The Indianapolis News Guild has some important new developments to share with you regarding our ongoing effort to craft a final contract that both negotiating teams can accept and that you, our duespayers, can ratify soon.

Acting on the advice of our parent union, TNG-CWA, we proposed to the company that we involve a federal mediator at this stage of the negotiations. Having received no objections from our verbal and written communications about the mediator, we contacted Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Commissioner Conrad Bowling and requested possible meeting dates from him. He offered Aug. 6 and 7 and we have accepted those dates. The company has agreed.

Also, we have filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the company, based on threats that management made to the Guild in the course of discussions over possible bargaining dates. The company threatened to issue a “last, best and final” proposal if we would not agree to certain bargaining dates. When we informed them that we were unable to agree to the certain specific dates that management was demanding, the company issued that “last, best and final” proposal. This violates labor law on several counts. Bargaining dates must be mutually agreeable and not something that one side dictates to another. In addition, a “last, best and final” proposal is something that is normally given after all attempts at a mutual agreement have been exhausted. It is not supposed to be used as a punitive tool to force the union to meet before it is ready to resume discussions. We believe the company’s actions are premature, punitive, regressive and illegal retaliation for our refusal to be unnecessarily rushed back to the table, as well as retaliation for Guild members daring to reject their previous package offer. We are contemplating additional charges with the NLRB.

The company did this after accusing the Guild in a meeting last Friday of “stalling” after we asked for an extra week to reconstitute our bargaining committee, which was devastated by layoffs of team members Sylvia Halladay and Michelle Watson. Simply put, the company still wants at least a 12 percent pay cut from the Guild-represented employees. See below for more details about what the company is now seeking. We also asked management to provide us with answers to an information request that they have had for many weeks now, and the company told us that their response to our request for information was contingent on our agreeing to their bargaining dates (another violation of labor law). They did eventually provide us with a response but it is lacking in any substantial details.

Star management and Gannett corporate lawyers want people to believe that we are unduly dragging out negotiations. Given the circumstances, we firmly believe we are acting appropriately in seeking the time to fully reconstitute our bargaining committee and seeking more information about the company’s supposed financial needs. We have NEVER refused to bargain; we have not agreed to the company’s timetable as to when the next meetings will take place and as a result, they have resorted to bully tactics. By the way, the company has never given us any explanation why they feel the meetings must take place right away.

Our motto since talks began in January is “Negotiate, don’t dictate” and we have sacrificed our pay through two furloughs and lost valued comrades. Given the economic climate, we believe that Guild members would agree to a wage freeze for two years and might accept some type of pay cut – especially if that cut isn’t permanent, or would improve when Gannett sees ad revenues improve.

But Gannett is claiming economic needs without providing proof, and they have so far failed to provide any relevant information to us regarding their justification for a double-digit percentage pay reduction. Guild President Tom Spalding asked Indy Star Publisher Michael G. Kane for an explanation of the numbers and was rebuffed, as many of you heard.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is an agency of the United States government that handles arbitration and mediation of labor disputes and contract negotiations. We are hopeful that the neutral mediator will be of assistance in reaching understandings that can lead to a finalized tentative agreement that both sides can accept. As we said before, we’re waiting to see if the company will accept the mediator’s invitation to meet.

Further complicating these negotiations is the fact that the company has been sending out mixed messages. They started on April 17, when we were told in a memo: “While Star Media has seen similar economic impact on our local business, we were able to fare better than the company as a whole.” They continued July 16, when Robert J. Dickey told analysts during a Gannett 2^nd quarter earnings call: “I would tell you that our interstate group, which is Indianapolis, Midwest portion of the country, right now is our strongest performer.”

Another issue: The copy of the company’s last, best and final contract offer was purported by their side to (except for the wage proposal) to be identical to the tentative agreement previously provided to the Union – the deal that membership rejected 97-9 on June 30. Upon review, however, we find that the proposal is nowhere near identical and in fact we have identified a number of significant differences between this proposal and the previous package that was presented to Guild membership for a vote. This makes us wonder if we have received an incorrect version of their offer or if the company is being disingenuous.

