Sparring Continues
On Newsroom Work Assignments

For more than a month, Guild and management negotiators have been struggling over two issues that will shape the future of newsroom operations at The Buffalo News.
Which newsroom employees rightfully belong in the Guild, and what bargaining unit work can excluded persons - almost all of whom are supervisors - do?

The struggle began late last fall, when The News claimed the need for more flexibility and demanded work assignment rules that would allow managers to work in Guild jobs on an "ad hoc" basis. But, according to Guild chief negotiator Marian Needham, the proposals follow years of newsroom attrition.

In 1987, there was a total of 185 Guild-covered newsroom employees (178 full-time and 7 part-time). Today there are 175 (165 full-time and 10 part-time).

"The reason they went after these work assignment proposals is because of the reduction of Guild-covered newsroom employees. They don't have enough Guild workers to do the job, so they want management do our work," she said.

Needham pointed out that, while The News has freely eliminated union jobs, it has not cut the numbers of newsroom managers, many of whom work alongside Guild-covered employees doing the same or similar work.

Jurisdiction and job security are at the heart of the discussions, which have been taking place off the record as both sides are attempting to explore sensitive issues involving which managers have the right to work in Guild-covered jobs and which have been properly excluded from being union members. Needham said Guild negotiators hope to be able to report to members soon - possibly within the week - on the details of the talks.

So far, the Guild has rewritten and accepted News proposals to allow work from outside the bargaining unit to be assigned to members on a trial basis and has developed a system for members to volunteer for work in other Guild departments.

But talks bogged down last month when managers made it clear they want new freedom to assign newsroom work to managers and others excluded from the union. Talks went off the record while negotiators explored the present and past work practices in the newsroom. Other Guild departments are not affected by the present talks.

Guild negotiators, who hoped the discussions will help settle a number of editorial jurisdiction-related problems, were dismayed when managers eliminated the dayside assistant news editor's position (a Guild job) and passed many of its duties on to the news editor, who is a management employee.

"Coming when it did, in the middle of negotiations, this grab for more of our work clearly shows that management will use every opportunity to cut our strength in the newsroom, even when the move violates the contract," vice president Tom Dolan said.

Dolan said the union bargaining team is governed by a simple rule: as long as The News insists on having many employees who are excluded from union membership, the Guild must guard against allowing them additional freedom to work in union jobs. But, if managers are willing to trim down the list of exclusions, the Guild will look more favorably on The News' request for more flexibility, he said.

Following the discussions of the newsroom work assignments, negotiators are expected to take up two major grievances filed by the Guild regarding the paper's use of editorial stringers and freelancers.

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