What a "no" vote means

The proposed new contract has sparked a vigorous and healthy debate among the Guild's membership. One important question is what would happen if the membership votes to reject the contract.

As the Guild Bargaining Committee reported at last Monday's membership meeting, management has said that if the contract is not ratified by Dec. 31, the company would withdraw the portion of its offer dealing with retroactive pay for 2005.

If the membership votes down the contract, negotiators for both sides would return to the bargaining table. The Guild bargainers would not consider the loss of retro pay to be a given, and would fight for whatever improvements are necessary to craft a contract package that would win majority support.

However, the negotiators would not be able to win that fight alone. As our president, Jennie Tunkieicz, said at the membership meeting, success would require strong support from a united membership in a long and potentially difficult battle. In that regard, the contract vote will be a referendum not only on the merits of the contract itself, but on whether the membership supports continuing the struggle for something better.