Miami Herald Offers Higher Minimum Wage, But Doesn’t Address Pay Gaps
The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald’s parent company McClatchy offered a minimum annual wage of $50,000 for newsroom workers last week, after 22 months of bargaining for One Herald Guild and 15 months for the Bradenton Herald NewsGuild. The offer did not directly address longstanding pay discrepancies, move to correct what the union believes is a longstanding violation of federal wage and hour laws, not did it address concerns over outsourcing news coverage.
Bargaining committees in Bradenton and Miami presented McClatchy management with a top-to-bottom proposal addressing all remaining issues in the proposed contract, which was discussed during two full days of bargaining Wednesday and Thursday.
On wages, McClatchy responded with a new counter offer in Miami that would set a first-ever minimum salary of $50,000 (below our proposal of $56,243 plus backpay that is based on a 2019 pay proposed rate of $52,000). The union took note of the move, but McClatchy again rejected a pay scale that recognizes years of professional experience and pay inequity between Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald employees.
The company is also proposing a one-time 3% increase and annual across-the-board increases of 1% for years 2 and 3 of a proposed contract – less than the 4% per year in the union’s request. The company has not agreed to applying any wage increase retroactively to 2019, as we have requested. Prices have risen at an annual rate of 5.7% in the Miami area, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
McClatchy did not make a counter offer on wages to Bradenton Herald newsroom staff, however, promising to come back with a proposal at the next meeting in January.
Also still unresolved is how employees are classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law governing overtime. The company said managers alone should make decisions on whether an employee qualifies for overtime, and rejected a compromise used at other national news organizations that gives qualified employees a free choice. About one-third of both units is currently classified as being overtime ineligible, and the company has never provided back-up data to justify its decision.
“What you’re saying is to give 100% discretion to the employee,” said Aaron Agenbroad, McClatchy’s labor attorney. “There’s no ability for us to influence it … You’re upset with [the current system].”
“Because it allows you to underpay people,” responded Joey Flechas, One Herald Guild co-chair.
The union and company reached tentative agreements on several issues, including outside work, information requests, content leaves and training for Bradenton.
The company refused to raise the cap on severance payments in the event of layoffs, despite the fact that the union offered compromises twice on its proposal. The company has insisted on maintaining the past practice on severance, offering 2 weeks pay per year of service up to 26 weeks, but with a “layoff at will” provision.
The company has yet to respond to the Guilds’ proposals on an improved medical plan, a retirement proposal that would require the company to make a contribution to union employees’ 401K accounts, and meaningful job security provisions that would prioritize saving jobs and limiting news outsourcing.
These issues are key because they impact every other article we are bargaining over.
The company rejected Guild’s proposed leave policy, which asked for eight weeks of paid disability leave for childbirth in addition to paid parental leave.The company proposed that only mothers who deliver a child through Cesarean section are entitled to eight weeks of disability leave, while non-Cesarean deliveries would only qualify for six weeks of medical disability leave.
McClatchy also rejected any arrangement that would allow employees to stack leave time. It said the maximum amount of leave for new parents is 4.5 months and refused to guarantee any unpaid leave beyond that.
The Guild proposed allowing employees to take 18 months unpaid parental leave after paid leave runs out.
The employer also rejected a Guild proposal for 100 hours of paid family leave.
On Thursday, el Nuevo Herald copy editor Douglas Rojas-Sosa presented a letter to management during bargaining from ENH staff, raising concerns about the company’s strategy and investment in the newspaper and its employees.
“We’re sure el Nuevo Herald can be successful if the company puts the resources into it,” Rojas-Sosa said.
The Bradenton Herald NewsGuild and One Herald Guild were represented by Bradenton unit chair Jessica De Leon, Miami co-chairs Mary Ellen Klas and Joey Flechas, bargaining chair Dan Chang, actions committee chair Aaron Leibowitz and chief negotiator Tony Winton.
McClatchy was represented by attorney Aaron Agenbroad, labor relations director for McClatchy’s People Team Catherine Ryan, Florida Regional Editor Monica Richardson and HR executives Natalie Piner and Maria Torres.