At a special membership meeting Sunday, Oct. 17th, the membership
of the Maintenance Unit (Janitors) voted to divert $2.50 per week
from their regular gross weekly pay into the Guild International
Pension Plan. The diversion will increase the Company's pension
contribution for each Maintenance Unit employee from $50.00 per
week to $52.50 per week. This will result in pension improvements
averaging 4.7%.
The pension vote came after Guild members filed a petition, as
per the union by-laws, seeking the pension diversion.
The Guild has notified the Company of the membership vote on the
pension diversion, which will take effect as soon as the payroll
department can process the pension increase.
Maintenance employees can calculate their monthly pension benefit
by following the formula found in the Guild's International Pension
Plan summary that was distributed recently. For a copy of the plan
features, please call President Lou Mleczko at the Guild office,
313-963-4254. At the Downtown DNA Building, contact Unit Chairperson
Julius Titsworth; at the North Plant, contact Doug Schmidt; at the
Riverfront Plant, contact Tom Conrad or Randy Burke.
The Guild has received a signed petition from more than 20% of
the Maintenance Unit membership calling for a meeting to vote on
a proposal to divert $2.50 per week from your gross weekly
pay into the The Newspaper Guild International Pension Plan. The
diversion, if approved by the membership, would increase the weekly
Company contribution from $50.00 to $52.50 for each
employee working in the union's jurisdiction.
Only members in good standing will be allowed to cast a ballot
at the meeting Oct. 17th. If you are not a Guild member,
you will NOT be allowed to vote on this proposal.
If you wish to join the Guild prior to the meeting, please call
the Guild office for details at 1-313-963-4254. You must be in attendance
at the meeting to vote on this proposal. No proxy votes permitted.
Members working Oct. 17th will be excused to vote at the meeting.
Excused members will either return to complete their scheduled shift
or take unpaid time off from their shift.
For current employees, the proposed $2.50 increase in weekly
contributions would result in pension increases of 4.7% at
age 65. Here are some examples of the monthly pension you would
receive at the current $50. weekly contribution compared to the
proposed $52.50:
|
Monthly Pension Payments
at age 65
.
|
| Sample 1 - 14.5 pension credits |
$50.00 = $1,038.24
$52.50 = $1,086.54 |
| Sample 2 - 39.3 pension credits |
$50.00 = $2,394.00
$52.50 = $2,540.38 |
| Sample 3 - 26.4 pension credits |
$50.00 = $1895.76
$52.50 = $1983.96 |
| Sample 4 - 18.10 pension credits |
$50.00 = $1,355.76
$52.50 = $1,418.84 |
| Sample 5 - 32.9 pension credits |
$50.00 = $2,098.00
$52.50 = $2,190.96 |
The Newspaper Guild of Detroit invites you to join your union,
Local 34022, and share in the benefits and responsibilities of membership.
The dedication and efforts of members of Local 34022 are the reason
you enjoy certain benefits and rights at Detroit Newspapers Inc.
Job security, paid health insurance, severance pay – all of these
things and more came as the result of a collective bargaining agreement
the local negotiated with the newspaper’s owners.
In today’s business climate, only the continued strong existence
of The Guild allows you and your coworkers to have these benefits.
Companies such as Knight-Ridder, Gannett and others that answer
to Wall Street rather than to newspaper readers and advertisers
would gladly take money from you to pay their shareholders.
Without a union, what would working conditions be like here? Perhaps
you had worked for non-union employers before, so you know how people
can be fired without just cause, how salaries and benefits can be
changed at the owner’s whim, how personality conflicts with a supervisor
can make your work life miserable.
On the other hand, because of its contractual obligations to its
employees, Detroit Newspapers Inc. must offer you guaranteed wages
and increases, company-paid health insurance, severance pay and
a grievance procedure that allows employees to fight unjust disciplinary
action or right other wrongs in the workplace, among other things.
We are a democratic organization where rank-and-file members, including
many of your coworkers, call the shots. The contract applies to
all employees in the bargaining unit – but only members may participate
in negotiations and only members are eligible to vote for or against
a contract. Membership gives you a voice in your workplace.
The Guild’s ability to bargain and service the contract depends
entirely on the dues paid by Guild members. A strong, united active
membership is the key to maintaining and improving wages and benefits
in future contracts.
To remain strong, The Guild needs your support. Join the union
today. Just fill out the membership application card and the dues
checkoff card (this allows the company to automatically deduct your
dues from your paycheck and saves you the trouble of having to mail
or hand-deliver your dues each month) and give them to your steward
or unit officer. They are listed on the Guild bulletin boards found
in your department.
If you have any questions, please call Lou Mleczko, Local 34022
president, at (313) 963-4254, or e-mail him at lou@detroitguild22.com.
Or contact any of the unit officers or your steward. Also, take
a moment to check out our web site, www.detroitguild22.com,
to learn more about us.
We look forward to you becoming an active member, interested in
having a say in your work life.
In solidarity,
Newspaper Guild of Detroit
