Strike vote, conciliation
lead to
3-year deals at Stratford daily
CWA Canada
Local 30139
For the second straight time, negotiations
on new collective agreements at the Stratford
Beacon Herald newspaper required a conciliator
and a strike vote before a deal could be reached.
Union members voted 90 per cent in
favour of strike action before two days of meetings
with the conciliator in May brought about the agreement.
Negotiations began last November to renew three collective
agreements that cover seven employees in the composing
room and fine printing division, nine in editorial
and 22 in the mailroom. As bargaining dragged well
past the previous contracts' Dec. 31 expiry and management
at the SunMedia-owned daily in Stratford, Ont., repeatedly
wavered on putting a formal position on paper, the
Local filed for conciliation.
“It’s frustrating that negotiations dragged
on and required conciliation again, but overall the
employees are happy with the end result,” says
Steve Rice, vice-president of the Local.
Composing room employees voted unanimously to accept
their new three-year deal. Members in the mailroom
and editorial departments voted 80 per cent in favour
of ratification.
Rice recalls that conciliation was also required in
2005 when the employees were known as the Stratford
Unit of IUE-CWA Local 80400, which represented La-Z-Boy
employees in nearby Kitchener. With the closing of
the factory by La-Z-Boy in December 2005, the Stratford
Local has returned to its former designation.
The new collective agreements call for two-per-cent
wage increases in each year of the contract, retroactive
to Jan. 1, 2008. Employees gained a new floater holiday
that's in addition to the statutory Family Day introduced
by the provincial government.
Mileage jumped from 36 cents a kilometre to 40 cents
(when gas prices are above $1 a litre), and 42 cents
a kilometre if and when gas prices hit $1.50 or more.
Editorial staff also got improvements in overtime and
holiday pay, and new language that guarantees they
will not be required to produce "advertorial" copy.
The membership accepted cost sharing on premiums for
medical and life insurance. Beginning Jan. 1, 2011,
employees will pay 10 per cent of the required premiums
while the company pays the other 90 per cent. Both
parties agreed that the issue of benefit co-pay will
not be raised during the next round of bargaining at
the expiration of these contracts.
“There’s obviously disappointment at having
to accept a co-payment on the benefits, but we at least
were able to delay it until 2011 and know that it won’t
be more than a 90-10 split for three years after that,” says
Rice.