How it shakes out (this is our initial review of their proposal and should not be considered a complete inventory of changes at this time):

• An immediate 12 percent pay cut for all Guild represented employees, rather than a split 8% and 4% as in the rejected offer.
• No pay increases for the two-year term of the contract, same as rejected offer.
• Wage scales remain but no one advances for term of contract, same as rejected offer.
• It completely eliminates merit pool language; rejected offer kept the merit pool language but the merit pool went dormant. New language would give managers a great deal of discretion regarding future merit pay increases.
• Seniority language related to layoffs is much worse than the rejected offer.
• Same 10 jobs lose OT.
• More Guild positions become exempted than in rejected agreement.
• Still allows paraprofessionals to write stories.
• Still adds “custom publications” to management rights section.
• Still adds “flexibility” language that leaves advertorial/editorial decisions to sole discretion of publisher and now does not include any exclusions of any classifications; rejected agreement excepted reporters, copy editors and photographers from advertorial work.

Changes from current contract there were not in rejected offer:

• Outsourcing language has been put back in the offer; this was not in the rejected contract offer.
• It eliminates the language that outlined how previous experience was used to figure out where new employees would start on the pay scale.
• Adds a clause to sentence on poor review not being reason to reduce pay that says, “unless the Employer determines that a consistently poor performance rating in a current job classification merits a job transfer to a lower classification in lieu of termination.”
• Employees who are removed from their positions by the company may move into lower paying jobs but only with Employer approval; current contract left decision to leave position for lower paying job to the employee.
• Changes notification time of permanent change in work day (8 to 10 hours or 10 to 8 hours) to two weeks; current contract calls for 30 days notice.
• Eliminates daily overtime.
• Call backs guaranteed 3 hours of straight time minimum; current contract calls for 3 hours of OT minimum.
• Allows scheduling of split days off for reporters based on requirements of beat.

View a PDF copy of the company’s contract proposal

And finally, it is uncertain whether the company is still demanding that the Guild drop our current arbitration on the December layoffs.

We’ll continue to fight on your behalf.

We are planning an internal survey to reassess what our members can live with.

Sincerely,
Tom Spalding
President, Indianapolis Newspaper Guild

In consultation with our International

We lost 14 Guild members over a 2-day period, and almost all of them were duespayers. On Friday we will begin the process of making sure those names are removed from the payroll deduction list. Guild officers also have begun to dissect the layoff list to check it against seniority guidelines as outlined by our contract, and to ensure that severance is paid out without any tricks or traps.

I want to personally express my condolences to those who were terminated. Some, I got to say goodbye to over the phone or in person today. Others, I did not. Those who are “left behind” are at a loss to come to grips with the unnecessary cuts and at the same time are skeptical of our own future. No matter what excellence we produce journalistically, anyone’s number could come up the next time corporate wants to slash payroll.

I also want to again publicly express my dismay that James Keough, VP of HR, on this day of all days, asked me this afternoon when the Guild was ready to resume negotiations. I told him we are in a state of shock; our contract bargaining team took a hit. We lost news researcher Sylvia Halladay, who was a devoted, dutiful, irreplaceable record-keeper whose meticulous notes kept management accountable for over five years. Her attention to detail made her an absolutely top-notch Guild secretary. She was also a vital secretary on the contract negotiation team, and we cannot continue until we find a replacement. Holding an election fror Syl’s replacement will be an even more burdensome task as we lost Renee Petrina, an up-and-coming Guild member who co-coordinated our June 30 contract vote so ably; and Michelle Watson, a steward, was the E-inkling and print Inkling copy editor and yet another wise hand who attended EVERY bargaining session during contract talks and was committed to making the Star a great workplace.

We’ll have more in coming days as we try to make adjustments. Wishing everybody the best –

Tom Spalding
Guild president

Based on an e-mail all of us Gannett properties received last week, we expect some bad news to strike the newsroom by Thursday, with the possibility (based on reports on various blogs) that some employees could receive word of a layoff as early as this evening. Your Guild has tried to become part of the process, including requesting that the actual number of layoffs be reduced by requesting that the Indy Star “count” staffers who had already planned to exit. We also asked for details in advance, but were told that we will have to ferret that information out on our own. We intend to do precisely that, and you can help by letting us know what you hear.

