What Some Bosses are Telling Employees Has No Merit

The Guild has received several inquiries about merit pay. Some Time Inc. managers have told Guild-represented employees that they were confined by the union contract to grant only a 2% pay increase. In fact, one manager suggested that employees should ask the Guild why it had negotiated away merit increases.

The Guild asked Time Inc. what the company's plans are this year for merit pay.

The company's response was that if managers are telling employees that they are not allowed to grant merit increases, then employees have every right to tell their bosses that simply isn't the case.

The 2% pay hike is the minimum raise guaranteed under the contract. It is only a minimum.

The Memorandum of Agreement that extended the previous contract to the end of 2007 includes language that specifically states that merit increases are not excluded by the contract: "The General Increases provided for in Section 1 above do not prevent an employee from seeking or the publisher, in its sole discretion, from granting to individual employees merit increases and bonuses in addition to the General Increases."

If managers are telling people that merit increases can't be granted, they're not getting that message from Human Resources.

"Last year there was a salary freeze for people making over $150,000 (except for employees covered by the union contract) and people under $150,000 were given a paltry amount," management allowed. But this year there is money available at each magazine for merit increases, according to human resources.

An employee can ask his or her manager for an increase, and the manager can pass that request along appropriately, the company said. Or a manager can make the recommendation to the division head on his or her own volition.

"Some magazines may have additional layers of approvals," the company pointed out.

The Guild has heard that a number of merit increases have already been granted at some magazines.

Of course, as the language in the MOA states, it's at the "sole discretion" of the company whether or not to grant merit increases. But the contract and the Guild do not in any way prevent managers from granting merit increases above the guaranteed 2%. In fact, the Guild strongly encourages it!

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04/04/05