Friends,
As we work to persuade Gannett to cover our 2016 health insurance cost increases, we learned something very interesting late last week: Gannett is already planning to do that for another of the newspapers in its chain.
We refer to the Gannett paper in Sheboygan, WI, which like us signed on last year with the United Furniture Workers as its insurance provider. Sheboygan’s management agreed to pay between 5 and 6 percent more in 2016, enough to cover the entirety of the health insurance cost increases at Sheboygan. That’s about the same price increase we face with our plan.
Yet for some reason, Star management insists that our people bear the full burden of the 2016 health insurance cost increases. It’s a troubling move that for workers with families could amount to a pay cut of nearly $1,000 next year. Most other workers would see increases of $200 to $300 next year.
A year ago, The Guild went out and found a better insurance than Gannett’s, one that kept costs the same or lower while increasing benefits. In some cases, our members saved thousands of dollars. It was a win for The Star, too. The Guild’s insurance made The Star’s benefits package more attractive to potential new hires.
Now, it seems as if The Star is trying to take advantage of our savings by shifting more costs to employees rather than sharing the load next year. It’s not that way in Sheboygan. It doesn’t have to be that way here.
Are The Star’s employees and their families less valuable than Sheboygan’s? We don’t think so. Let us know what you think.
And stay tuned to this situation. We may ask you to take actions to help persuade The Star to take a lesson from Sheboygan, of all places.
Indianapolis NewsGuild 