shift for night differential (that is, $4, $4.50 and $5 a shift); $6 a week to defray auto insurance for those who drive their own cars on the job; increases in life insurance to $20,000 for active employees and $13,000 for employees over 65 and $5,000 and $3,000 of insurance for retired employees (based on years of employment); increase of travel/accident insurance (for airline travel) to $250,000.
Under new provisions for vacation accrual, employees may store up to two years' worth of vacation. In other words, someone entitled to three weeks of vacation may store up to six weeks; someone entitled to four weeks, may store up to eight. Additional days won't be added to the bank of vacation days until some days are used. This does away with the old system of carrying over one week of vacation.
Bereavement leave now covers domestic partners and expands the time periods for when an employee may be absent from work although the number of days one is away and how many of those are paid remains the same.
Employees who work on a recognized holiday will be paid double time for that work. In the past, in some departments, the holiday pay was for the night before the holiday.
Employees who take leave --- personal leave and maternity/paternity leave, for instance --- have the choice of using their stored vacation or keeping it to use when they return to work.
The contract generally puts multimedia work in Guild jurisdiction (aside, of course, from Sunspot). And puts in writing the fact that making on-air appearances is voluntary.

Some parts of the new contract have good and bad elements in them. Among them:

Performance-based pay: Merit pools will be established for each department by multiplying the number of FTEs (full-time equivalencies) times 52 weeks times the dollar amount specified for each year. If deadlines are met for signing this agreement, there will be no merit money in 2004 --- the $24 will go on the scales. In 2005, the figure is $14 and for 2006, the figure is $15. If awarded, merit money will become part of an employee's base salary. The contract requires the publisher to spend every penny in the merit pool each year. Commission-only sales staff are excluded from this pool.
The Sunpaper-Guild Joint Pension Plan will be frozen; employees hired starting today will not be eligible for the plan, but current employees will still get their benefit; current employees will be allowed to reach the five-year vesting. At the end of the year, the Times-Mirror 401(k) will go away to be replaced by the Tribune Company's DCRP (Defined Contribution Retirement Plan). There will be no company money in this plan for two years, although employees will be able to put in their own pre-tax dollars. Effective with each pay period beginning Jan. 1, 2006, the publisher will put 2.5 percent of each employee's straight-time earnings, including eligible commissions, into the DCRP. Starting Jan. 1, 2004, employees may participate in the Tribune Company Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), which makes Tribune stock available at a 15% discount.

The contract contains concessions, including additional limits on what can be arbitrated and how issues in arbitration are to be handled. Among the others:

In computing overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a week, employees may no longer count vacation and sick leave as hours worked.
The reuse clause, which allows an employee to share in the proceeds of work sold outside the paper, is eliminated.
Modification of jurisdiction language allows non-Guild workers (bosses, employees in other Sun unions and outside contractors) to do Guild work.
Starting today, a 9-month probation for new employees in some job classifications (editor, editorial writer, reporter, photographer, outside sales); it remains at 6 months for all others.
The requirement for posting of work schedules drops from 9 days to 7.
Banked floating holidays (those accumulated before today) must be used by Dec. 31, 2006, or lost. Otherwise they must be used in the year they're earned.
With at least 30 days notice, the publisher may transfer employees to other Guild-covered jobs within their own department (Editorial/News is considered as one department and Advertising-MarCom-Audiotext-Sunsource is considered as one department). The to-be-transferred employee may (at Sun discretion) have his/her pay cut --- but not by more than 3 percent in any year. An employee whose salary is to be cut may resign with full severance (see Section 8.5 on page 44 of the red book) within 30 days of being told of the transfer. And a to-be-transferred employee may discuss alternatives to the transfer with his/her supervisor.
If there's a conflict between the terms of a yet-to-be-bargained ethics policy and the outside activities clause of the contract, the ethics code shall prevail.

-- Connie Knox
Unit Chair

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Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, Local 32035 TNG-CWA, AFL-CIO/ 1100 15th St., NW, Suite 350 Washington, DC 20005/ 202-785-3650 /Fax: 202-785-3659