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Full Bargaining Teams OK Departmental Solutions:
Selective Implementation Subject to Members' Approval

Finance Chair to be appointed in August

Around the Guild...
Mueckl Donation Funds City Trees
Members Urged to Seek Ergonomics Review
Local Helps Striker Keep House
Carrier Ruling May Have Impact on Stringers

From August 1, 1996, Frontier Reporter

Full Bargaining Teams OK Departmental Solutions
Selective Implementation Subject to Members' Approval

The full bargaining teams of the Buffalo Newspaper Guild and Buffalo News have approved with few changes, the recommendations produced from departmental talks.

Some of the changes affecting classified advertising, inside circulation and the district managers may go into effect before the next contract is ratified by Guild members, pending approval at the August local meeting.

The current contract expires July 31. However, it includes provisions that require the terms and conditions to remain in effect as long as the union and newspaper continue to negotiate. Each side has the right to terminate the contract with 60 days notice.

"Right now, it's unlikely we will have resolved all

the issues on the table by July 31," said Marian Needham, chief negotiator. "But that's not unusual in the newspaper industry, or at The Buffalo News. The News has evidenced a willingness to meet frequently, and we are making progress," she said.

Needham explained that what happens at the negotiating table is influenced by events in the workplace. She urged members to stay in touch with the negotiating team, and respond to requests for action to support the union's bargaining goals.

Both sides have begun work on non-economic issues that affect the entire unit. These include Guild proposals on family leave, bereavement, jury duty, floaters for part-time employees who work more than 1,000 hours annually, and allowing members to receive a fifth week of vacation in the 15th year of service instead of the current 20th year.

The News has proposals on drug and alcohol testing, performance appraisals, lifting the current restrictions on the use of part-time and temporary workers and eliminating contract language on the resale and reuse of work produced by Guild members.

The full negotiating teams also are considering how to proceed with departmental issues in editorial. The newsroom was the only area where News managers and Guild representatives were unable to agree on recommendations for solutions to various workplace issues.

The issue of stringers/freelancers could end up in arbitration. That step was authorized last month by the local should the current round of bargaining yield unsatisfactory results.

The other editorial issue involving the role of clerks in the newsroom will be addressed with economic issues later in the talks, Needham said.

Also deferred to economic bargaining is a Guild proposal for an improved compensation system for district managers who cover more than one geographic area.

Both teams approved recommendations from the departmental negotiations to combine contract groups in accounting and inside circulation. However, the structure of the new wage groups and proposals to add additional years of experience will have to be hammered out in the economic bargaining.

There also will be a six-month experiment, whereby people in the classified recruitment division will work four days instead of five. The full bargaining teams are charged with developing the language to govern the length of the work day under this system, and when overtime will apply.

Some of departmental recommendations approved by the full bargaining teams may be implemented soon because they don't require changes in contractual language.

For example, circulation customer service employees could begin enjoying weekends off before a new labor agreement is ratified. This is a substantial gain because the current scheduling system provides no weekends off.

Classified employees could benefit from approved changes to the incentive plan, more time off during holiday periods and regular schedules for part-timers.

For DMs, the Guild has accepted a News proposal for district sales advisor positions, which will be drawn from the union ranks.

Both sides have recommended that two of the jobs may be filled outside the bidding procedure for a six-month trial period, beginning this month, if the local approves. Floating DMs will be assigned to fill vacancies caused by the transfer of people to the new jobs.

"The results of the departmental bargaining have shown us it was worth the effort," Needham said. "These are the types of issues that are never adequately addressed in traditional bargaining."

Finance Chair to be Appointed in August

A new finance committee chair will be appointed at the August local meeting to replace Richard Schroeder, who resigned from The Buffalo News in May.

David Robinson, a business reporter and former executive committee delegate, has declared his interest in the position.

The finance committee chair is responsible for working with the local president and treasurer on the annual budget, managing the defense fund and issuing periodic reports of its performance, and reviewing the union's monthly expenditures.

