News Assignment Proposals Stall Bargaining
`Flexibility' Proposals Aimed at Editorial Jurisdiction

Contract talks at The Buffalo News took a sudden turn this week when management acknowledged that its proposal to work supervisors and other excluded employees in Guild jurisdiction is directed exclusively at the newsroom.
Earlier in negotiations, the union offered substantial changes that would meet three of The News' four original proposals on work assignments. Those proposals include seeking volunteers willing to work in more than one department and assigning new work to the bargaining unit on a temporary basis (work never before performed at The News and work not previously done by Guild members).
However, Guild negotiators have repeatedly told management that they could not recommend the company's most onerous assignment proposal, which states:
"In order to expedite the publication of The News, excluded managers, supervisors and employees may perform work normally assigned to Guild members. It is recognized that the utilization of non-members of the Guild to perform such work will not be on a scheduled basis and would not be to curtail overtime or to diminish Guild shifts."
On Dec. 4, the parties were scheduled to analyze existing contract provisions to see how The News could meet its needs in the editorial department under current language. Management cited editing, pagination, writing, copy input, graphics creation and film scanning as areas where it might put non-Guild members to work.
"It took weeks to uncover what managers wanted," said vice president Tom Dolan. "But now that we have, newsroom Guild representatives are deeply concerned about the sweeping demands. We do not intend to knuckle under to a bunch of regressive proposals that are simply trying to cure our staffing problems."
Both sides have agreed that the proposals are not connected in any way to the creation of an on-line newspaper, but are solely related to the current form of The Buffalo News.
From the onset of bargaining more than six months ago, The News has emphasized its need for more flexibility in the contract. But Guild negotiators feel they have been more than accommodating. Between existing contract language and tentative agreements reached on this contract, the paper has ample flexibility to respond to the sort of situations that News editor Murray Light wants to address, union negotiators said.
The Guild has compromised on new part-time and temporary language. It has finessed three of The News' work assignment proposals. The existing contract allows two excluded editors to work on the news desk once a week. The current contract also permits the use of non-Guild employees in the newsroom on a temporary basis, and contains language that allows supervisors to do Guild work in an emergency.
"That sounds pretty flexible to me," said Jerry Sullivan, editorial vice chair.

 Return to The Buffalo Newspaper Guild Home Page