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THIS AGREEMENT is made this ______ day of December, 2001 between the Chicago Sun-Times Inc., and the CHICAGO NEWSPAPER GUILD, (Guild or Union) a local (#34071) chartered by THE NEWSPAPER GUILD, a sector of the Communications Workers of America, (AFL-CIO, CLC), for itself and on behalf of the employees covered by this Agreement and provides as follows:
ARTICLE I
Definitions
Whenever used herein, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings stated below unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:
Section 1. "Employer" means the Chicago Sun-Times, Inc., which is engaged in the publication of the newspaper known as the Chicago Sun-Times.
Section 2. "Guild" or "Union" means CHICAGO NEWSPAPER GUILD, a local (#34071) chartered by The Newspaper Guild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America.
Section 3. "Employee" or "Employees" means an individual or individuals, as the case may be, covered by the terms of this Agreement, employed by the Employer.
ARTICLE II
Scope of Agreement
Section 1. (a) This Agreement covers all Employees of the Employer in the editorial department, regularly employed, except Editor, Executive Editor, Managing Editor, Deputy Managing Editors (3), Assistant Managing Editor Administration, Assistant Managing Editor Sports, Assistant to Editor, one secretary to each of the foregoing not to exceed six (6), Editor of the Editorial Pages, Editorial Writers[1], Editorial Page Cartoonists, Assistant Managing Editors or News Editors--not to exceed seven (7) in number, Assistant Managing Editor Metro, Deputy Metro Editors (a.k.a. City Editors) (2), Graphics Editor (a.k.a. Assistant Managing Editor Graphics), Executive Sports Editor, Financial Editor, Director Art Department (a.k.a. Head, Art Department), Chief Photographer, (a.k.a. Head Photographer), Director of Photography, Chief of the Copy Desk, Deputy Chief of the Copy Desk, Chief of Washington Bureau, Head Librarian, and Deputy Features Editors (2).
(b) Transient or occasional employees working in connection with entertainment, contests or similar enterprises, or collecting or tabulating election returns, whether the employee while engaged in such work is on a full-time or part-time basis.
Section 2. (a) A part-time Employee is one who is hired to work regularly less than 30 hours per week. Part-time Employees shall be paid an hourly rate of pay determined by dividing the weekly minimum salary for their classification and experience by 37 1/2 hours. Part-time Employees working less than 20 hours per week shall not be included for Pensions, Sick Leave, and Life Insurance. They shall be eligible for holiday pay if they would otherwise have been regularly scheduled to work on such holiday. Part-time Employees working 20 hours or more per week shall receive these benefits on a pro rata basis. 1950 hours of work shall constitute the equivalent of a work year for experience purposes. Other benefits shall be on a pro rata basis.
(b) Temporary Employees shall not be employed to permanently eliminate or displace part-time or full-time Employees. Temporary Employees may be hired to cover vacancies created by illness, temporary assignments given to regular full-time or part-time Employees, job trials being undertaken by regular full-time or part-time Employees or to fill in for a regular full-time or part-time Employee who is on a leave of absence granted for any reason for the term of such leave. Temporary Employees employed for more than sixty (60) days, shall be required to become members of the Guild on the sixty-first (61st) day following the commencement of their employment. The termination of such temporary Employees shall not be subject to the grievance and arbitration procedure. During the term of temporary employment, temporary Employees shall receive all the benefits of this contract except dismissal pay, pension, sick leave and severance pay.
Temporary Employees retained for work beyond the time period of the vacancy they were hired to cover, or transient or occasional Employees retained for more than sixty (60) days, either shall become regular part or full-time Employees and shall be covered by all the terms and conditions of this Agreement or shall be terminated forthwith by the Employer on notice from the Guild that the time period for covering the vacancy has been exceeded. Benefits shall begin accruing as of the date of hire into a regular position.
(c) Nothing in this Section, however, shall affect the right of the Employer to employ temporary Employees or transient or occasional employees as specified in Article II, Sections 1 and 2. When layoffs occur in any given classification, transient or occasional employees and temporary and part-time Employees in that classification, if any shall be laid off before any regular full-time Employee in that classification is laid off.
(d) In addition to current practices in effect relative to part-time work available to employees returning from maternity leave, part-time opportunities may be made available at the Employer's discretion, upon request of the Employee. Such opportunities shall be for no more than six (6) months in duration, and may not be renewed. During the period of such part-time employment, such Employees shall receive all the benefits of this contract on a pro rata basis.
Section 3. The jurisdiction of the Guild is:
(a) The kind of work either normally or presently performed within the unit covered by this Contract.