The position includes a $350 annual stipend.

Robinson brings to the finance committee post a knowledge of investments and money matters from his eight years as a business reporter and stock market columnist. He also has helped prepare Guild negotiators on economic and wage issues for both past and current contract talks.

Once a finance committee chair has been selected, the first order of business will be to examine the union's finances and make a recommendation to the local about a proposal from Schroeder for him to manage the defense fund as a paid consultant.

Schroeder, a former Guild president, left The News in May to pursue a career as a certified financial planner. He has suggested continuing to manage the defense fund for a fee of 1 percent of assets or approximately $1,790 per year.

Schroeder said the fee is discounted from his usual 1.25 percent of assets. "With my departure from the Guild you no longer have an expert in investments and portfolio management to run the defense fund," he explained. "I will be happy to provide expert discretionary management, conducted within the guidelines of the union's investment policy and under the supervision of the finance committee."

In May, Schroeder was hired as a consultant for contract negotiations in the areas of pension and medical and life insurance coverage. He is paid $50 per hour with a $200 retainer. The fee is one-half his regular hourly rate.

Around the Guild...

Mueckl Donation Funds City Trees

The Buffalo Newspaper Guild has donated $100 to the City of Buffalo's Green Fund in memory of the late Richard J. Mueckl.

The money will be used by the fund, which is administered by the city's environmental management commission, for new trees. Mueckl's family suggested the customary Guild donation go to an environmental group because of his love of the outdoors and wildlife.

Mueckl, 51, was stricken while participating in the annual Corporate Challenge race. He worked at The Buffalo News for 30 years as a photographer and darkroom technician.

Members Urged to Seek Ergonomics Review

Guild members in several departments have complained recently of pain in their hands, arms, and shoulders due to frequent use of computer mice and keyboards.

Under the current contract, if you are experiencing pain you should contact your immediate supervisor. Local service representative Marian Needham said Guild members are within their rights to request an ergonomic review, and equipment that will reduce the chance of carpel tunnel syndrome.

There also are videotapes and helpful pamphlets available from the Guild office.

Local Helps Striker Keep House
The one-year anniversary of the Detroit newspaper strike was last month and Wayne Kermode still has his house, thanks to the Buffalo Newspaper Guild.

Kermode, a striking sports copy editor, recently sent a note to the local. Of the monthly $500 check from Buffalo, he said: "Thanks once again ... that's our house payment. Our anniversary present is keeping a roof over our heads while the company tries to take that way. If that doesn't symbolize what this struggle is all about, I don't know what does."

The local adopted Kermode, 40, and his family in June after a previous adopted striker took a non-newspaper job.

Carrier Ruling May Have Impact on Stringers

The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court ruled last month that newspaper carriers are employees and eligible for workers' compensation benefits.

The wide-ranging decision, which involved the Albany Times-Union, could affect the current independent contractor status of freelancers and stringers. Under the court ruling, they also may be employees, said Michelle Rea, director of the New York Press Association, which represents weeklies.

She also predicted the decision would be appealed to the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.

FROM THE JULY 1996 FRONTER REPORTER:

Frontier Reporter Available On-Line

Interest-based Bargaining Generates Proposals
Editorial Deliberations Mired by Management's Intransigence

Circulation Grievance Settlements
to be Considered July 11

Guild Efforts Smash Class Distinction:
Quality Ketchup Available to All

Frontier Reporter Available On-Line

By Barbara O'Brien

You may be reading this story on paper or on the Internet. If you're reading this off a computer screen, then you already know the Frontier Reporter has gone on-line.

"I really think it's exciting. I think there are a lot of possibilities," said James T. Madore, editor-in-chief of the Frontier Reporter. "I hope we'll get more feedback from people," he said.

The June issue of the Guild newsletter was the first to go on-line, thanks to the efforts of Elmer Ploetz, an editor in the sports department.

The Buffalo Newspaper Guild will continue to mail the Frontier Reporter to its members, but having a web site offers an alternative to members and others.

