Source: cwa-scacanada.ca

Negotiations that spanned 18 months and two owners have finally produced new contracts for two CWA Canada Locals that represent workers at the Victoria Times Colonist.

The four-year agreement, which will expire Jan. 2, 2015, includes wage boosts of 1.0 per cent in 2013 and 1.5 per cent in 2014, plus a $250 signing bonus in lieu of retroactive increases.

“We lost nothing,” says a jubilant Chris Carolan, president of the Victoria-Vancouver Island Newspaper Guild (VVING).

“While the gains are modest,” says CWA Canada Director Martin O’Hanlon, “the fact that they avoided concessions in the current newspaper climate is very significant.”

The previous contract, which expired at the start of 2011, had been negotiated when the daily newspaper was owned by Canwest. The chain’s newspapers were acquired by Postmedia Network when Canwest became insolvent. Negotiations with Postmedia began in May 2011, but reached an impasse last September when the employer attempted to reintroduce significant items the joint bargaining council believed had been removed.

Shortly thereafter, Postmedia sold the Colonist to Glacier Media, which publishes more than 60 community newspapers, primarily in Western Canada.

Carolan says it became obvious after a meeting earlier this year between the three unions and Orest Smysnuik, the company’s chief financial officer, that Glacier Media was interested in reaching a fair agreement that both sides could live with.

When bargaining resumed, “we accomplished more in three days than we did in the previous 18 months, which tells us our new employer is eager to grow the company at the local level, rather than offshore,” says Carolan.

Members of VVING, which represents 153 employees in editorial, advertising, circulation, maintenance, information technology and business departments, voted 96 per cent in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement. Members of British Columbia Local 30403, which represents 35 workers in the mailroom, voted 92 per cent in favour. Members of CEP, which represents workers in composing and the pressroom, also voted with large majorities to accept the deal.

Carolan and O’Hanlon had expressed their “cautious optimism” in a news release welcoming the ownership change a year ago, saying they were “heartened by statements Glacier has made in the past about quality journalism.” Glacier had lamented in an annual report that “the demise of many North American newspaper and media companies has in part been self-inflicted. The Internet has been a factor, but the reduction of content and quality through continual cost cutting has played a significant role.”

Paul Godfrey, CEO of Postmedia, which has slashed jobs and sacrificed quality at all of its metro dailies in order to service a huge debt load, told the Globe and Mail the Victoria paper’s union rules were also a motivator for the sale. (Their contract prevents outsourcing services such as pagination.) He claimed that employees hadn’t bought into the company’s “Digital First philosophy.”

Carolan countered at the time that his members simply objected to the centralization of pagination in Hamilton and ad production in the Phillippines: “We bought into Digital First, we just didn’t buy into shipping our jobs to Manila, Dominican Republic, Hamilton, Calgary, etc.”

He observes now that “the atmosphere for the most part at the negotiating table with Glacier was a pleasant surprise compared to the earlier negotiations when Postmedia was our owner.

“We also understand that our industry is changing at a rapid pace and we believe we can work with the company within the parameters of our newly signed four-year collective agreement to address any concerns that may occur.”

Source: cwa-scacanada.ca

Newsroom employees at The Chronicle Herald in Halifax today voted 94.6 per cent in favour of ratifying a new contract. The four-year agreement includes annual wage increases of two per cent for the 84-member bargaining unit of the Halifax Typographical Union. “I think this agreement is fair and reasonable and, from today’s ratification vote, it is clear the membership agrees,” says HTU president Stephen Forest. The reporters, photographers, editors and other newsroom staff had been without a contract since Nov. 21. Days before the union negotiation team went into conciliation, the membership gave it a powerful 96-per-cent strike mandate. 2012.02.10| Strike vote spurs tentative deal in Halifax 2012.02.06| Hard bargaining in Halifax aided by strong strike mandate 2009.02.03| First-ever layoffs leave newsroom staff reeling 2008.01.14| Planned strike vote switches to ratification nod to 4-year deal The company dropped its demand to introduce a community weeklies reporter classification that would have paid salaries less than half of what reporters now earn, says Forest. While the company also wanted to establish a nine-step wage grid with significantly lower starting salaries for new reporters and photographers, the union agreed to go from a five-step to a six-step wage grid in this classification with a slightly lower starting salary than at present. Martin O’Hanlon, Director of CWA Canada, said the “company had been pushing hard for major concessions, but it backed down in the face of an overwhelming strike vote. This is what unions can accomplish with a strong, united membership.” For further information, contact HTU president Stephen Forest at 902-452-2390.

Unionized newsroom employees at The Chronicle Herald have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action, if necessary, in their contract talks with company.

At a strike vote held Saturday, Feb. 4 more than 96 per cent delivered the mandate to their bargaining committee.

Among the key issues, the union is opposing the company’s attempts to pay starting reporters and photographers thousands less than it currently does.

“The membership is very clear that the company’s plan to turn back the clock on salaries is unacceptable,” says union president Stephen Forest. “We care about the salaries of future employees because of the long-term implications it has all for employees.”

This strong show of support comes as the union is about to begin conciliation talks with the newspaper. Those talks begin Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Nearly 92 per cent of the Halifax Typographical Union’s 84 members cast a ballot.

The HTU represents reporters, photographers, editors, and other newsroom staff.  Union members have been without a contract since November 21, 2011.

The Halifax Typographical Union is affiliated with CWA / SCA Canada, the country’s oldest media union and represents journalists in newspapers, television and radio across Canada.

For further information, contact:

Stephen Forest

President, Halifax Typographical Union

(902) 452-2390 (c)