(b) New or additional work assigned to be performed within said unit.
Section 4. Exempt employees may only perform bargaining unit work:
a) Which is necessary in order to get the newspaper out; or
b) Which is normally or presently performed by exempt Employees (as of 10/26/94); or
c) Which (as of 10/26/94) does not eliminate or erode bargaining unit work as described in Section 3 above, or
d) Which cannot reasonably be performed by employees in the bargaining unit because of the unique nature of a specific circumstance.
Section 5. The Employer will consider in good faith any job sharing arrangement proposed by Employees.
All requests for setting up a job sharing arrangement will be made to the Editor for his or her consideration and approval. The terms of such job sharing arrangement must be acceptable to the employees involved, the Guild, and the Employer. The resolution of any and all problems or differences which may arise between the employees in the job sharing arrangement must be acceptable to the Employer, the Guild, and the employees involved.
In any such job sharing arrangement, the total salary and benefits shall not exceed 100% of the average of the salary and benefits of the two (2) employees. Salary and all benefits shall be on a strictly pro rata basis, notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement. For purposes of vacation selection, computation of pension service credits, and the job security provisions of the contract, seniority shall be maintained and accrued during the period of a job sharing arrangement as if the participants continued in full-time employment.
A specific job sharing arrangement may be terminated by the Employer for business reasons after six (6) months upon thirty (30) days notice in writing to the job sharing participants. An employee in a job sharing arrangement may terminate the arrangement upon thirty (30) days written notice to the job sharing partner and the Employer. Upon such termination, the Employer has the option of:
(a) allowing the remaining job sharing partner to continue working his or her part-time schedule,
(b) considering any alternate job sharing partner suggested by the Employee,
(c) hiring a temporary employee to work any of the remaining hours in the job-share,
(d) returning the remaining partner to his or her former status.
ARTICLE III
Guild Shop
Section 1. Employees covered by this Agreement at the time it becomes effective and who are members of the Union at that time shall be required as a condition of continued employment to remain members in good standing in the Union for the duration of this Agreement.
Employees covered by this Agreement, and all Employees who are hired hereafter who are not members of the Union at the time this Agreement becomes effective, shall be required as a condition of continued employment to become members of the Union on the thirty-first (31st) day following the commencement of their employment or the date of execution of this Agreement, whichever is later, and remain members in good standing.
Section 2. The Guild agrees to make membership in the Guild available to every Employee on the same terms and conditions generally applicable to other members of the Guild.
ARTICLE IV
Checkoff
Upon the Employee's voluntary written assignment, the Employer shall deduct from the salary account of such Employee and pay to the treasurer of the Guild not later than the 15th day of the month following the month in which the deductions are made, all regularly recurring membership dues levied for the previous month accompanied by a list of names of the Employees from whose salaries such deductions were made and the amount withheld from each. Such membership dues shall be deducted from the Employee's salary in accordance with a schedule certified by the treasurer of the Guild. An Employee's voluntary written assignment shall remain effective in accordance with the terms of such assignment. A sample of the form of the assignment is included as an appendix to this Contract and is hereby made a part thereof.
ARTICLE V
Minimum Salaries
Section 1. The following minimum weekly salaries shall be in effect during the period of this Agreement.
Effective on or after February 1, 1998 employees will be paid bi-weekly.
Group 1. Assistant city editors, officially designated assistant department heads, telegraph editors, columnists and critics, real estate editor, food editor, fashion editor, travel editor.
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
$1,307.88 $1,320.96 $1,337.47
Group 2. Assistant picture editors, copy editors, rewrite, writers of major sports, makeup, and reporters used interchangeably as rewrite, makeup or assistant city editors.
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
Less than 1 year $ 853.54 $ 862.07 $ 872.85
After 1 year... $ 915.70 $ 924.86 $ 936.42
After 2 years... $ 979.38 $ 989.17 $1,001.53
After 3 years... $1,049.40 $1,059.89 $1,073.14
After 4 years $1,117.17 $1,128.34 $1,142.44
After 5 years... $1,222.15 $1,234.37 $1,249.80
Group 3. Artists, photographers, reporters.
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
Less than 1 year $ 785.72 $ 793.58 $ 803.50
After 1 year... $ 850.68 $ 859.19 $ 869.93
After 2 years... $ 924.20 $ 933.44 $ 945.11
After 3 years... $ 993.14 $1,003.07 $1,015.61
After 4 years... $1,074.18 $1,084.92 $1,098.48
After 5 years... $1,182.01 $1,193.83 $1,208.75
Group 4. Reference librarians, editorial researcher.
