By: Jackleen de La Harpe One Newspaper Chain Says They're Good Business, Too
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. - Benefits for domestic partners is an issue of fairness, according to Monica Allen, 40, environment reporter for The Standard-Times in New Bedford, Mass. Allen is in a committed, 10-year, same-sex partnership - but, because she is not married, she has been unable to provide benefits for her partner.
"When you do the same work in the newsroom and yet don't have the same protection as your colleagues, it makes you feel like a second-class citizen," said Allen, who petitioned Ottaway Newspapers Inc. - the Dow Jones & Co. Inc. subsidiary that owns The Standard-Times - for domestic-partner benefits.
Joel Burns, director of human resources at The Standard-Times, took her request to the Ottaway board of directors last year, then again this year. This month, Allen and others learned that, on Jan. 1, they will be eligible to apply for health benefits for their partners. Other benefits, such as dental coverage, will be added later.
Peter G. Stone, Ottaway's vice president of legal and human resources, said there were two primary considerations in the company's decision to grant domestic-partner benefits. One was moral - it's the right thing to do. The other was practical - it's good business. Said Stone, "It will aid us in hiring and retention if we take note of the lifestyle of a broader group."
De La Harpe is director of the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting in Narragansett, R.I.
Copyright 2000, Editor & Publisher.
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