Reuters, guild resume talks

Guild negotiators sat down with Thomson Reuters representatives on Thursday for on-the-record contract talks nearly 10 months after management walked away from the bargaining table.

In an effort to stave off, or mitigate, the doubling of members’ payroll-deducted health care costs on Jan. 1, the Guild team suggested a package proposal that includes a hybrid pay-raise system that would retain the discretionary elements management wants, while assuring decent minimum increases for all Guild members.

While our legal case against the company’s many illegal actions proceeds through the National Labor Relations Board, New York Guild President Bill O’Meara presented management with a “supposal” – a term used by management’s lawyer in the past – of a compromise package on pay and health care that would benefit both sides.

After some discussion in which the “supposal” was not rejected of hand, the Guild asked management to demonstrate good faith during this round of negotiations by freezing current Guild-covered employee medical insurance contributions for at least three months. If the company agrees, members would continue paying the same amount per paycheck as they do now while enrolled in the company’s health plan.

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