PAY RAISE JUST DAYS AWAY.
Dear Guild Members: We start this first full week of spring with something that should delight you: The 3% pay raise for full-time Guild members (prorated for part-timers) negotiated in the current contract is supposed to make its first appearance in this week’s paycheck. So, please make sure you check that it, indeed, has shown […]
Continue reading →
PENSION UPDATE
Dear Guild members: We will end this week the way we began it: with an update on where things stand with what we believe might be a full rescue of the Guild pension on its way. THE BACKGROUND: As Monday’s bulletin said, the $1.9 trillion stimulus package approved by Congress and signed by President Biden […]
Continue reading →
A RESCUE PLAN?
Happy International Women’s Day! A potentially amazing thing MIGHT have happened over the weekend with the Senate passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: It just MIGHT save the Guild pension. (And for members hired more recently after the Company stopped contributing to the pension fund and instead offered 401(k) matches, […]
Continue reading →
AN HOUR OF HYPOCRISY
Dear Guild members: Just a few moments into this morning’s Inquirer “town hall,” the 2021 Strategic Plan slide appeared on the screen that included this entry on culture: “Embrace diverse perspectives throughout our organization and in the work we produce. Create an equitable and inclusive culture that thrives on open communication and collaboration with each other […]
Continue reading →
WE PROMISED A FOLLOW UP
Dear Guild Members: Bill Ross and I just met with Lauren Kauffman from People & Culture and Tony Cuffie from Labor for a briefing on a performance management system that will roll out soon. This program — intended, as the Company says, to help provide a more meaningful structure to achieve merit raises, advancement opportunities […]
Continue reading →
YOUR PAY EQUITY QUESTIONS
Dear Guild Members: Many of you have sent questions about the publisher’s announcement this afternoon that it intends to acknowledge what the Guild has been saying — and backing up with the company’s own data — for years: Pay disparity exists at The Inquirer. We had asked our consultant to update the results of a […]
Continue reading →
THE TEMPLE AUDIT; NO TIME TO WASTE
Dear Guild members, The Temple audit of The Inquirer documents and quantifies what has been known and, sadly, largely ignored for decades by newsroom leaders, most of them now gone. The NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia hopes the audit — and its painful accounting of inequities that have harmed employees of color and rendered The Inquirer irrelevant […]
Continue reading →
Yesterday’s Insurrection
Dear Guild member, Yesterday’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a threat to democracy and an assault on press freedoms. While a violent mob roamed the Capitol, reporters continued doing their jobs, despite knowing that they were likely targets of the attackers since silencing the free press has long been a strategy for fascists. […]
Continue reading →
Winter Storm, You Have Teladoc $0 Copay
Winter Storm Gail Reminder NewsGuild of Philadelphia, You have access to $0 Copay Teladoc. Remember to make sure you’ve set up your Teladoc account in case you need to talk to a Doctor during the storm. Stay safe and warm! Teladoc doctors are available 24/7 for you and your eligible dependents, in 20 minutes on average, throughout the […]
Continue reading →
Inquirer Holiday Time Off Clarification
There have been a number of questions about some new time-off opportunities around Thanksgiving and Christmas in the newsroom that emanated from our recent contract bargaining. This is just a quick clarification: Because our newsroom staff has grown to include many people who are not from this immediate area, the Company has agreed to treat […]
Continue reading →
