Light at the end of the tunnel
Guild members,
After a very productive 3 hour session this morning, company negotiators have modified or withdrawn some of the regressive proposals that bogged us down yesterday during 8 hours of negotiations in an effort to reach a fair contract. Gone is the company proposal to reduce severance for current employees to a maximum of 12 weeks. Gone is the request to change the current sick time structure to the non-union plan. Gone is the company demand to stop the 3% contribution to our members 401k plan. Gone is the company demand to eliminate article 1.11 of the current contract, which gives the union jurisdiction over work moved into the building where the Delaware County Times is published, which now will avoid a costly legal fight when the move to the new building in Swarthmore happens in the next few weeks. Gone is the company’s proposal to reduce mileage reimbursement rate. On the bright side, for the first time in many years, the company has offered a wage increase in both years of a two year contract , and a 5% reduction in our employees weekly cost to their health care coverage. Over the next few weeks, Guild negotiators will continue to work the numbers, and present the employer with a comprehensive counter proposal in the form of a total package, covering all economic and non-economic proposals. Company negotiators praised the Guild bargaining team for working hard, and making real progress in tough talks over the last 3 days, and are optimistic the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t a train.
In Unity,
Bill Ross
Bob Grotz
Michele Stone
Bob Gurecki