Also, this afternoon Guild president Tom Spalding sent the following letter to Indy Star VP/human resources James Keough:

This is an information request filed on behalf of the members of the Indianapolis News Guild Local 34070. We are seeking the following information as soon as possible:

1. The names and titles of all Guild-covered employees whose jobs are being terminated by July 9, 2009 as part of the layoffs announced last week by Bob Dickey. You are welcome to provide those to us at this e-mail address, individually, or to me by cell phone (340-7836) after each of the affected workers is notified.
2. The approximate total amount of savings that these cuts of Guild members will generate.
3. The manner in which the company intends to pay out severance. To remind you, our contract calls for one week of pay for each year of seniority in the event of layoff. New Gannett spokeswoman Robin Pence confirmed to Gannettoid in an e-mail that the company has hired Total Management Solutions to handle severance payments for this round of layoffs.

Like before, when the dust settles the Guild intends to be heavily involved — both in ensuring seniority is followed but also staying in immediate contact with our coworkers who are let go. Guild officers plan to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss if there’s a way to mitigate the damage.

Meanwhile, we know many of you have angst, and we sought to quantify that angst. Consider these ugly statistics:

• Aug. 15, 2008: The first official company announcement of layoffs. Layoff day occurred Aug 19.
• Oct. 28, 2008: Another announcement of layoffs. Layoff day occurred Dec. 3, about five weeks later.
• Jan. & Apr. 2009: Furlough votes for 1Q and 2Q respectively. We were threatened with layoffs if we didn’t agree to the unpaid furloughs.
• Beginning of June, 2009: July layoffs were leaked on Gannett Blog. That’s about five weeks from when they are to actually occur.

So, there have been about 11 weeks total within the past 42 weeks that we’ve been in the middle of being threatened with being laid off. That’s 1/4th of the time. That’s a significant percentage of the past several months that we’ve been right in the middle of being threatened with being laid off. That’s not a good thing.

From a guild perspective, we’re at a historically bad moment right now — a voted-down contract June 30 and a company that has threatened 15% pay cuts if negotiations go to impasse, with layoffs going on at the same time. Really, it’s a crisis on several fronts. Guild membership, however, is at a historically high level – the highest percentage in the past five years, possibly one of the highest percentages in the past 20 years, and quite a few people have been very active with the union. We have a healthy guild in extraordinarily unhealthy times. This guild would have had a harder time weathering this storm several years ago. We thank you for your solidarity.

Guild officers met with James Keough of Human Resources on Thursday afternoon to offer to determine whether any Guild members wanted to volunteer for the upcoming layoffs in order to preserve the jobs of co-workers. The Guild did this for the layoffs in December. Four long-time employees volunteered to be laid off to allow less senior employees to keep their jobs. The company informed the Guild it is not interested in volunteers for the upcoming layoffs.

Thanks to Judy Wolf (author) and Carolyn Doyle (proofer) for their work on this question and answer and step-by-step guide to dealing with furloughs and filing for unemployment in Indiana.

CAN I TAKE ONE FURLOUGH DAY OFF AT A TIME AND QUALIFY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT?
NO. This is a bit complicated. Keep reading.

DO I NEED TO TAKE A FULL WEEK OF FURLOUGH OFF TO QUALIFY?
NO. BUT you need to figure it out carefully. See the next entry.

SO, HOW MUCH OR LITTLE FURLOUGH TIME DO I HAVE TO TAKE OFF TO INITIALLY QUALIFY?
IT DEPENDS. The state has a formula to figure the weekly unemployment benefit you qualify for. You need to have GROSS EARNINGS that are less than that amount to initially qualify for unemployment. So, if your state benefit would be $200 a week, you would need to have GROSS EARNINGS of less than $200 in a week this quarter to qualify initially. That means you might be able to work part of a week. That would qualify you to draw unemployment NEXT quarter, if there’s another furlough that the union agrees to.

As a reminder, GROSS EARNINGS are what the company pays you BEFORE taking out all your deductions (taxes, health insurance, etc.). The easiest way to figure it is to use your hourly wage/rate. That is your gross earning rate.

WHAT’S THIS ABOUT INITIALLY QUALIFYING?
There is a one-week waiting period in Indiana.