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
Less than 1 year $ 623.89 $630.13 $638.00
After 1 year... $ 666.72 $673.39 $681.80
After 2 years... $ 722.85 $730.08 $739.20
After 3 years... $ 779.56 $787.36 $797.20
After 4 years... $ 834.41 $842.75 $853.29
After 5 years... $ 906.85 $915.92 $927.37
Group 5. Library classifiers, library assistants, photo technicians (not to exceed 3).
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
Less than 1 year $ 556.80 $562.37 $569.40
After 1 year... $ 595.30 $601.25 $608.77
After 2 years... $ 639.43 $645.82 $653.90
After 3 years... $ 702.57 $709.60 $718.47
After 4 years... $ 769.94 $777.64 $787.36
Group 6. Editorial Assistants.
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
Less than 1 year $ 537.38 $542.75 $549.54
After 1 year... $ 568.18 $573.86 $581.03
After 2 years... $ 607.45 $613.52 $621.19
After 3 years... $ 651.13 $657.64 $665.86
After 4 years... $ 717.68 $724.86 $733.92
Group 7. Secretaries.
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
Less than 1 year $ 526.48 $531.74 $538.39
After 1 year... $ 556.80 $562.37 $569.40
After 2 years... $ 594.62 $600.57 $608.07
After 3 years... $ 638.71 $645.10 $653.16
After 4 years... $ 706.45 $713.51 $722.43
Group 8. Clerks, stenographers, receptionists, head copy clerks.
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
Less than 1 year $ 464.61 $469.26 $475.12
After 1 year... $ 484.98 $489.83 $495.95
After 2 years... $ 506.82 $511.89 $518.29
After 3 years... $ 532.83 $538.16 $544.88
Group 9. Copy Clerks.
10/01/2000 09/29/2002 09/28/2003
Less than 1 year $ 424.76 $429.01 $434.37
After 1 year... $ 447.11 $451.58 $457.22
Effective on or after December 1, 1997 new employees hired into Groups 2 through 9 will receive increases ranging from 50 percent of the top of the group minimum salaries with less than 1 year to 90 percent after 4 years of service based on the following schedule:
Group 2. Assistant picture editors, copy editors, rewrite, writers of major sports, makeup, and reporters used interchangeably as rewrite, makeup or assistant city editors.
Less than 1 year 50% of top of the group minimum salary
After 1 year 60% of top of the group minimum salary
After 2 years 70% of top of the group minimum salary
After 3 years 80% of top of the group minimum salary
After 4 years 90% of top of the group minimum salary
After 5 years 100% of top of the group minimum salary
Group 3. Artists, photographers, reporters.
Less than 1 year 50% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 1 year 60% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 2 years 70% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 3 years 80% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 4 years 90% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 5 years 100% of the top of the group minimum salary
Group 4. Reference librarians, editorial researcher.
Less than 1 year 50% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 1 year 60% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 2 years 70% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 3 years 80% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 4 years 90% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 5 years 100% of the top of the group minimum salary
Group 5. Library classifiers, library assistants, photo technicians (not to exceed 3).
Less than 1 year 60% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 1 year 70% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 2 years 80% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 3 years 90% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 4 years 100% of the top of the group minimum salary
Group 6. Editorial assistants.
Less than 1 year 60% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 1 year 70% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 2 years 80% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 3 years 90% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 4 years 100% of the top of the group minimum salary
Group 7. Secretaries.
Less than 1 year 60% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 1 year 70% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 2 years 80% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 3 years 90% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 4 years 100% of the top of the group minimum salary
Group 8. Clerks, stenographers, receptionists, head copy clerks.
Less than 1 year 70% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 1 year 80% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 2 years 90% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 3 years 100% of the top of the group minimum salary
Group 9. Copy clerks.
Less than 1 year 90% of the top of the group minimum salary
After 1 year 100% of the top of the group minimum salary
Section 2. Employees paid above the minimum for their experience rating shall receive increases of :
· an increase in weekly salaries of 4 percent up to a maximum of $22.50 effective 10/1/2000.
· an increase in weekly salaries of 1 percent effective September 29, 2002.
· an increase in weekly salaries of 1-1/4 percent effective September 28, 2003.
All increases through the application of new minima shall be deducted from the above general increases.
Section 3. No Employee shall have his/her salary reduced during the life of this Agreement, except in case of a layoff and bump into a lower classification or transfer to another classification as provided for in this Agreement at his/her own request.
An Employee who bumps into a lower classification will be placed in that classification at the same experience level in which the Employee had been slotted in the classification from which the Employee was displaced. An Employee who bumps into a lower classification will retain whatever merit pay the Employee had been paid in the classification from which the Employee was displaced.
