• BNA Guild members OK New Contract
• Kudos to Guild Pulitzer Awardees!
• Meany Center/National Labor College Contract Ratified
• Nomination/Election of Secretary
• NLRB Backs Guild Complaint
• Organizing: Who Got You to Join the Union?
• Unions Make Life Better
• Know Your Family and Medical Leave Rights!
• EDUCATION CORNER: The Union Advantage - Job Security

BNA Guild Members Overwhelmingly Ratify New Three Year Agreement

By a vote of 219 to 13, Guild BNA members ratified a new contract on March 5 that brings a new pay structure, removes all performance based pay, increases job security, and improves commuter reimburse-ments. Over 800 employees are covered by the agreement.

Job security and pay structure issues loomed large at the table. Citing successful national companies with no lay off pledges, the Guild pushed hard throughout negotiations for BNA to work harder to keep workers working, even during tough times. Such companies, noted the Guild, like Southwest Airlines and Fannie Mae, gain loyalty and productivity through policies that assure that those who make the company a success in good times are not tossed to the street during economic slumps. BNA agreed to assure that employees subject to layoff have the right to opt to take on alternative assignments, and that such employees will be
utilized before the company turns to new hires or contractors. In addition, new language was negotiated creating a company-wide voluntary resig-nation program to assure that before any employee is involuntarily laid off, employees who desire to vountarily resign may do so with full severance pay.

A new-eleven grade, four-band pay structure replaces a ten grade, six step structure. The pay spread—the difference between starting salary and top salary—was dramatically increased, and employees will now receive one annual increase, in place of the old general increase and performance increase. Employees at the lower end of each pay grade receive the largest “band” increase at 6%, with smaller increases of 5%, 3.5%, and 2.25% at the next three bands . Completely removed from the pay scheme was any link to performance. Performance issues will be addressed where they belong—in discipline, not the wallet.

Congratulations Guild Pulitzer Winners!

Best reporting: Diana K. Sugg of The Baltimore Sun for her absorb-ing, often poignant stories that illuminated complex medical issues through the lives of people. Visit the Pulitzer Prizes website for more details.

Criticism: Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post for his authoritative film criticism that is both intellectually rewarding and a pleasure to read. Visit the Pulitzer Prizes website for more details.

Membership Meeting

Saturday, May 17, 2003
10:00 a.m.-Noon
415 St. Paul Pl., Baltimore

Agenda:

1. Take the BW Parkway (Rt.295) North to Baltimore.
2. The Parkway empties into Russell St. which turns into N. Paca.
3. Turn right onto Pratt St., then turn Left onto Calvert.
4. Go north, past the Sun building on the right.
5. Turn left onto Franklin St. (If you find a space, park here. Meters are running).
6. Turn left onto St. Paul Place. (If you find a space, park here. Meters are running).
7. 415 St. Paul Place is on left. Building signs reads Calligary and Calligary Law Firm.

The contract includes increases in health care co-payments, primarily designed to influence decisions about buying generic drugs over name brand and using in-network over out of network doctors.

In other economics, the subsidy for Metrochek and for parking expenses increased from $630 to $700 a year. Employees also gained the ability to use up to ten days of sick leave to care for a spouse, parent or co-habitating life partner with FMLA eligible illnesses.

The Guild held off BNA’s efforts to eliminate the long established joint committees for health care issues and sabbaticals, and the company gave up on its efforts to eliminate the entire sabbatical program.

Special thanks to our excellent Guild bargaining committee: Reza Namdar, Gwen Holmes, John Small, Bruce Kaufman, Michelle Amber, Marline Casselle, Ken May, Dennis Lewis, Carol Oberdorfer, and Susan McGolrick.

The contract runs through February 28, 2006.

Meany Center/National Labor College Contract Ratified

Guild members at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies/National Labor College (“College”, for short!) ratified a new three-year agreement on April 14, 2003, over a year after expiration of the old contract.

Ratification brought a 2% retroactive increase effective April 2002, a 2% increase on April 1, 2003, and 2.75% increase in year three. One irregular position was made regular and placed on the pay scale, and an annual base pay differential payment of $1750 was established for IT staff placed on call. An additional step increase at the tenth year of employment completed the key economic gains. Twenty-one employees are covered by the new contract.

Much of the protracted bargaining centered around faculty governance issues, as the College moves increasingly toward a faculty governance model akin to traditional colleges. Guild members will participate in decision making on curriculum, academic standards, and other College policies, as well as in a structured search committee for new hires.

Gains were also seen in the contract’s workload agreement, which for the first time provides discretionary time for research and other professional pursuits, and a tracking system to assure that faculty receives credit in subsequent years for working in excess of current workload standards.