"It's a way of letting other unions and interested people check in and see what the Guild is doing," Ploetz said.

The minutes of Guild meetings will continue to be included in the published newsletter but not the computer version, he explained. The union also plans to keep any sensitive information out of the web site because access isn't restricted to unit members.

After reading the Frontier Reporter on-line, computer users also will be able to E-mail the Guild.

"One of the obvious benefits in an on-line setting is we have no space limitations," said sports writer Bob DiCesare, who also worked on the project.

Occasionally, items have been left out of the newsletter because of the lack of space. If the Guild runs into that problem now, many members will be able to pick it up on the web site, DiCesare said.

He reported that a recent Guild survey found that about 50 percent of local members have access to the Internet.

Ploetz set up the web site using his home computer. Reading the Frontier Reporter on-line, one finds the newsletter's masthead on the background of the screen.

The web site is a temporary one now, and the Guild is in the process of securing a permanent site.

The address (which you've obviously figured out, if you're reading it here) is: guildind.htm

Interest-based Bargaining Generates Proposals
Editorial Deliberations Mired by Management's Intransigence

By James T. Madore
Editor-in-Chief

Guild and News representatives made significant progress in June toward resolving workplace issues in all Guild-represented departments except editorial.

Both sides remained at loggerheads in the newsroom over the use of stringers/freelancers and the role of clerks. Guild leaders characterized the demands of News editors as becoming more extreme after each negotiating session.

In marked contrast were the departmental talks in circulation and classified/customer service, where News and Guild negotiators took seriously the principles of interest-based bargaining and developed recommendations, that if accepted, could benefit everyone.

"For the past few years, management in circulation and advertising have been working hard to develop a productive relationship with the Guild," said chief negotiator Marian Needham. "They saw departmental bargaining as an opportunity to work with their staff to fashion solutions to problems that face their departments. That's not the case in editorial, and the result is this lack of progress on very important issues that affect both management and workers."

On July 12, the full bargaining teams for both sides will begin to consider the recommendations from department-level negotiations on solutions to various workplace problems. The full teams must agree on the suggestions from the departments in order for them to be included in the new contract.

Inside circulation vice chair Carol Ann Burke reported that News and Guild negotiators are recommending that Group C & D clerks be combined in one job classification with the same wage rate. Clerks also would receive many more weekends off per year under a joint proposal, and scheduling may be influenced by a union-management committee.

"There was good communication in my department," Burke said. "We knew where each other stood on the issues. I think the process worked well for everyone."

Seniority and the bidding procedure for district managers won't change under suggestions from the negotiators, according to Dick Fay, DM vice chair. In fact, float positions would be included in the bidding system and excluded employees would not be able to use their previous DM time for bidding purposes if they return to the bargaining unit.

Schedules that better accommodate both the workload and people's lives would result from recommendations coming out of the classified/customer service. There also is a proposal for a four-day work week in the recruitment division. "This is a test case. It could be expanded to other people in the department, if it works," said Sina Williams, local president.

Other recommendations would give classified personnel the chance for more time off at Christmas, and establish union-management committees to discuss issues. As of press time, changes to the incentive system still were being discussed.

Likewise with job titles in accounting. But Gerry Bernardi of ABC said she was pleased with the deliberations so far on revamping job classifications. "Both sides are compromising a little because we want something to come out of departmental bargaining," Bernardi said.

Not so in editorial, according to vice chair Jerry Sullivan and unit chairperson Tom Dolan.

They reported that newsroom editors are calling for unlimited use of stringers, and believe the current contract provides no restrictions. Management also is adamantly opposed to any expansion of the permanent staff, including the hiring of part-timers. They even argued that some areas have too many people. The Guild may have to go to arbitration on the freelance issue.

There also is little common ground on the duties and pay for editorial clerks. "We're engaged in hard-nosed bargaining that's been dressed up as mutual-gains bargaining," Dolan said.

