Contract Vote
Set for Sept. 28

Guild members will vote this month on a proposed 6-year contract that raises wages by 13 percent, provides for a one-time signing bonus and retains employer-paid health insurance for 92 percent of all members.

The proposal, which has the backing of the Guild bargaining team, also expands The News’ extended sick-leave policy to all members and settles a long-standing grievance over the company’s use of free-lance writers in the newsroom.

If adopted, the contract would include two key News initiatives - a new substance abuse testing policy and a requirement that the union negotiate over the issue of performance evaluations for employees.

A vote on the proposed contract is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28 at the Radisson, 4243 Genesee St., Cheektowaga.

The proposal marks the end of 16 months of negotiations between The News and the Guild. The previous contract expired Aug. 1 of last year.

“It’s a superior contract, short of the economics,” said Tom Dolan, Buffalo News unit chair. “We would like to have gotten more money, but we couldn’t.”

At the heart of the agreement are several economic changes in the contract:

• The base wage for all Guild members will increase 13 percent over the six years. The raises range from a high of 2.87 percent for the past year to a low of 1.52 percent in 1997 and 1999. Wages will increase 2.366 percent in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

• No lump sum payments in lieu of percentage increases, despite The News’ insistence on them during contract talks. Instead, members will receive full retroactive pay dating back to August, 1996.

• A signing bonus that combines percentages and flat amounts. The bonuses will be paid once the contract is approved by the membership.

• An upgrade in several wage classifications over and above the 13 percent increase in everyone’s base wage.

The deal also insures that the vast majority of members will continue to receive health insurance that is fully employer-paid.

Under the agreement, The News would continue to provide enough flexible benefit credits for people to buy the most expensive HMO coverage. At one time, The News had proposed cutting credits by 18-35 percent.

The only members who would pay money out of their pocket for insurance would be those who choose Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage. Currently, 92 percent of the Guild’s membership purchase HMO coverage.

Beyond insurance, the proposal expands the sick leave coverage now provided by the company. The News’ extended sick-leave policy - once reserved for only higher paid members - would be expanded to all members.

“It was a matter a basic fairness that all members be covered by the same sick-leave arrangements,” said chief negotiator Marian Needham. “In the future, when one of our business department members are stricken with cancer, we won’t have to worry about their benefits being cut off prematurely. That’s a great relief.”

On non-economic issues, the Guild agreed to settle two grievances over the company’s use of stringers and free-lance writers. The grievances claimed The News was violating the contract and federal labor law in how it used “independent contractors.”

As part of the settlement, The News agreed to hire 6 part-time reporters to cover suburban Erie County and do work previously done by free lancers.

“We shouldn’t minimize the fact that we gained some measure of control over The News’ ability to use stringers in the ever-growing suburbs,” Dolan said. “That’s an important achievement.”

The Guild, as part of the give and take of negotiations, also agreed to several News’ proposals but not without substantial protection for its members.

From Day One, management wanted a substance abuse testing policy and started out proposing a plan that would allow supervisors to require testing. If an employee failed that first test, he could be disciplined or fired.

The union beat back that proposal and instead agreed to a policy that has the Employee Assistance Program decide when or if testing is required. The News would be required to pay for treatment and could fire an employee only if he failed to take part in the EAP or engaged in some form of gross misconduct. (The program is independently operated by the New York State AFL-CIO.)

On another front, the company required a commitment that the union would negotiate a system for performance appraisals for all Guild departments during the life of the next agreement.

Under the law, The News has the obligation to bargain in good faith with the union before implementing performance appraisals, but if the two sides fail to reach agreement over the issue the company can impose its system.