WHAT’S THE WAITING PERIOD MEAN?
You don’t get unemployment pay during the first week you are unemployed (or on enough furlough to qualify, in our case).

Presuming the company will ask for additional furloughs in the future, and if Guild members agree to take them, you would get unemployment pay in the future if you do things correctly this quarter and file correctly in the future.

SO, I HAVE TO TAKE A FULL WEEK OFF TO “SERVE” THE ONE-WEEK WAITING PERIOD REQUIREMENT?
NOT NECESSARILY. You just have to be off enough time that your GROSS EARNINGS for the week are BELOW the weekly unemployment benefit you qualify for.

For now, let’s say your hourly rate is $12 and you had no OT in ‘08 (this makes it easy to roughly calculate your benefit; fuller sample is given below). Your weekly benefit would be roughly $270. So, to meet the one-week waiting period, you’d need to have GROSS EARNINGS of less than $270 from the company in a week. Working only 22 hours would get you in just under the $270. Because we can’t split our days off (work part of a day, be on furlough part of a day), that would be 2 full days for someone working either 8- or 10-hour days. So, you could be on furlough 3 days (for those on 8-hour shifts) or 2 days (for those on 10-hour shifts), and you should be OK.

The state weekly unemployment maximum is $390, so if your GROSS EARNINGS are less than $390 in a week — either by working or getting paid time off (vacation, personal leave days, sick days, holidays, etc.) — you would be able to meet the one-week waiting period requirement.

In the future, if you want to get the full weekly benefit you qualify for, you’d need to take a week off. If you don’t, you’d qualify for a partial benefit. So, if you’re at $12/hour and worked 2 days and went on furlough for 3 days (on an 8-hour shift), you’d have GROSS EARNINGS of $192. You’d get unemployment of roughly $78.

HOW ARE WEEKLY BENEFITS FIGURED? GET OUT YOUR CALCULATORS!
First, you need to have earned at least $2,750 in the base period. For this quarter, that means all of 2008. You also need to have earned at least $1,650 in the last half of your base period. For this quarter, that means July-December 2008.

Now, for this quarter (April-June), your benefits will be calculated based on the 2008 quarter in which you earned the most money.

For those who earned $40,000 or more in 2008 (and this is rounded up a bit), you don’t have to do any math. Your weekly benefit will be $390, the state maximum.

For those who earned less than $40,000 in 2008, here’s what you can do to get a rough idea of your benefit. This translates, again roughly, to anyone making $18 an hour or less.  It’s clearly easier if you didn’t have any OT.

NOTE: The state will calculate your precise benefit once you enter all the appropriate information in the system when you file the first time. So if you don’t want to do this, don’t.

1. Figure out the 2008 quarter in which you earned the most money.
2. Figure 5% of the first $2,000.
3. Figure how much you earned above that $2,000.
4. Figure 4% of that amount.
5. Add the results of 2 and 4 together, and you’ll get a good idea of your weekly benefit.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you earn $12 an hour and had no OT last year (this just makes it simple). You would have earned about $6,240 in each quarter. So, following the instructions above:

1. $6,240.
2. 0.5 x $2,000 = $100.
3. $6,240-$2,000=$4,240.
4. 0.4 x $4,240=$169.60.
5. $100 + $169.60 = $269.60.

Again, this is a rough amount.

AND NEXT QUARTER (3rd Q of this year), your benefits will be figured on the second, third and fourth quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of ‘09. You discount the most recently completed quarter; your base is the 4 quarters immediately before that.

For the 4th Q this year (Oct.-Dec.), you’d ignore the 3rd Q (July-Sept.), and your base would be 3rd/4th Q of ‘08 and 1st/2nd Q of ‘09.

WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM WEEKLY BENEFIT?
$390. This is for those earning roughly $40,000 a year. Those earning less will qualify for a smaller weekly benefit.

HOW ARE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS PAID? BY A VISA DEBIT CARD.
A card will be mailed to you after your first payment is approved.  The Indiana Department of Workforce Development, which handles unemployment, says on its Web site that you you can use the phone to transfer funds free from the card to your savings or checking account, and the money will be there in 24-72 hours. The INI credit union does not appear to have this capacity right now, based on a talk with Jane. You also can use the debit card at a number of ATMs (a list is on the site — http://www.in.gov/dwd/2579.htm), with one free transaction a week, and at merchants that take Visa charge cards.