Needham, the chief negotiator, said: "I'm disappointed with the newsroom results, but overall, I believe the system has served us well so far. Just keep in mind that these recommendations must still be approved by the main bargaining committees," she added.

Circulation Grievance Settlements
to be Considered July 11

By Tina Destro
ABC Vice Chair

The Guild and Buffalo News management have reached a tentative agreement in the settlement of two inside circulation grievances filed earlier this year related to the service desk coordinator position, and the transfer of inside circulation staff within the department.

A vote to accept the agreement will be held at the July 11 local meeting.

A grievance protesting the unilateral imposition of managerial duties onto the service desk coordinator and the performance of Guild work by management staff was filed in February. A second grievance, also filed in February, addressed the unilateral transfer of an inside circulation clerk from a zone office to downtown, affecting a change in job function without just and sufficient cause.

"Unfortunately, the Guild can't stop The Buffalo News from downsizing," said local service representative Marian Needham. "But this settlement is proof that if we're vigilant, we can effectively protect the union's jurisdiction from being eroded by the realignment of union and management functions."

The settlement confirms the bargaining unit status of the service desk coordinator position and clearly outlines the Guild duties performed by the coordinator, as well as the duties performed by the customer service supervisor, a management position.

The agreement also outlines a procedure that was developed by the Guild for the transfer of Group B circulation clerks from one job classification to another.

According to inside circulation vice chair Carol Ann Burke, these problems became evident after The News made changes within circulation related to redistricting of zones and the closing of one of the zone offices. These changes affected both the service desk coordinator's duties, as well as the transfer of a zone office employee back to the downtown office.

Prior to these changes, the service desk was covered by two full-time and one part-time employees. Service desk duties were realigned by News management to the extent that only one bargaining unit employee was left to cover the service desk and a manager was assigned to supervise the workers.

The tentative grievance settlement confirms the service desk coordinator as a bargaining unit position.

The customer service supervisor will oversee the employees as a manager. Guild work previously generated by the service desk and performed by Guild members assigned to the service desk has been redistributed among other Guild staff within inside circulation. Other union members also will be assigned to cover the service desk for vacations and for one weekend day.

The procedure developed for the transfer of inside circulation employees states that in the event of a transfer, The News will first seek volunteers for those who wish to transfer to a different Group B or Group C position. If no volunteers come forward, the company may transfer the employee with the least length of service within the Group B classification to a different Group B or C classification, wherever the vacant position is available.

If the transfer is initiated by The News, there will be no reduction in wages paid to the affected employee. Also, any worker transferred will be the first to be offered a position within the Group B classification.

The agreement also states that when The News seeks to remove any bargaining unit employee who has passed a three-month trial period for reasons other than a Group B transfer, just and sufficient cause standards apply.

"I'm happy that the Guild and management were able to come to a fair agreement," Burke said.

Guild Efforts Smash Class Distinction:
Quality Ketchup Available to All

What some Guild leaders have taken to calling the "Great Ketchup Caper" has been solved.

In May, a union representative ordered her lunch and requested, as she regularly did, the bottled ketchup that was customarily kept behind the counter. But the employee was informed that the rules had been changed and the bottled ketchup could only be used by management. Lowly workers have to use the generic ketchup packets that contains a substance that looks like ketchup but tastes like a cross between vinegar and barbecue sauce.

The Guild's grievance committee immediately brought the culinary class distinction to the attention of News management. A one-week deadline was given to resolve the issue. Bottled ketchup quickly appeared at the condiments' counter with a polite note asking people not to take them to their tables.

First parking spaces and then ketchup. What's the next area that News management will deem needs to have a class structure?

FROM JUNE 1996 GUILD REPORTER

The President's Column: News' Bargaining Stance is Disappointing

Record Number of Guild Activists to Bargain as Departmental Talks Near

Local Helps Detroit Family in Desperate Straits

Grievances Filed on News' Use of Freelancers

The President's Column:
News' Bargaining Stance is Disappointing

Dear Brothers & Sisters:

This column was intended to be a cautiously optimistic view about going into bargaining. Instead, I've scrapped the original to give you my impression of the first two sessions.

