Reuters, AP Unions Reach Contract Deals

By: SETH SUTEL AP Business Writer (AP) Unions representing two major news agencies, Reuters Group PLC and The Associated Press, reached tentative deals with the companies on Wednesday.

The agreement at Reuters came two months after members of the Newspaper Guild of New York overwhelmingly rejected the company's proposed contract. Barry Lipton, president of the union, called the talks with the Reuters "the most difficult I've been involved in in many, many years."

The work forces at AP and Reuters are covered by different unions and the talks were not linked.

The Newspaper Guild of New York represents almost 450 print and television journalists, photographers, technicians and other employees at Reuters, while the News Media Guild is the bargaining agent for about 1,600 U.S. editorial and technology workers at AP.

Lipton said the tentative deal with Reuters became possible after the two sides resolved their differences over two key sticking points: health care benefits for retirees and job security provisions for technicians.

Lipton declined to discuss the details of those agreements, as did Reuters spokeswoman Samantha Topping. "We're happy to be moving forward and we feel that this is a fair contract," Topping said.

The most recent contract between Reuters and its union expired in February 2003, but its provisions remained in effect while the negotiations continued. The new agreement goes through February 2009 and includes annual wage increases of 3% for 2005 through 2008, as well as retroactive increases prior to 2005.

The separate agreement between the News Media Guild and AP calls for annual base wage increases of 2.8% in the first year, 3.18% in the second and 3.08% in the final year of the three-year contract.

Jessica Bruce, the AP's vice president of human resources, called the talks "long" and "difficult," noting that the agreement came after a 22-hour bargaining session that ended early Wednesday. She said that in the end, "I'm confident that we've done the right thing for our employees."

New employees hired after Jan. 1 will no longer be eligible for AP's defined-benefit pension plan. Instead, the contract calls for them to participate in a 401(k)-type defined-contribution retirement plan similar to what newly hired AP managers get, said Tony Winton, president of the guild. AP said it will make a yearly payment equal to 3% of workers' salary to the new plan.

The two sides agreed to a buyout program that will eliminate 100 technicians' jobs, but the union will also begin representing some workers in AP's broadcast and other departments who had not previously been covered by the contract. The jobs to be eliminated are for employees who install and maintain hardware and software around the country, Winton said.

The guild accepted the AP's proposal to create a "Senior Journalist" classification for at least 20 employees that would provide a salary of at least at least $114,000 per year -- twice the top newsroom scale -- but also exempt those reporters from most overtime pay provisions.

The talks between the News Media Guild and AP managers began Oct. 20, and the last contract expired Nov. 30. Winton, the guild president, said the union "believes that the concessions that we've made are significant and they represent an investment in the AP's future."

The agreements at both AP and Reuters still must be put to a vote of members of their respective unions.