HOW TO FILE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

THE FIRST WEEK YOU ARE ON FURLOUGH (OR TAKING ENOUGH DAYS OFF TO QUALIFY FOR YOUR WAITING PERIOD), YOU NEED TO FILE WITH THE STATE
During this week (weeks run Sunday-Saturday, according to the state), go online or in person and file for unemployment. If you go past Saturday, you can’t file for that week.

The membership of Indy News Guild 34070 voted overwhelmingly Tuesday and Wednesday to approve the 2nd quarter furlough, a one-week stint of unpaid time off. The voting turnout was over 80% and the “yes” votes occurred in landslide fashion. We were impressed and appreciative that you made the effort and we hope that this is the last time we’ll have to vote to lose a week’s salary. We made it very clear to management that our union has made a significant sacrifice to help the company. Just so you know, our parent organization, the Communications Workers of America/The Newspaper Guild, endorsed our vote “yes.”

Please schedule those new “off” days if you have not done so. Please come armed with questions to Thursday’s sit-down sessions with Publisher Michael Kane. Please read e-inklings closely so you can stay up to date as the Guild bargaining team prepares for a return to negotiations in mid-April. Please help us make the Star workplace the best it can be.

The company eased up on its request for an earlier deadline; so voting on whether the second-quarter furloughs should be taken is set for all day Wednesday, April 1. Please adjust your schedules accordingly and pay attention to the details in this e-mail. Our special election committee met Sunday to hash out a game plan, so here goes:

Voting will be in person at:

• 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Downtown (Musicians Hall, 325 N Delaware St.)
• 3:15-3:45 p.m. at North Bureau in Fishers (yes, we are coming to you)
• 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Downtown (Musicians Hall)
• (Folks in the West and South zones, please come into the city and cast your ballot, and thanks for the extra effort!)

Anyone who is out of town on Wednesday can vote by e-mail (reply to this account). E-mail votes must be received by 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 1. They must include a telephone number where the Guild can contact the member to verify the vote. A plus if you vote in person: You get your new 2009 Guild card before anyone else!

Remember, only dues-paying members can vote. However, anyone who is not a member can fill out the paperwork to join on-the-spot and will be allowed to vote.

Lastly: You may be asking, or thinking, about the Indy News Guild’s position on the second-quarter furloughs. In trying to conduct our version of due diligence, we’ve been given a fairly dramatic what-if scenario. What if we all vote no? The company told us in an e-mail over the weekend that they would have to cut an estimated 20 to 25 jobs out of the 204-person bargaining unit (which includes newsies and our friends in building services) to achieve their cost savings.

A majority of Guild officers — who provided NO endorsement during the vote for the first-quarter furlough back in January — now recommend a “yes” vote for round 2. It’s the best of a bad lot of options, but the one that keeps us all employed and the newspaper functioning. We all hope a cooperative spirit also will help at the bargaining table; remember, a much more heinous 15 percent wage cut is looming before us as part of contract talks that resume April 14-15. Is the company still serious about that? We’ll see. Make sure you vote and raise questions to Publisher Michael Kane during his April 2 meeting with Star employees.

On behalf of the officers and stewards and election team of Indy News Guild 34070:
Tom Spalding, president

Your Guild leadership team wanted to keep you in the loop regarding the company’s plans to implement second-quarter furloughs, a move that will impact the 200+ people in our bargaining unit.

The Guild has agreed to schedule a vote. We are currently in the process of negotiating the specific date. In a meeting on the sixth floor on Wednesday we proposed April 1, since we are legally obligated to give our parent organization, CWA/TNG, enough time (5 days) to ensure this contractual change (a pay cut) is in our best interests. The company has countered, saying it wants an answer from membership by March 30 or (and this is a direct quote from Human Resources to us, “we will proceed with layoff planning in order to achieve the full savings in the second quarter.”)

