Still no wage offer after 213 days
For years, and in some cases decades, Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald employees have given of themselves because they love the mission of quality journalism and community service that the Heralds have embodied for generations.
On Monday, after two months’ hiatus caused by the Surfside condo collapse and events in Cuba and Haiti, One Herald Guild members returned to the bargaining table to negotiate our union’s first contract with the McClatchy Company.
“Once again, the company showed us it cares more about retaining control than it does about its own workforce,” said Joey Flechas, a reporter and unit co-chair.
McClatchy failed to come to the table with a wage proposal, marking the 213th day that the company has failed to respond to the Guild’s January plan to rectify long-standing and glaring wage inequalities.
The company said it would make its initial wage proposal on Sept. 9, the date of the next bargaining session and seven months after OHG proposed a minimum annual salary of $52,000, with four percent annual increases thereafter.
During the 18 months of the pandemic, McClatchy has saved money on expenses (office rent, fewer employees filing expenses) and offloaded crushing debt (pension payments) but won’t make its workers whole while expecting employees to subsidize the journalism operation.
The company refuses to give Herald workers the same parental leave and work-from-home stipend the company offers its other employees -- a policy that adds to the financial stress many of our colleagues endure.
To show McClatchy managers the harm their policies are causing, three reporters described the unflagging financial pressure they face, just so they can afford to work at the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.
“I’m here today feeling deeply ashamed,’’ said Jimena Tavel, who revealed that she has been forced to take a second job as a cashier at Chipotle to make ends meet. “I recognize that that shame shouldn't be on me. That shame should be on the bosses and the editors.”
“We heard painful stories from exhausted workers who are facing health issues from weeks without a day off,” said Mary Ellen Klas, a reporter and unit co-chair. “McClatchy needs to stop stalling and bargain fairly.”
To add insult to injury, the company regressed in a proposal to make a pandemic payment for employees working from their homes. The company is insisting on making the payments taxable income, even though a special IRS provision makes such payments tax-free during the pandemic. The Guild supplied backup information from its accounting firm, and also noted that the State of Florida is making similar employee payments tax-exempt, as evidenced by the Herald’s own reporting.
The employer also now is demanding the right to stop making the “work from home” payments if the Guild ever wanted to bargain about any future COVID-19 safety matters that might cost the company any additional expense, such as protective equipment or arguably, even office space.
The Guild asked McClatchy’s bargaining team if it was denying employees' right to simply refuse to make their homes available to the company as workspaces. The company said it would get back to the union later. The union has asked McClatchy to provide the amount of cost savings it has realized from canceling its office leases, but the employer has yet to provide the information to One Herald Guild.
Stories of Pain, Hardship
Meanwhile, McClatchy’s employees described to company managers the additional costs they’ve incurred working for low pay and not receiving a pay raise for years. Three colleagues described the need to find second jobs just so they can pay rent, make car repairs or afford to pay their utilities.
Some days, Jimena finishes a shift for the Herald and goes straight to Chipotle to work another shift.
“I wish I could use that energy to instead report on stories and get to know my community and grow that way. But I'm forced to work a second job just so I can make ends meet,’’ Jimena told McClatchy managers and executives at Monday’s bargaining session.
Among those hearing Jimena’s story were the Miami Herald’s Executive Editor Monica Richardson and Managing Editor Rick Hirsch.
Devoun Cetoute, a reporter on the Real Time Desk, told managers about the unnecessary risks he feels that he’s taking delivering food late at night because he often works until 9 p.m. for the Herald.
About 10 days before the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Devoun had made a food delivery in the building. He felt lucky.
“That has been weighing in the back of my head for weeks ever since the tower fell, that God forbid that was the day, because that’s the time when I was delivering -- the late night hours,” he said.
Devoun, who said he learned to read by reading the Miami Herald and hopes he will never have to leave the Herald, has written more than two thousand stories in his time at the Herald and generated millions of page views. His bosses tell him what a good job he’s doing, Devoun said. But McClatchy has yet to show him the money for his work at the Herald.
“UberEats pays me the same as I make at the Miami Herald,” he said. “It’s a horrible thought that I make the same amount of money as a reporter educating millions of people as I do literally just giving a McDonald’s bag to people. It makes no sense at all.”
Rene Rodriguez, who has worked at the Miami Herald for more than 30 years, said he no longer feels that management is aware of the struggles many are experiencing. An editor recently asked if he would cover tourism after Taylor Dolven left for the Boston Globe. He said no.
“You can’t wring any more blood from this rock. It’s dry,” he said. “I’m feeling like a passenger on the lower decks of the Titanic. Reporters are always there and we’re always going to be there because we're devoted to our jobs and no matter what comes our way we’re going to cover it well.”
Rene, who had been the Herald’s movie critic for 25 years, said managers made clear they wanted him to stay after eliminating the position. He did, and took a substantial pay cut. But he no longer feels valued by management. A salary adjustment Rene had been promised two years ago never happened, he said.
“I make less money now than I made in 1999. Think about how much the cost of living has gone up during that time,” he said.
Rene closed his statements with a sentiment that many of his colleagues share.
“I’ve always loved working here,” he said, “but I’ve never felt less seen by management than I do now.”
Retirement, Medical Plan Proposals
The Guild advanced two proposals Monday because that was all the time the company allowed. OHG proposed transitioning away from the McClatchy controlled 401(k) plan to a multi-employer retirement plan that is jointly administered by unions and employers. The plan has no administrative costs to the employer. The union is seeking a four percent up front employer contribution to remedy poor employee participation in the McClatchy plan, which conditions its contributions on the employee’s ability to save and also caps the company’s retirement contribution at $2,000 per employee per year.
The union also presented the economic aspects of its health plan proposal, which would result in lower costs for employees and better benefits. The UFW plan, which is available to workforces represented by the Communications Workers of America, has both PPO and HSA options. Importantly, the cost of a single person’s premium would be 100% paid by the employer under OHG’s proposal
The union was prepared to make additional proposals but the session was shortened at the request of the employer.
McClatchy was represented by Aaron Agenbroad, labor relations executive Catherine Ryan, HR executive Maria Torres, as well as Richardson and Hirsch.
One Herald Guild was represented by bargaining committee members Klas, Flechas, Daniel Chang and lead negotiator Tony Winton, along with the Bradenton Herald NewsGuild’s bargaining chair Jessica De Leon. More than 45 Miami and Bradenton colleagues logged onto Monday’s session to hear their coworkers’ testimony and the company’s muted response.