Day One: The News began with a call for change - a request for us to put aside our stodgy "traditional ways" and join them in an effort to move forward into the 21st Century. They followed up with predictions of continued losses in circulation and advertising revenues, and continued rising operating costs. It was an extension of management's Gloom & Doom presentation from last April.

All the numerical information was given the same spin - a rapid downward spiral with no end in sight. One example of why I said "spin": Management compared our "recent" circulation losses to industry trends that indicate people won't be reading the newspaper much in the future. This is just a "smoke and mirrors" way of hiding the reality that our circulation figures have been inflated for many years because of the churning of discount subscribers. Stopping the discounts only brought out the truer figures. Of course, you know the rest...newsprint costs, etc.

Day Two: Assuming we've been convinced that the end of "the world as we know it" is in sight, News management gives us some specific proposals that could save the paper. Apparently, our overtime pay, merit pay, severance pay, and even the sick pay used during parental leaves have become gluttonous drains on the profits. Coupling that with our
unreasonable demand that our work continue to be done by permanent, experienced EMPLOYEES and ...You get the picture.

What we saw in those two days was the "traditional, stodgy" posturing too often used to launch bargaining sessions, and I'm disappointed. I know that our membership has exhibited a willingness to change and grow just by our recent actions. However, we expect to deal with real needs, not inflated ones whose only true purpose is to supplement the decreasing (yet still extremely healthy) profits that are normally gained from advertising and subscription rate increases.

If News management is serious about changing, you can't tell by their actions.

-- SINA WILLIAMS

Record Number of Guild Activists to Bargain

Departmental bargaining will be the focus this month of contract talks between the Buffalo Newspaper Guild and The Buffalo News.

While the full bargaining teams for both sides will continue to meet frequently, negotiations will move into the Guild-represented departments as rank-and-filers talk with mid-level managers about workplace issues.

Both the union and company hope departmental bargaining will wrap up by the end of June.

For the full story on departmental bargaining, click here

The agenda for departmental talks will be determined by the full bargaining teams. Negotiators are limited to these topics for discussion.

The departments and the issues that the Guild has proposed be examined are:

Advertising (Classified/Customer Service): improving the structure of the incentive system and the affect of workloads on employee scheduling.

ABC: the appropriate group divisions and adding job titles.

District Managers: improving the system for covering the work responsibilities of vacationing and ill employees, and clarifying the bumping procedure and using continuous/uninterrupted DM service as the sole criteria for bidding, which determines the area in which a DM works.

Editorial: placing limitations on the company's use of stringers/freelancers, the appropriate role of clerks in the newsroom operation and differentials for people doing pagination.

Inside Circulation: improving the seniority scheduling system, determining appropriate group divisions and establishing the criteria for receiving Group B pay.

Some proposals from The Buffalo News are in direct conflict with Guild objectives. For example, News managers have stated at the bargaining table their desire for unlimited use of stringers and abolishing the bidding procedure for DMs.

Both sides haven't yet agreed on a final agenda for departmental negotiations.

Local Helps Detroit Family in Desperate Straits

By Tom Buckham
Editorial Steward

The faces have changed, but not the urgent need for help in making ends meet.

Wayne Kermode, a veteran copy editor in the sports department of the Detroit News, his wife, Nancy; and their children, Billy and Sarah, are the latest victims of the Detroit newspaper strike to be touched by the Buffalo Newspaper Guild's generosity.

The local adopted the Kermodes this month after Lee Anne Jones, a striking Detroit News copy editor and single mother who had been receiving donations from Buffalo since December, took a proofreading job at a Detroit-area marketing company.

With Wayne Kermode's unemployment benefits about to expire and his wife disabled by a back injury she suffered several years ago while working as a nurse, the family finds itself in increasingly desperate straits.

