Detroit Free Press, News unions approve labor contracts

Detroit Free Press staff 8:43 p.m. EDT April 24, 2016

Unionized workers at the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News approved three-year contracts today that include annual wage increases and a signing bonus.

In voting that concluded Sunday, members of the Newspaper Guild of Detroit Local 34022 voted overwhelmingly to ratify tentative agreements reached earlier this month, according to a news release from the Guild.

"Bargaining was long and difficult, but our negotiating teams believe we crafted the best deal we could for our members in a difficult environment for newspapers," said John Gallagher, a business reporter for the Free Press and Detroit Guild president, in a statement.

The Guild represents reporters, photographers, copy editors, page designers, editorial assistants, and other newsroom workers.

The contracts for both newsrooms include  a $700 signing bonus, plus raises of 1.5% in each of the first two years and 1% in the third year. Workers also retain their current health care plan without additional co-payments or premium increases.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day also will be added as a paid holiday for workers at the Free Press.

The contract allows the Free Press after 18 months to move copy editing and design jobs into centralized hubs operated by its parent company Gannett.

Displaced workers would be eligible for extended severance pay and health insurance.

The contract doesn't impact design and copy editing at the Detroit News, which is owned separately by Digital First Media, but shares business operations with the Free Press under a joint operating agreement.

Health insurance

Many of the membership are now tied down with hospital or other medical bills that the health insurance company refuses to pay for some unknown mysterious reason. However, that is not the only problem now to add insult to injury the credit rating of those TWU Local 100 members is shredded due to the outstanding bills. There is a member whose wife has multiple sclerosis and to be normal daily she needs the costly medication. Another member whose family member needs dialysis due to being on a waiting list to get a kidney is hobbled with medical and hospital bills in addition to their credit rating going down. What is the solution? Now not tomorrow many had hoped to have heard from John E Samuelsen president of TWU Local 100 Take Backward Our Union - TBOU that all your problems will be solved by Ms. Benita Johnson who will handle the medical grievance.

John E Samuelsen president of TWU Local 100 Take Backward Our Union - TBOU has pinned hopes of those desperate members on the medical grievance. However 

Ms. Benita Johnson with the medical grievance that she prepared at the arbitrator was laughed at. Now the question is what do those members above have to do before the bill collectors come calling or start harassing them? Obviously John E Samuelsen president of TWU Local 100 Take Backward Our Union - TBOU dropped the ball when he agreed with the employer to the health audit with the sole intention to drop family members from health insurance coverage. The other issue was acquiescing to the employer to switch health insurance coverage from one company to another not on the principle of ‘equal or better’ but rather from ‘better to worse’.