Category Archives: AP Negotiations

BARGAINING: Guild, AP open talks for new contract

Bargainers with the News Media Guild and The Associated Press opened talks Thursday on a new contract for the Guild’s editorial and technology units. The current contract expires June 30.

The Guild and the AP agreed to leave some items in the contract unchanged, including articles on Arbitration (Article 5), Individual Bargaining (Article 14), Military Service (Article 24) and Severability (Article 32) for both units, and General Wage Provisions (Article 13, concerning credit for classifications and experience) for the editorial unit.

The Guild suggested language cleanup on payroll information and grievance procedure, and advanced proposals on coverage, union security, normal work and advancement opportunities.

The AP rejected the proposal on coverage that modified current language that prevents farming out of bargaining unit work to result in the numerical reductions of the unit overall and tying it to business locations. The company said it has no goal or objective to reduce staff or the type of work that is to be performed.

The AP also rejected the proposal on union security to require employees to pay union dues or representation fees to the guild as a condition of employment.

The AP said it will discuss the proposal on normal work that says when new duties are added there must be a corresponding reduction of existing work or a prioritization specified upon request. The AP also did not respond to the proposal on advancement opportunities concerning career development.

Representing the Guild at were Vin Cherwoo of New York Sports; Michelle Monroe, a newsperson on the West Desk; John Braunreiter, a customer support specialist in Milwaukee; Guild administrative officer Kevin Keane; and Guild staff representative Luis Espinosa-Organista.

Representing the AP were attorney, Steve Macri; Teresita Seeberger, senior director of global human resources; David Scott, vice president of news strategy and operations; Keisa Caesar, human resources manager; and Jean Maye, human resources director.

Talks will resume June 13.

AP contracts ratified by Editorial Unit, Technology Unit

Members of the News Media Guild’s editorial and technology units have ratified a new, three-year contract with The Associated Press.

The secret-ballot votes were tallied Monday by the Guild’s elections committee. About 83 percent of ballots were in support of the tentative agreement, which was reached in late January after more than a year of bargaining.

The new contract, which replaces an agreement that expired in September 2017, includes three salary increases and three one-time payments. The new contract will quadruple the amount of paid parental leave for fathers and adoptive parents and also allow employees to use sick leave to care for ill family members, including children, spouses and parents.

The deal calls for a $750 lump sum payment upon ratification. It also calls for a 2 percent raise on July 1, 2019; a $250 lump sum on Jan. 1, 2020; a 1.75 percent raise on July 1, 2020; a $250 lump sum on Jan. 1, 2021; and a 1.75 percent raise on July 1, 2021.

The contract also calls for for annual 20 percent increases in monthly health insurance premiums for the top-tier health plan. It calls for annual 15 percent increases to the basic health plan and the introduction of an optional high deductible health plan next year.

AP also agreed to the Guild’s proposal to add insurance coverage for applied behavioral analysis therapy, a commonly prescribed treatment for children with autism.

Rank-and-file Guild negotiators met with the AP bargaining team more than 50 times in New York City over a nearly 18-month period. The Guild was represented at negotiations by Jill Bleed of Little Rock, Vin Cherwoo of New York Sports, technician Dave Herron of Seattle, technician Ed Morsett of Denver, and Guild administrator Kevin Keane.

BARGAINING: Guild, AP reach overall tentative agreement

News Media Guild bargainers reached an overall tentative agreement for its contracts with The Associated Press on Thursday. The Guild bargaining team believes it would need intense mobilization or a possible strike to make any more progress at the table, and for that reason, the Guild negotiators are recommending that these contracts for the editorial and technology units be approved. The final decision will be up to members.

Guild and AP bargainers have met 52 times since August 2017. The last contract expired Sept. 30, 2017.

AP has offered its final proposals, which the Guild bargainers cannot change at the table. The Guild will announce a referendum election soon.

Here are the details, which include a few changes in wages and moving expenses from yesterday’s bulletin:

A lump sum payment of $750 upon ratification; a 2 percent raise on July 1, 2019; a $250 lump sum on Jan. 1, 2020; a 1.75 percent raise on July 1, 2020; a $250 lump sum on Jan. 1, 2021; and a 1.75 percent raise on July 1, 2021.
Increases of 20 percent to the monthly premiums on the top-tier premium health plan. The increases would take effect July 1, 2019; Jan. 1, 2020; Jan. 1, 2021; and Jan. 1, 2022. Lower increases to the basic health plan and the addition of an optional high deductible health plan. Another open-enrollment period would occur before these increases take effect, and the high deductible plan would be available beginning Jan. 1, 2020.
The contract would have an effective date of Jan. 31, 2019, and expire on June 30, 2022.
No changes to the amount of vacation or holidays an employee receives.
Merges the editorial, administrative and technology pension plans into a single plan to save on administrative costs. This does not change any pension benefits or the plan design.
No changes to severance pay, except in the situation described below when severance would increase.
Adoption of new job security language that was previously discussed at great length. Adoption of new job security language for technicians that says seniority can be measured within the virtual work groups of Global Help Desk and Customer Support, rather than business locations. Increasing the amount of severance paid to a laid-off employee in the editorial unit who is the only person in his or her organizational unit at a bureau.
Quadrupling the amount of paid parental leave for mothers and fathers upon the birth or adoption of a child (from one week paid to four weeks paid.) This is in addition to the short-term disability benefit for women who give birth.
Changing contract language to allow employees to use sick days to care for ill children, spouses and parents. (Now, employees can only use sick days for themselves.) The language change also allows mothers and fathers to use sick days after the birth or adoption of a child, which could extend paid parental leaves by an additional two weeks.
Adding insurance coverage for a commonly prescribed treatment for autism called applied behavioral analysis therapy
Adopting a lump sum reimbursement system for moving expenses. An employee who is relocating would receive a $7,500 lump sum. If the employee is selling his or her primary home, another $5,000 payment would be made, along with an additional $2,000 if the employee has a spouse who is moving and another $2,000 if the employee has a child or children.
Extending flexible scheduling to employees on the news side who elect to do so. This does not apply to employees who work fixed shifts, like desk editors, breaking news staffers or supervisors.
Restricting overtime for employees on overseas sports events like the Olympics. This limitation applies only to travel days flying to and from the international location. On those days, an employee would receive eight hours of pay. Once on site, the employee would still receive OT for covering the events and for time spent traveling to and from sports venues.
No changes to the number and location of news associates allowed under the contract, but changing language to allow news associates to apply for AP jobs prior to the completion of their two-year assignments. Also allowing news associates to search for, permission and prepare for publication user-generated content; and rearranging stacks within AP’s mobile app. No original reporting, bylines or credits are permitted.

Full details of the tentative agreement will be provided to members ahead of the referendum.

Representing the Guild were Jill Bleed of Little Rock, Vin Cherwoo of New York Sports, technician Ed Morsett of Denver and administrator Kevin Keane.

Representing the AP were deputy managing editor David Scott, attorney Steve Macri, and senior vice president for human resources and corporate communications Jessica Bruce.

BARGAINING: Guild, AP trade wage and health proposals

The News Media Guild bargaining team introduced a revised salary and health insurance offer to The Associated Press on Wednesday as contract negotiations neared the 18-month mark, and the AP responded with counterproposals of its own.

SALARY

The Guild’s wages offer was:

A 3.5 percent increase retroactive to the date that an agreement is reached
A 3.5 percent increase on Jan. 1, 2020
A 3.5 percent increase on Jan. 1, 2021
A 3.5 percent increase on Jan. 1, 2022
Contract language that could allow for larger increases if the cost-of-living adjustment for the prior year, as determined by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, exceeds the raises provided by AP.
Adding an economic differential for employees in Miami, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon.

The AP’S new offer was:

A $750 lump sum payment within 30 days of the ratification of a new contract. A $250 lump sump in mid-November of 2019.
A 2 percent increase on July 1, 2019
A 1.75 percent increase on July 1, 2020
A 1.75 percent increase on July 1, 2021.

(AP had previously offered an $800 lump sum payment within 30 days of the ratification of a new contract; a 2 percent increase on July 1, 2019; a 1.5 percent increase on July 1, 2020; and a 1.5 percent increase on July 1, 2021.)

The AP also said it wouldn’t add the economic differential for Miami, Seattle and Portland, and it also said no to the cost-of-living provision.

HEALTH INSURANCE

The Guild also introduced a counter proposal on health insurance that calls for:\

A 10 percent increase in monthly premiums for the basic and premium health plans on the following dates: July 1, 2019; Jan. 1, 2020; Jan. 1, 2021; Jan. 1, 2022.
Previously agreed upon increases to deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums to the health plan, as well as the addition of insurance coverage for applied behavioral analysis therapy for autism.
The AP has said that it wants Guild-covered employees to pay 20 percent of their health costs because that’s what managers pay. The Guild’s counterproposal includes a provision that says if the managers’ cost share dips below 20 percent, then the Guild employees’ share should decrease as well.

The AP responded with a counter-proposal calling for a 20 percent increase on the monthly premiums for the top-tier premium plan on the following dates: July 1, 2019; Jan. 1, 2020; Jan. 1, 2021; Jan. 1, 2022. (The company’s prior offer had called for a 30 percent increase in 2019, a 25 percent increase in 2020 and 15 percent increases in 2021 and 2022 for the premium plan.)

The remainder of AP’s proposal for the basic plan and a new high deductible plan remained unchanged from the past proposal (available here.)

The Guild does not yet have a written copy of AP’s new health proposal but will share it with members once we receive it.

MOVING EXPENSES

The Guild questioned the AP on its proposal to pay out relocation expenses as a lump sum, rather than reimbursing for actual costs incurred. The Guild asked the AP for its relocation policy for managers, but the company said one doesn’t exist. The union also said the moving expenses policy needs to include a “true-up” that accounts for any taxes owed on the lump sum, so employees can take home the full amount promised by AP.