Section 4. Except when working as a sickness replacement for a specific Employee, each Employee who during any working week, devotes more than five hours to work which, if he/she were doing it regularly, would classify the Employee, in a higher bracket, shall receive pay for all time worked falling under such higher bracket equal to the minimum for said higher bracket.
Section 5. Any Employee, except an officially designated assistant department head, performing work as a copy desk slot person, or who is required to substitute for an exempt supervisor for more than five (5) hours during any working week, shall receive at least Group 1 pay for all time so worked.
Section 6. "Night shifts" shall mean only regular shifts requiring work between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. of the succeeding day. All other shifts shall be regarded as "day shifts."
For regular "night shifts," the compensation shall be ten percent (10%) higher than the salary paid the Employee on "day shifts." Any Employee regularly working on a "day shift" who is transferred to a "night shift" shall receive ten percent (10%) additional compensation. Any Employee transferred to a "day shift" shall not receive the additional ten percent (10%) compensation while working days.
Section 7. (a) The Employer shall supply the Guild on request with a list containing the following information for all Employees on the payroll: Name, address, telephone number, sex, minority group, Social Security number, date of birth, date of hiring, classification, experience rating, experience anniversary date, wage rate; provided that the Employer will only provide the name, not the wage rate, of any individual receiving 20% or more over the appropriate wage scale.
(b) The Employer shall notify the Guild office and the Sun-Times Unit Chair immediately in writing of: Resignations, leaves of absence, retirements, deaths and any other revisions in the data listed in Section 7 (a) and effective dates.
(c) Within one week after hiring of a new Employee, the Employer shall furnish the Guild office and the Sun-Times Unit Chair in writing with the data specified in Section 7 (a) for each new Employee.
Section 8. (a) All rights to material produced by an Employee for publication in the Sun-Times rest with the Employer.
(b) However, any Employee whose work is sold after publication in the Sun-Times shall be given additional compensation therefore as the Employee and the Employer may agree, but amounting to no less than 50 percent of the proceeds. This paragraph does not apply to such material distributed as a public service or as part of a wire service or computer or other electronic database.
Any Employee who is a by-line contributor to the Sun-Times Features, a division of Chicago Sun-Times Features, Inc. shall receive compensation, payable annually, of $5 for each week in which he/she has contributed up to three (3) stories or parts of a series; $10 shall be paid for each week in which he/she has contributed four (4) or more stories or parts of a series. The Guild shall receive annually a list of all contributors covered by this contract.
In the event of any change affecting the herein previously referred to "Sun-Times Features, a division of Chicago Sun-Times Features, Inc.," there shall be no alteration in the present system for determining eligibility for compensation.
(c) No employee's byline shall be used on work produced for the Sun-Times and destined for other publications without the employee's approval.
Section 9. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent Employees from bargaining individually for wage increases in excess of the minima established herein.
Section 10. The employer shall provide for direct electronic deposit of employee paychecks, upon request of the employee.
ARTICLE VI
Experience
Section 1. Work in any or all of the following jobs: Editor, assistant editor, reporter, copy editor, rewrite person, caption writer, shall count in qualifying an Employee for experience rating on any job except that of an artist, librarian or photographer, provided that these ratings shall be based only on editorial department experience gained in the manner described below, and in the case of all other Employees shall be based only on experience in their respective lines of work gained in the manner described below.
(a) on national press associations, on recognized national news magazines and major news and feature syndicates;
(b) on city news bureaus in American cities;
(c) on English language daily newspapers with paid circulation of 35,000 or more.
Experience gained on newspapers of less than 35,000 paid daily circulation or newspapers whose frequency of publication is less than daily, shall be rated according to the ration which the circulation of such newspapers bears to 35,000 paid daily circulation and/or the ration which the publication bears to a daily publication. For purposes of this proration, a daily publication shall be considered as having a frequency of publication of five per week.
ARTICLE VII
Opportunity for Advancement
Section 1. Wherever practicable, Employees will be given an opportunity to "try out" for interdepartmental vacancies and higher classifications. In accordance with the above, Employees shall be given an opportunity to apply and present credentials for consideration by the Employer. Employees on tryouts may request opportunities to discuss evaluation of their progress at least once a month.
Section 2. Except for the job classification of columnists and critics, tryout periods shall not exceed four (4) months nor be less than (5) working days. The tryout period for columnists and critics shall not exceed six (6) months nor be less than five (5) working days.
