Deadline is April 10 for latest buyout

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild leaders are working to ensure that Journal Sentinel newsroom employees have complete information about the company’s latest buyout offer before the April 10 deadline.

On Wednesday, the company presented the buyout package to our bargaining unit. The buyout is open to both full-timers and part-timers and offers two weeks of severance pay for each year of service — but capped at 15 years of service, or 30 weeks pay (i.e., those with more seniority can take the buyout but wouldn’t get any more than 30 weeks’ pay). The company will provide two months of health insurance, but no additional cash incentives and no outplacement aid. Payments will be in two-week installments, not a lump sum.

Guild negotiators sought Tuesday evening to improve those terms, by raising the cap, but the company’s bargaining team refused.

As we have reported previously, all of this is based on the company’s push to save $1.2 million in bargaining-unit payroll costs, as part of $5 million in cuts throughout the company. Once we know how many people have taken the buyout, we will return to the bargaining table April 13-14 to discuss other measures, such as unpaid furloughs and wage cuts, to reach the target without involuntary job cuts.

Here’s how the latest buyout differs from those in the past: (1) No previous buyout has ever been capped. (2) Additional cash or outplacement aid was part of some previous buyouts. (3) The last two buyouts were not open to part-timers. (4) Previous severance payments came in a lump sum.

Here’s how the buyout terms differ from our contract’s involuntary downsizing terms: (1) If you are downsized, you get two weeks of pay for each year of service, with no cap. (2) Anyone pushed out in a reduction in force is also entitled to 60 days’ notice or 60 days’ pay. (3) The contract does not require the company to pay any health insurance if you’re downsized, but you do get some kind of outplacement aid.

The contract calls for involuntary job cuts to be based on reverse seniority, with some exceptions, such as to maintain diversity and special skills. The Guild’s view is that seniority is the first consideration and the company must justify each deviation from seniority.

As in previous buyouts, the Guild will distribute information answering frequently asked questions about the details of the offer and how it applies to various situations.

Anyone who is considering the buyout should keep in touch with Guild President Greg Pearson. Please let him know whether you are considering the buyout, whether you have actually applied, whether you were accepted and whether you were rejected. Your names will be kept confidential.