Next contract could change timing of raises

All Journal Sentinel newsroom employees could receive merit raises on the same date, under a tentative agreement last week.

Negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. reached that deal, as well as agreements on diversity and ethics provisions, during contract talks Wednesday through Friday.

Under the current contract, members of our bargaining unit receive discretionary raises no more than a year after their last merit or promotional raise. Management negotiators sought contract language to allow performance reviews and merit raises for everyone in the entire company at the same time, although they noted that top newsroom editors had not yet agreed to this idea from human resources.

Guild negotiators did not oppose the concept — noting that at least one contract in the 1980s did provide simultaneous merit raises for everyone — but raised questions about how it would work. The resulting language calls for raises to be prorated in the year the change is implemented, if it happens, and for managers to discuss implementation procedures with Guild representatives.

Other agreements would:

• Resolve a long-standing point of contention by explicitly stating that our contract takes precedence whenever it differs from corporate and newsroom ethics codes, and any discipline for alleged ethics code violations must follow the contract and meet its standard of just cause. In return, the Guild agreed that bargaining-unit members should sign acknowledgements of receiving the ethics codes and/or any required training on them. Guild leaders have long objected to some provisions of the ethics codes as being broader than the contractual standard of avoiding conflicts of interest or the appearance of such conflicts. The ethics codes have never been amended to reflect rulings from arbitrators and the National Labor Relations Board in favor of the Guild’s position. The Guild has regularly reminded members of that history and some members have balked at signing off on receiving the ethics codes.
  

• Provide a similar solution for the company’s no-harassment policy. The Guild never objected to this policy, but the issue was clouded when the acknowledgement of receiving it was combined with the ethics policy acknowledgement. In return for this agreement, management negotiators dropped their attempt to wipe out all contractual protections against discrimination and harassment and to replace them with language stating only that the company would follow applicable state and federal laws.
  

• Exempt full-time journalists with more than five years of prior experience from a requirement that all new employees be assigned mentors; cap unpaid leave for attending international and regional Guild meetings; and clarify past practice on military leave and academic leave.

We also discussed contract provisions dealing with severance pay for individual dismissals (not mass downsizings), probationary periods, columnists, training, union jurisdiction and union membership. The next bargaining session is set for Sept. 18.