Lee Enterprises to Post-Dispatch Employees: We Need A Big Pay Cut

Lee Enterprises, parent of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the St. Louis Newspaper Guild, which represents many of the local daily's employees, including most of the newsroom, have still not worked out a new contract.

The current contract expires this coming weekend.

Updates on the Guild website show that Lee wants P-D staffers to agree to a 23 percent pay cut that would take place over the next three years (15 percent the first year, 5 percent each of the following two years).

Lee also wants to scratch paid maternity leave; the 401-K match; company cars for photographers, and health care and life insurance for retirees.

Last week the Guild voted to accept a second week of furlough for this year, as long as Lee does not lay off anyone during the contract negotiations.

See the full list of Lee's demands after the jump.

 


· Eliminating paid maternity leave

· Cutting unpaid maternity leave in half, to 12 weeks maximum

· Eliminating retiree medical

· Eliminating retiree life insurance

· Eliminating 401-K match

· Freezing Pulitzer Pension Plan

· Increasing employee share of medical premiums to 30% from 25%

· Eliminating the Pulitzer PPO medical plan

· Eliminating a set guaranteed base for commission sales reps

· Requiring outside sales reps to work unlimited unpaid overtime

· Eliminating company vehicles for photographers

· Eliminating shares of reprints for photographers

· The right to fire employees on sick leave after three months of absence. The contract now allows 18 months.