August 16, 2005
Since the first negotiating session for a new contract between the Guild and management, company bargainers: outside attorney Steve Macri, John Gillen and Meghan Doody from Human Resources have talked about the proposals they would be bringing to the table. At our most recent meeting, this past Thursday, August 11, the union team had high hopes of finally seeing the remainder of the company’s proposals, in writing. Sadly, though, following the lunch break, the Guild’s hopes were dashed.
Guild Local Representative Steve Zavatski, the chief spokesperson for the Guild committee during the talks, suggested that he and Macri take an inventory of the proposals that the parties had agreed to in previous sessions, and then, if management would provide the rest of theirs in writing, the union could then move on to discussing major issues like wages, health care, severance, job security, and retirement plans. Except for a Credit Market Services Trading Policy proposal, which the Guild had not anticipated seeing from management any time soon, Gillen and Macri agreed that they could produce written proposals that day, very possibly after the lunch break.
But when the meeting resumed after lunch, the only proposal management produced was a very minor rewording of a housekeeping issue regarding where information on benefits could be found. The union decided not to adjourn for the day, but instead addressed an information request concerning the 401(k) investment options currently offered by the company.
The current offering of 401(k) options has been the subject of many negotiating sessions and the union has wondered how a company that has such a great track record of providing accurate, unbiased information can suggest that the offerings available to its employees are worth their investment?
The current crop of investment vehicles, which have been around a long time and are mostly made up of “funds of funds,” deserves close inspection. Fees that are usually associated with such funds are often to blame when their lack-luster returns are analyzed. The Guild has made an extensive information request regarding the management of these funds, and we will report to you on what we learn.
The next negotiating session is set for August 23.
# # # # #
8/16/05