March 23, 2004

  SCHOLASTIC FOUR-YEAR CONTRACT RATIFIED 

At a meeting yesterday, the Scholastic Unit of The Newspaper Guild of New York overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year extension of the contract between Scholastic and the Newspaper Guild by a vote of 34 to 1.  The contract calls for 3 percent increases in June 2004, June 2005, June 2006, and June 2007.  The increase over the life of the contract totals 12.55 percent, compounded.

The contract also

·        Prohibits the company from excluding Guild members, as a class, from merit increases;

·        Includes four new jobs in the contract, with pay increases fully applied to these jobs;

·        Classifies eight long unfilled positions as “dark.”

The parties also agreed to write job descriptions for the new positions and to review and upgrade all other job descriptions.

            New York Guild President Barry Lipton led negotiations for the Guild, along with Local Representative Dona Fowler (a former Scholastic Guild Unit Chairperson), Guild Unit Chairperson Peter Jones, and First Vice-Chairperson Jack Silbert.

In addition, Susan DeRouen, copy editor, was nominated to fill the position of Unit Treasurer, which has been vacant since the untimely death of Maggie Stevaralgia late last year.

If anyone wishes to oppose Susan, they must submit a nominating petition to Guild Unit Chairperson Peter Jones, signed by at least 10% of the Scholastic Guild Unit members in good standing, by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 29.  A copy to Guild Secretary-Treasurer William O’Meara must also be filed.  If a contest is called for, it will be held by secret mail ballot election.

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03/23/04