The Guild is not trying to stymie any of the company’s plans, and in fact, we have advised Dennis Ryerson that it would be a good idea for employees to start tentatively requesting their furlough days, so that supervisors can pencil in the schedules and get them implemented if the union members vote “yes.” But by threatening layoffs unless the company’s deadline was met, it effectively cut off any reasonable negotiation period … so today (Thursday) we asked the company again if they are serious about proceeding with layoffs — even if the outcome of the membership vote ends up being in favor of the second-quarter furloughs?

Additionally, here’s what the company has told us in response to costs and raises:

1. Their goal is to achieve 1.92% of straight-time payroll in our unit as a result of the furloughs. (We have asked for a specific dollar amount of savings).
2. The number of layoffs, in lieu of furlough participation, that will be required to achieve the 1.92% in savings is undetermined. This will depend on the compensation rates of the individuals selected the layoff. (We asked for specific scenarios and hard numbers).
3. Only one of our covered employees will receive a two-week furlough. All other bargaining unit members will receive a one-week furlough.
4. The company will continue to provide merit pay increases, per contract, in addition to step increases until a contract change is negotiated. (As you know, we’re in the midst of working out a new deal, with talks set to resume April 14-15.)
5. If the Guild agrees to the furlough, the company is not interested in excluding any members of our bargaining unit from participation. (We asked that employees who make $12-per hour and under be excluded from the furlough due to their particular economic situation).

The vote we’ll put before membership, as it stands now, would likely be a simple 1) YES to furlough or 2) NO to furlough. We’re still trying to figure out times and location for early next week, so keep your calendar open!

Please keep in mind that union officers, in general, support more furloughs instead of layoffs or permanent wage cuts. But we have a responsibility to make sure our members’ rights are respected and that you have enough information to make an informed vote — not a rushed vote.

E-mail us with any questions and, as always, stay informed at indynewsguild.com

Just like last time, the changes outlined in the letter today from Gannett regarding Furlough No. 2 are all things that the company would have to negotiate with the Guild as exceptions to the contract. Just like last time, the union leadership won’t act until we’ve called together the membership for discussion and a vote, plus examined our options. Just like last time, their proposal would result in a roughly 2% pay cut (depending on income). Unlike last time, if the Guild is going to agree to anything that results in a cut in income, then Guild members in Indianapolis deserve to see some major sacrifice at the corporate level, beyond what they’ve advertised today, as well as a chance to look at the books.

I likely won’t be able to have a conversation with Star management about furlough No. 2 until Tuesday at the earliest, when I return from (ironically) finishing furlough No. 1, which is today. Hang in there, everybody. We’ll continue to get, and relay to you, details and direction. I can tell you that, out of fairness, I’ll be recommending to our board that we won’t collect/deduct dues for one upcoming paycheck.

For the Guild
Tom Spalding, president
Indianapolis News Guild

• Second quarter furlough fact sheet
• Letter from Bob Dickey

Thanks to you for your phenomenal turnout Friday and today (over 77%) at our specially called, emergency meetings. After an impartial secret-ballot vote that was counted by stewards Adam Yates, Michelle Watson and Robert Annis and Guild member Amy Bartner, the Indy News Guild voted 81-9 to accept an unpaid furlough (totaling 40 hours per employee) to be scheduled and taken by the end of March. Please keep in mind that management told us they will do their best to let Guild members take that leave either in its entirety (4 or 5 whole days, depending upon shift) or one day at a time.

This has been a distasteful process, but thank you for your vote. Your sacrifice to lose a week’s pay preserved jobs — preventing an untold number of employees from being laid off.

This vote is a one-time agreement covering only the first quarter of 2009. While there are no guarantees, we hope this agreement will satisfy management’s desire to cut payroll and protect jobs.

Reminder: On Thursday, to fill a void left by former president Abe Aamidor’s layoff in December, the Guild will hold a meeting at noon to elect a president, first vice president and treasurer. Tom Spalding has agreed to run as president, Geoff Ooley as treasurer and Vic Ryckaert as first vice president. So far, no one else has stepped forward to run, although all are certainly welcome. Also, anyone interested in becoming a steward, please step forward and let us know either by e-mail or stopping by the Musicians Hall at 325 N. Delaware St. The terms of all officers, by the way, run through July 1, 2010.

—  The officers and stewards of Indianapolis News Guild Local 34070