The Kermodes soon will be forced to live on Nancy's compensation payments, whatever odd jobs Wayne can scrape up and "the generosity of others."

Wayne expressed his thanks for the first contribution in a May 14 letter to the Buffalo Newspaper Guild. "Better times are ahead thanks to the union spirit both near and far," he wrote. "Please express our gratitude to those who contributed financially and in spirit. We will never forget."

The nearly year-old strike at the Detroit News and the Free Press "is an important issue, one we want to win," he said in a telephone interview. "We have a solid core of people who want to see this thing through."

Because the Kermodes' home life has been disrupted by Nancy's numerous back surgeries, the ongoing labor strife seems like just one more problem to overcome. "My wife's health is our primary concern," said Wayne, 40. "It puts things in perspective."

"Better times are ahead thanks to the union spirit both near and far ... we will never forget."

Wayne Kermode, an Eastern Michigan University graduate who has worked at The News since 1983, puts in time at the Sunday Journal, the strike paper staffed by Guild members. He said the Journal is picking up steam thanks in part to advertising from other unions.

"We need more advertising, but we're in pretty good shape," he added.

In an April letter to the Buffalo Newspaper Guild, Lee Anne Jones expressed heartfelt thanks for the support she and her 6-year-old daughter, Amy, received from the local.

"Those $500 checks were so much more than money to me," she wrote. "They were encouragement to hang in there, a way for me to believe in myself and believe that everything was going to be all right again," she said.

In addition to monthly checks, district managers in the Williamsville/Clarence office -- led by Tim Milligan -- purchased a new bicycle for Amy and had it delivered to her home.

"I will never forget what you did for us, and as a result I will never be able to read about a strike again without wondering how those people are making ends meet, or drive by a picket line without coming back (with) food or something cool to drink," Lee Anne said. "I've been there now, and I know what it costs to stand up for what you believe."

Contributions for the Kermodes, who were adopted as part of the TNG/CWA Adopt-a-Family program, may be submitted to the local through the stewards. The Guild is committed to sending $500 a month to the strike family until the end of the year.

A three-month subscription to the Detroit Sunday Journal costs $15. It can be ordered by sending a check to the paper's mail subscriptions department: 3100 East Jefferson, Detroit, MI, 48207. The Journal will accept VISA and MasterCard payments, as well as checks.

Grievances filed on News' use of freelancers

For years, The Buffalo Newspaper Guild suspected The Buffalo News of using freelance writers as a way of reducing full-time staff.

Last month, the union put its complaints in writing -- two grievances that accuse the company of improperly using freelance work in the local news, sports and features departments.

One grievance claims The News violated its contract with The Guild by allowing freelancers to do the work normally done by union members.

A second grievance argues that many of the newspaper's freelancers are actually employees under the law, and therefore covered by the Guild contract.

Guild leaders are eager to discuss The News' use of freelancers during upcoming contract talks but, barring an agreement on the issue, they are prepared to go to arbitration.

The grievances are the result of a six-month study by a Guild committee. The group developed data on who the freelancers are, what kind of work they do and how they do it.

"The committee's work has made it clear that the company is in violation of both the contract and National Labor Relations Board regulations in the way it currently uses its stringers," said chief negotiator Marian Needham.

The violations cover a full range of work, from stringers who cover the local news in the suburbs and outside Erie County to freelancers who work in the features and sports departments.

At the advice of Robert Reden, the Guild's attorney, the membership recently approved the filing of two grievances. They were given to Editor-in-Chief Murray B. Light in late April.

At the heart of the Guild's interest in freelancers are the issues of staffing and quality journalism.

"The issues are greater than The News' use of freelancers," said Phil Fairbanks, chairperson of the Guild's Freelance Committee.

"The real problems are staffing and quality journalism," Fairbanks said. "By relying on freelancers to fill the paper each day, The News has been able to cut the number the number of full-time staff members and, in the process, hurt the quality of the newspaper we care so much about."