AP, Guild Still Without Contract

By: Joe Strupp Associated Press editorial employees, who have been working without a contract since Nov. 30, have used a variety of protest tools -- from a byline strike to informational picketing -- to show their anger over the lack of progress as talks continue.

Although The Newspaper Guild/CWA Local 31222, representing about 1,700 U.S.-based AP newsroom workers, reports it is moving closer to an agreement on wage increases, union leaders said health-benefit rate hikes and AP's refusal to extend benefits to domestic partners are blocking a new contract.

"They have told us 'No,' and they have never explained why," local President Tony Winton said about the domestic-partner issue. "We have gotten no response from them at all, and that is very frustrating. Most of the major media companies have had [domestic partners] benefits in place for a while."

AP spokesman Jack Stokes declined to comment on any specific elements of the contract talks, releasing a statement that said, "We're confident that the wage issues and all other issues will be resolved."

The domestic-partner flap sparked an unusual protest involving AP key chains that symbolize the cooperative's commitment to diversity and were given to many employees in recent weeks. More than 300 AP workers, according to Winton, have sent the key chains back in protest. "It came spontaneously from the grassroots," Winton said.

Ron Kampeas, a Washington-based AP staff writer and the local's human-rights coordinator, said the continued denial of domestic-partner benefits gives workers another reason to leave. He cited the recent departure of a photo editor who took another job because she couldn't get benefits for her partner.

The key-chain protest came between a Jan. 10 byline strike and informational picketing at AP's New York headquarters Thursday. The most recent bargaining session was conducted Wednesday.

The latest management proposal is a two-year contract with a 2.7% pay hike the first year and a 3% raise the second year, according to Winton. Union leaders are asking for a 5% raise in each of the two years. Just two weeks ago, AP had offered only a 1.9% annual pay increase, with the union seeking an 8% salary hike each year. "I am optimistic we will get an agreement," Winton said. "I see the glass as half-full."