The AP responded that employees could deduct the cost on their taxes.

DIFFERENTIALS AND SCHEDULING

The Guild proposed to AP that the company pay a differential for employees who work on Saturdays. Now, employees who work on Sundays get differentials, but no extra payment is made for those who work during the day on Saturdays. The AP said no to the proposal.

On overtime, the Guild proposed that AP lift the exemption on overtime for a handful of employees who don’t currently receive it (correspondents who supervise two or more people and who earn at least 10.1 percent above top scale pay.) AP agreed and said those employees could be eligible for overtime.

The Guild also proposed an increase for the minimum payment that technicians receive for on-call overtime. The union proposed increasing the minimum from one to two hours for technicians and from three to four hours for product and platform specialists. The AP agreed to both proposals.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE

The union questioned a company proposal that says an employee must notify Human Resources whenever he or she applies for a fellowship. Now, the employee must notify the company when he or she accepts a fellowship, and the union asked why earlier notification was needed.

The AP said such notification helps the company determine staffing needs and also which candidates to back for fellowships.

Earlier in bargaining, the AP and the Guild reached a tentative agreement to increase paid parental leave for mothers and fathers upon the birth or adoption of a child from one week to four weeks. The agreement says that the leave can be taken within 12 months of the birth or adoption, but it has not gone into effect because overall contract negotiations continue. The Guild asked for clarification on whether employees who took one week of parental leave within 12 months of an overall deal being reached would be eligible for another three weeks of paid leave, because they would still be within the 12-month window.

The AP agreed, and said there would be a 12-month “lookback” from the date a tentative agreement is reached. (So the employees mentioned above would receive the additional three weeks of paid leave once a deal is reached.)

NEXT STEPS

Bargaining will resume Thursday. Representing the Guild were Jill Bleed of Little Rock, Vin Cherwoo of New York Sports, technician Ed Morsett of Denver and administrator Kevin Keane.

Representing the AP were attorney Steve Macri, deputy managing editor David Scott, and senior vice president of human resources and corporate communications Jessica Bruce.

BARGAINING: AP revises wage, health proposals

The Associated Press introduced revised health insurance and wages proposals for Guild-covered employees, but the offer still more than doubles monthly premiums by 2022 for employees on the top-tier health plan.

The AP’s modified wages offer calls for: an $800 lump sum payment within 30 days of the ratification of a new contract; a 2 percent increase on July 1, 2019; a 1.5 percent increase on July 1, 2020; and a 1.5 percent increase on July 1, 2021.

The AP’s insurance proposal includes smaller increases for employees on the lower-tier basic health insurance plan, and it also includes the introduction of an optional high deductible health plan. The AP said it wanted to offer lower-cost options for employees who do not want to pay the higher cost of the premium plan.

The AP also accepted the Guild’s proposal to add insurance coverage for a commonly prescribed treatment for autism called applied behavioral analysis therapy. It would add Full Case Management to behavioral health claim benefits.

CLICK HERE to read the company proposal.

Right now, about 90 percent of bargaining unit members with AP insurance are on the premium plan. Here are the key differences in the health insurance plans:

The premium plan, which would cost $880 a month for a family plan by 2022, would have an individual deductible of $500 and a family deductible of $1,000 for in-network care. The premium plan out of pocket maximum for in-network care is $2,400 for an individual and $4,800 for a family. Employees on the premium plan would pay a coinsurance of 20 percent once the deductible is met.

The basic plan, which would cost $526 a month for a family plan by 2022, would have an individual deductible of $900 and a family deductible of $1,800 for in-network care. The basic plan out of pocket maximum for in-network care is $3,400 for an individual and $6,800 for a family. Employees on the basic plan would pay a coinsurance of 25 percent once the deductible is met.

AP does not currently offer a high deductible health plan. The one proposed Thursday would have the following design:

Monthly premiums would range from $50 for an individual to $197 for a family plan in 2019.
An individual deductible of $1,350 and a family deductible of $2,700.
The employee would pay a coinsurance of 20 percent once the deductible is met.
An annual out-of-pocket maximum of $6,750 for an individual or $13,500 for a family.
The employee would pay 20 percent for ER visits, office visits, hospital stays and prescription drugs.
The AP proposal does not include a company contribution to a pre-tax health savings account.

The Guild’s bargaining team has not yet responded to the company on its offer. Bargaining will resume Jan. 30.

Representing the Guild were Jill Bleed of Little Rock, Vin Cherwoo of New York Sports, technician Dave Herron of Seattle and administrator Kevin Keane.

Representing the AP were David Scott, deputy managing editor; attorney Steve Macri; Jessica Bruce, senior vice president for human resources and corporate communications; Sue Gilkey, global director of employee benefits; and Alison Quan, director of human resources, technology and business operations.