March 9, 2004

Villager Employees To Be Covered by Guild Contract 

The Newspaper Guild of New York is pleased to inform its members at The Hour, and newly represented staffers at The Wilton Villager, that eligible editorial employees of the Wilton weekly will be covered by the contract between the Guild and Hour Publishing Co. The memorandum of agreement that management has agreed to sign will be retroactive to February 23, 2004. 

            The agreement is the result of a settlement stemming from a grievance filed by the Guild. It will allow the company to use Villager-employee-produced content in the Hour Publishing Company's newspapers. Villager employees will be fully covered by the existing union contract and their rates of pay and mileage will be adjusted upward to fall in line with the union minimums. Among other union benefits, employees will be paid for overtime on a daily basis, receive pay for working on holidays at the effective rate of double time and one-half, and will be eligible for Guild members-only benefits through the union. Employees who were already covered by the contract with The Hour prior to the date of this new agreement will suffer no loss in seniority as a result of including the Villager staffers in the union. 

As required by the Guild contract, the “new” staffers are required to become members of the union within 30 days and pay dues at the rate of 1.38 percent of their weekly pay. Dues payments automatically deducted each week via payroll checkoff will ensure that members remain in good standing, a condition of employment. 

Unit Chairperson Erik Trautmann will be distributing membership applications and dues checkoff forms. 

Local Representative Steve Zavatski is in the process of arranging an informational meeting with the newly represented staffers and existing Guild members.           

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03/09/04