February 15, 2001 

GUILD  TO  S&P:

“COME  ON,  NEGOTIATE!”

             In the most recent round of bargaining, Guild spokesperson Bob Townsend urged – challenged! implored! – Standard & Poor’s negotiators to move in two areas: job security and vacations.

             The session was held on Tuesday, February 6, at 55 Water Street.

             Townsend, our Unit’s Local Representative, noted that a lot of movement has been made in the areas of job security and vacations . . . and the Guild has done most of the moving.  As far as vacations are concerned, he asserted, the Guild feels like it has been negotiating by itself.

             We understand the company is very interested in converting the June-to-May vacation year to a calendar year, conforming to the rest of the McGraw-Hill Empire, Townsend said.  In an effort to move negotiations along, the Guild has been looking for a way to make that happen.

             To begin with, though, the conversion process can’t happen the way S&P negotiators had proposed.  The S&P method strips away the accrual process.  It doesn’t cost employees anything in time off - they get the same amount of vacation they would get under the old system – but it cheats them out of vacation time they’ve accrued when they leave the company.  In this case, time is money - literally – since people leaving the company are paid for the vacation time they’ve accrued.

             Unit Chairperson Ed Fannon showed S&P negotiators in black and white at a previous session how their conversion process picks the pockets of employees when they leave the company.  But Townsend told the company not to worry; Fannon has a plan to convert vacation scheduling to the calendar year that won’t cost employees anything in time or dollars and cents.

             Townsend also told the company, however, that Guild-covered employees are perfectly happy with a June-to-May vacation schedule and we have no interest in giving it up for the sake of giving it up.  The Guild negotiator reflected on how we first told the company we’d be willing to make the change if S&P would give us the ability to “cash out” and “carry over” unused vacation.

             S&P’s spokesperson, Stephen J. Macri, a lawyer with the firm of Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson, said no dice.

             The Guild said, OK, forget the carry over.  We’d agree to the change in the vacation year if the company would give us the ability to cash out unused vacation.

             Macri said no dice.

             So, at the last session, Guild negotiators said, hey, wait a minute, we’re not going to negotiate by ourselves.  We want to know what S&P will offer to make the switch.

             Don’t forget, we came into these negotiations looking for our own changes in the area of vacation.  Out initial proposals called for four weeks of vacation after five years of service (as opposed to eight years of service) and five weeks of vacation after 15 years of service (as opposed to 20 years of service).  We also proposed for six weeks of vacation for very senior employees (25 years of service). Six weeks of vacation currently doesn’t exist anywhere in the contract.

             In the area of job security, we came into negotiations calling for a total ban on layoffs. When we sensed very early that the total ban would be like reaching for the stars and would impede the progress of the talks, we removed that demand from the table.  But we replaced it with some meaningful job-security improvements and Townsend told the company that the Guild would need some movement in some of those areas in order to reach an agreement.

             Thus far, S&P counter proposals in job security have lacked substance.

 Some Progress Made

             The entire session on February 6, wasn’t spent spinning wheels, however. Tentative agreements were initialed in the areas of Family Leave, Bereavement Leave and Emergency/Urgent Personal days off.

              Changes in Family Leave include: 

·        Five days paternity leave upon the birth of a child (paternity leave is currently three days), 

·        At least five days off guaranteed for the adoption of a minor child (the contract currently doesn’t specify the number of days for adoption, but there has been a practice of S&P granting 10 days), and 

·        A $5,000 reimbursement toward the expenses of adopting a child (there currently is no reimbursement). 

            Currently, there is no Bereavement (death-in-family) Leave in the contract. By practice, however, Guild-covered employees have been granted five days off when relatives closest to them pass away and one day for other relatives.  Under the tentative agreement, bereavement leave will go into the contract and will therefore guarantee three days off upon the death of a parent, brother, sister, spouse, child, grandparent, grandchild, guardian, foster parent, foster child, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin, stepmother, stepfather, stepchild, stepsister, stepbrother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law brother-in-law, daughter-in-law or son-in-law.  Other individuals (non related), who are members of the employee’s household, are also included. 

            The tentative agreement would also add two urgent paid personal days off a year, which could be added to the Bereavement Leave or taken for some other personal emergency.  They will replace two sickness-in-family days, which currently are not part of the contract, but are a practice. 

            These are all tentative agreements, which do not become part of the contract until the entire pact is agreed upon and is ratified by the membership. 

            There was also a side agreement signed on February 6, which will make Guild-covered employees eligible for S&P’s Health Club Subsidy. Under that agreement, which is not guaranteed by the contract, S&P will provide a $600 (taxable) subsidy to a membership at the New York Health & Racquet Club, the New York Sports Club or Equinox Fitness Clubs. 

            The agreement will go into effect independent of the agreement on the contract.  You may begin membership New York Health & Racquet Club right away. You may start at the other two, as of this writing anyway, on April 1.