Special kudos to Committee members Elise Bryant, Sarah Springer, Jannie Cobb, Jean Dearden, and Katherine Sciacchitano for persistence!

Nomination/Election of Secretary at May 17 Membership Meeting

Carol Oberdorfer, Local Secretary, has been promoted to a management position at the Bureau of National Affairs. We thank Carol for her 20 years of dedication, wisdom and fair mindedness on behalf of the local and the BNA unit.

Under the bylaws, the executive council will fill the position temporarily. This is the formal notice that a new secretary, to serve the balance of Carol’s term (until January, 2005) will be nominated and elected at the next general membership meeting.

That will be May 17 at 10 am at the local’s Baltimore office, 415 St. Paul Place. The members at the meeting will vote by secret ballot (there will not be workplace or mail balloting).

The procedure for filling vacancies is spelled out in the local bylaws (available online at www.wbng.org). Article VA(9) states:

”In the event an at-large officer vacancy exists, the Council shall at its next regular meeting appoint a temporary officer to serve in the vacancy (except that in the event of a vacancy in the office of the President, the Vice President shall temporarily serve the remainder of the President’s term). Notice of the vacancy shall be given by the Local and the General Membership meeting following such notice shall receive nominations form the floor and proceed to fill the vacancy by secret ballot.”

NLRB Backs Guild Complaint -- Affirms Employers Must Bargain Before Assigning Substantial New Work

The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint on March 27, 2003 against Service Employees International Union 500 for failure to bargain with the Guild.

SEIU 500 had refused to bargain with the Guild over the extra, and new, negotiating duties pushed on to Guild bargaining unit employees.

Historically, the SEIU union employer had responsibility of bargaining new contracts on behalf of its own members who work for Montgomery County Public School, among other employers.

However, last year SEIU began to assign these duties to Guild members of its own unionized staff.

Although the Guild demanded to bargain over these new duties, SEIU refused, and the Guild filed an 8(a)1 and 8 (a) 5 charge under the National Labor Relations Act.

An employer must negotiate with its union when that union demands to bargain over new or changed condition of employment, wages, hours, or other working conditions. The NLRB upheld the Guild’s complaint, ordering SEIU to negotiate in good faith.

We’re sure that SEIU management will get the message that unilateral changes in working conditions are illegal under federal labor law.

Organizing: Who Got You to Join the Union?

By Paul Reilly, Local Representative

Notice – it’s “who” not “what.”

If you’re like me you can remember the person’s name (Art McGinn, UPI San Francisco 1980), or if you’re a little more normal, you probably can at least narrow it down to a person or two. The point is, very few people join a union – at least in open shops – because of piece of paper stuck in their mailbox or some stranger (read: Local Representative) talking to them. They need to hear from you – that is, a colleague or a friend. Signing up a non-member is probably union one-on-one communication at its most basic level, but one-on-one communication with our members – and future members – is also the key to success in contract enforcement and mobilization.

We need to talk to our members and nonmembers for many reasons, but most of all so that we know they know what’s going on and we know what their concerns are.

How many times has a union bulletin shown up on your desk or mailbox and gone half-read or unread? Come on, be truthful. Bulletins are a great communication tool, but too often they get stuck under a pile of papers or packed away in a briefcase until a slow day comes along and they finally get thrown out. I’ve got a couple on my desk right now that I haven’t read – and I do this for a living.

But if those bulletins are handed to a person, and the distributor takes two minutes to point out the issue being covered, chances are they’ll actually get read. And chances are the person getting the bulletin will have a comment or a question that will help us determine if our message is resonating or tanking and whether the members understand the issue.

Educating members about the issue is the first step in mobilizing members to take action. Like educating, mobilizing is best done one-on-one. Members are much more likely to take an action, whether it be signing a petition, withdrawing a byline, or walking a picket line, if a colleague personally contacts them and if they understand the reason for the action.

Those are some reasons why we need to talk directly to the people we represent. Now for the how. The first hurdle is finding members to talk to other members.

The best way to get people to help out is – you guessed it – by talking to them in person. Very few people volunteer for union work based on an email or bulletin.

You’ll be suprised just how willing of most members are to help out. But first you have to explain what exactly it is you want them to do. The question, ‘how would you like to help doing some Guild work’ is the surest way to get a “no.” Tell the person exactly what is expected, how much time it will take, how often and how long the assignment will last. After that, at least 95% will say yes*. (*based on nothing but my own personal experience. Prove me wrong if you can). Here are a few rules for one-on-one contacts:

• Pick a time when the person isn’t busy – and ask before you launch into your spiel.
• Keep it short, and have some specific tasks in mind that the person can help with.
• Be prepared to answer questions. If you don’t know the answer, don’t bluff. Tell the person you’ll get the answer – and do it.
• And most important – LISTEN. No one likes to be preached to (except maybe in church) and listening is the only way to find out the member’s concerns, questions etc.

