BARGAINING BEGINS!
Dear Guild members:
Just a quick note to let you know that the Guild and The Inquirer begin bargaining today for a new collective agreement to replace the three-year contract that expires in March.
Your bargaining team includes: Jonathan Lai, Amy Rosenberg, Bill Ross and me.
As I have announced in the past, we have created the Black Caucus and the Parental Caucus to help guide the Bargaining Committee’s discussions on matters related to their concerns.
That kind of insight is invaluable. They have been doing research to find some of the best proposals in place at other worksites that The Inquirer should enact here to truly make this a company committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and the needs of young and growing families.
Obviously, our issues far exceed those two areas of concern — yes, we want raises!!! — and we have compiled proposals based on what we’ve heard from members over the past few years. Thank you for your input.
For those who have never gone through the collective bargaining process before, please understand this tends to be a slow process. Do not panic if we have not reached an agreement by the time our current contract expires on March 17. Typically, the current contract would remain in effect until both sides agree to a new one.
Key to our success in securing the improvements we deserve is a united membership. And the only way to ensure that solidarity is communication.
To that end, the Bargaining Committee will report out after each bargaining session. Please understand that those communications might not have a lot of detail. Sometimes things need to remain within the bargaining room because of the sensitive nature or because discussions might be too premature to divulge. (Kind of akin to watching sausage being made.)
And sometimes there just won’t be much progress made and thus little to report.
But, we will tell you something after every session just so you are kept apprised. (Initially, the plan is to bargain once a week. That will ramp up as we get closer to the expiration date of the current contract.)
You will receive these updates from your shop stewards. So, if you do not know who your shop steward is or have not heard from one about today’s bargaining session by Friday, please reply to this bulletin and we’ll get you hooked up.
For now, keep doing your work as we head into this monumental sports weekend, keep the faith and keep those members who were recently laid off and those Guild members in Pittsburgh who remain on strike at the Post-Gazette in your thoughts.
In solidarity,
Diane
