2011.07.18 | CWA Canada Local 30232 | Northern Ontario Newspaper Guild
Ratification follows rapid bargaining at Sudbury StarA CWA Canada Local with a history of fractious labour relations has ratified a new contract with the Sudbury Star following a brief bargaining session. "They were actually surprised it took only two days to get an agreement" on renewing the contract that expired May 30, says Bob Chartrand, president of the Northern Ontario Newspaper Guild. Management at the daily newspaper, which is unionized front to back, agreed to an assortment of minor improvements and withdrew several concessions it was seeking. "This was almost a mirror of contracts at other Sun Media papers" where CWA Canada has members, says staff representative David Esposti. The three-year deal, which Chartrand says will offer stability for his members, contains wage increases of 1.0 per cent in the second year and 1.5 per cent in the third. In lieu of an increase in the first year, there are lump-sum signing bonuses of $250 for full-time staff and $125 for part-time. Other increases include: vehicle allowance; night shift differential (all departments); a 10-cent hourly increase for mailroom workers; employer's RSP contribution rises to $12 per shift over term of agreement; an across-the-board cellphone allowance of $20 a month. The ratification vote on July 11 saw full-time staff 86 per cent in favour and part-time 80 per cent.
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