The parent company for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily
News and Philly.com said Friday afternoon that it has agreed with the Newspaper
Guild of Greater Philadelphia to extend the union’s current contract through
June 27.
Philadelphia Media Network said the extension came at the
suggestion of a federal mediator and that the company “is hopeful this
additional time will result in an agreement that is in the best interest of all
parties involved.”
The Newspaper Guild’s contract was set to expire Sunday
and it was considering
a strike vote next week if a deal was not hammered out over the weekend.
In a post on the Guild’s website Thursday, Executive
Director Bill Ross described the issues as “no raises, higher health care costs
for worse coverage and weakened seniority.”
Ross also said management wants to minimize the role
seniority would play in future layoffs and will not bring Philly.com employees
under the same contract as the employees of the two newspapers.
Vice President of News Operations Stan Wischnowski sent
his own memo Thursday to Guild members, explaining the company’s proposals at
this time. He said management is bargaining in good faith.
Wischnowski said management offered to extend the current
collective bargaining agreement another 30 days so the two sides could resolve
their differences. He listed management’s current proposals:
• A 48 percent increase in the hourly rate that PMN
contributes to the guild’s health care plan.
• Ending mandatory furloughs and diverting the
compensation associated with ending furloughs to the health care plan.
• An annual profit-sharing plan based on the company’s
net income.
• Creation of minimum wage scales and annual step levels
for Philly.com employees.
• A one-year no layoff guarantee that’s retroactive to
the Feb. 9 expiration to the existing CBA.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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