Section 3. During the tryout period, the Employee shall receive additional compensation which, when added to regular salary, is equal to the minimum for the "less than one year" experience rating in the classification for which the Employee is trying out. If this salary is already above such minimum, there will be no adjustment in compensation during the tryout period.
Section 4. In any tryout periods commencing after the date of this Agreement, experience during the tryout period shall count as experience in the higher rating only in those cases where the Employee is confirmed in the higher classification.
Section 5. If the tryout is not successful and the Employee is returned to the classification from which advanced, the Employee shall then receive the salary to which the Employee would be entitled if never advanced. The period of service in the higher classification shall be counted for all purposes as service in the classification to which returned.
Section 6. Up to six (6) persons may be temporarily promoted or temporarily hired on the editorial staff as interns during the course of each calendar year for periods not to exceed three (3) months per person per year. Interns as described in this section are college graduates who have not been employed by other newspapers in positions in Group 3 or higher or college students having an interest in journalism. Interns shall not be used as vacation replacements for anyone in Group 3 classifications or higher without appropriate compensation. Interns can be used as vacation replacements in classifications lower than Group 3, and they may be assigned temporarily as copy clerks and clerks as part of their intern program.
(a) Interns shall be paid at the rate of a first-year editorial assistant during their first six (6) months of employment. During their third and final three-month period, they shall be paid at the "less than one year" level of Group 3. However, experience shall be computed from the first day of their classification in Group 3.
(b) Time spent as an intern in the year in which the intern is hired as a regular part-time or full-time employee shall be deducted from the probationary period set forth in Article XIX, Section 12; provided, however, that there shall be a minimum probationary period of thirty (30) days notwithstanding the foregoing provision for any new Employee hired after the effective date of this Contract.
(c) The Employer shall notify the Guild in writing of: name of intern, address, age, date of temporary promotion or hiring and date of conclusion of each internship period.
(d) In the event these provisions would make an internship unavailable to a college student because of the proximity or length of a quarter or semester break, the Employer and the Guild will meet to attempt to work out appropriate non-precedential exceptions to the restrictions above.
Section 7. The Employer shall set up training programs for members of minority groups to provide equal opportunity for jobs and for job advancement. The Employer shall give first consideration to students of the Chicago Public School System in filling summer clerk positions. Summer clerks shall be paid at the Group 9 rate during their period of summer employment.
(a) Regular full or part-time employees who are members of minority groups may be temporarily promoted for on-the-job training periods to provide opportunities for job advancement.
(b) Up to three (3) persons who are members of minority groups may be hired in each calendar year for the purpose of on-the-job training to provide opportunities for full-time or part-time jobs in the editorial department. The purpose of this training program is to provide employment opportunities in Group 4 positions and higher to minorities who would not otherwise qualify by their background and experience for employment or internship in the editorial department.
(c) The on-the-job training period shall not exceed six (6) months, but may be extended to a second and final six-month period. Employees promoted to a higher position under this section shall receive either the "less than one year rate" of the higher position, or the step in the pay scale of the higher classification next higher than the employee's current pay, whichever is greater. In all other respects such trainees shall be governed by the same terms and conditions of employment as interns described in Section 6 of this Article.
(d) An exempt editorial employee shall be designated as coordinator to develop the training program described in this section within six (6) months. The coordinator shall also administer and direct the training program.
Section 8. Employees desiring to enroll in educational courses or programs which are job related and provide training which will improve their job skills and competency in their present jobs may request the Employer to pay up to three-fourths of the cost of such courses or programs up to a maximum of $1,000 annually provided a grade of "C" or better is obtained in the course or program. The decision as to whether the Employer shall pay any part of the cost of such courses or programs shall be at the sole discretion of the Employer and shall not be subject to review through the grievance procedure.
ARTICLE VIII
Hours
Section 1. The working shift of each Employee shall be as follows: 7 1/2 hours within 8 consecutive hours where the mealtime period regularly assigned for the shift is 30 minutes; 7 1/2 hours within 8 1/2 consecutive hours where the mealtime period regularly assigned for the shift is one hour. By mutual consent between the Employee and the Employer, the working shift of the particular Employee may be fixed at 7 1/2 hours without allowance of a period for mealtime.
Section 2. The working week shall be five (5) shifts in any seven (7) consecutive days.
Section 3. The work week of the following Employees shall be 37 1/2 hours within any 5 of 7 consecutive days: Prep sports writers and one Big Ten sports writer.
Section 4. The Employer shall cause a schedule to be posted of the starting time and days off of each editorial staff member (with the above-mentioned exceptions) and will give ten (10) days notice of change except in cases of emergency. Schedules shall assign no more than eight (8) cons