Seattle gets new contract, kick in pants

Upside: The Times and guild just agreed on a two-year contract (www.nwguild.org) with a 6 percent raise. ;D

Downside: The Times is going to be laying off a lot of folks in the next few months. :'(

 

Figures to be a lot of survivor guilt, if the layoff part proves true, getting what qualfies as a nice raise these days while maybe having to step over the bodies of fallen colleagues to receive it.

It could be a message to those who left behind, too, that their workloads are going to increase 16 percent or 26 percent or more over the two years of the contract.

Notice in the deal that health care for employees' dependents gets much more expensive. Is this a sly way for management to push mid-career and oldsters around? Not only do papers want to pay entry-level wages, they want to offer entry-level (unmarried types) health coverage.

 

Problem is - and I'm not talking specifically Seattle here - but it seems like the people most likely to stay in this business right now are the ones in the middle, especially those with kids.
The younger folks are bailing on the industry before they're too old, or, in union shops, they're the first let go. Older ones are taking buyouts/voluntary layoffs/just plain retiring.
But a 45-year-old with two kids in school and a good-paying job at a metro has benefits and enough seniority to ride out some layoffs, and is probably looking at a pretty tough job market right now. Management can squeeze on the health care because it holds all the cards. And, yeah, like Joe said, these folks get screwed.
Just another good reason we should find a better way than employer-sponsored health care.

 

I'd love to get back to Seattle, but all the layoffs are making me wonder if that will ever happen.

 

Agree completely.