NEGOTIATIONS END FOR DAY WITH SITUATION SERIOUS
Contract talks between The Newspaper Guild and the company stalled today on the remaining major issue of the pension. Talks began at 12:30 p.m. and ended around 6 p.m. with no date and time set to resume.
The following bulletin was sent out this evening to Newspaper Guild members:

Bad Situation

Dec. 6, 2006
Today, the Company refused to move on its plan to freeze the pension fund. It wouldn’t budge on its desire to take full control of our fund away from the joint board of trustees.

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The rest after the jump. Like a sinus infection, the strike has returned.

The Company wants all that power as it, and it alone, seeks a multi-employer plan in which to place the frozen fund.

The Guild negotiating team told the Company it would go into a multi-employer pension fund, but it would not relinquish its place in the decision making process.

Under the Guild plan, the pension trustees – composed of an equal number of representatives from the Company and the union – would seek a suitable multi-employer pension fund to merge into. If the sides could not agree on a fund, they would go into arbitration.

It is essential for both sides to be involved, to keep the process moving quickly and to protect OUR RETIREMENT SAVINGS.

“This is a damn sad situation,” said Guild President Henry J. Holcomb. “The Company’s position threatens to undo all of the good work we have done and put us on strike.”

The Company also refused to make a wage proposal, even though it settled with the other unions last night.

With that information, the Guild could possibly craft a solution to the Company’s problem.

Because this is the most serious of our strike issues, members should please take home their personal items from work and await instructions on other actions.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 7th, 2006 at 8:30 am.