If for some reason you didn’t like this piece, I’d like to know. But don’t bother sending me an email, I’ll just delete it. Talk to me in person!

Unions Make Life Better

In states that have laws restricting workers’ rights to form unions and bargain collectively (colloquially known as "Right to Work" states, or, in union jargon as "Right To Work For Less" states) the average pay for all workers is lower.

Right To Work For Less states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North and South Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming.

Source: AFL-CIO

Know Your Family and Medical Leave Rights!

Employers with more than 50 employees are covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which
provides 12 weeks unpaid leave for

• For a serious health condition that makes you unable to perform your job (medial leave)
• To care for a seriously ill child, spouse, or parent (family leave)
• For childbirth or to care for a newborn child up to age one (childbirth leave and newborn care leave)
• For the placement of a child with you for adoption or foster care (adoption/foster care placement
  leave)

Leave can be taken intermittently or consecutively, and you can not be disciplined for using FMLA leave. You must provide at least 30 days’ advance notice if your need for FMLA leave is foreseeable.

If your leave or absence cannot be anticipated 30 days in advance, you must give notice as soon as practicable. You are obliged to inform your employer about the need for your leave but you do not have to mention the FMLA.

During your FMLA leave, group health plan benefits must be maintained as if you had continued to work. If your employer has been paying 100% of your insurance premium, it must continue to pay this amount. If you pay a portion of the premium, this obligation remains.

When you return from FMLA leave, you must be restored to your former position or to an equivalent one with no loss to your seniority or benefits.

For more information, see our website at http://www.wbng.org/education/fmla.htm and call your steward!

EDUCATION CORNER: The Union Advantage - Job Security
Guild Contracts Set Strong Standards for Discipline and Discharge

All WBNG contracts protect union employees from discipline or discharged without “just cause” (also known as good and sufficient cause, or just and sufficient cause). This critical protection—along with an employee’s right to grieve discipline—protects employees against arbitrary, retaliatory, or unsubstantiated actions by the employer, and provides assurance of due process over one of the most important aspects of our lives—our job.

These words—”just and sufficient cause” — have very specific meaning in a union contract, and have been interpreted consistently over decades by labor arbitrators to require six basic tests to determine if there is just and sufficient cause for disciplinary or discharge. And it’s the employer —not the employee and not the union—that has the burden of proof for demonstrating that it has met the just cause standard. To meet the just cause standard, the company must show that

1. The employee was forewarned that the particular behavior would result in discipline. The warning could have been given either orally or in writing, or in the form of a general work rule. This is necessary except in the case of gross misconduct —proven conduct so severe that the employee is reasonably expected to know that it would be grounds for discipline.

2. The violated work rule must be reasonably related to orderly, efficient and safe operations.

3. There must be a full and fair investigation of the facts prior to administering any discipline.

4. There must be substantial, persuasive, evidence that the employee has committed the alleged acts. The evidence cannot consist of mere rumors or unsupported accusations (the union has the right to see all evidence).

5. Rules, orders, and disciplinary action must be applied in an even handed and non-discriminatory fashion. Arbitrators expect work rules to be enforced fairly to all, without discrimination for any reason, including race, gender, or union activity.

6. The discipline must be reasonably related to the seriousness of the offense, and discipline must be progressive. The lowest level of discipline should be applied—usually beginning with a verbal or written warning and becoming more severe if there are subsequent violations. A discharge—or even a suspension—for a single violation of an attendance policy, for example, would neither be progressive nor reasonably related to the seriousness of the offense. The employee’s work record must also be considered when determining level of penalty.

It’s important to note that NONE of these protections are in place in companies where there is no union contract.

That’s right, none.

Without a union contract, an employee is considered “at will” and may be disciplined or fired without any cause at all. An “at will” employee’s only recourse is to file a lawsuit at her or his own expense, and/or file a claim with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, if discrimination is alleged. Most employees do not have the resources or the time to take these actions.

The Guild has reduced or removed disciplinary actions, and won reinstatement of discharged employees, in every work place where there is a Guild contract.

If you have any questions about a disciplinary action or potential for a disciplinary action, see a Guild steward or officer. And, check out the Guild’s education corner at www.wbng.org/education/educationindex.html for more information on your rights, including your right to a union representative in investigatory interviews.

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