Trib Co. can pay bonuses, not severance

The Associated Press reports that a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that the Tribune Co. can pay more than $13 million in bonuses to almost 700 employees for their work last year.
But the judge denied allowing the Tribune to pay more than $2 million in severance payments to more than 60 employees laid off shortly before the Chicago-based company filed for bankruptcy protection.
From the story:

"We need to motivate and incentivize the key people who will implement change," Bigelow said. "These are really good people we're talking about. They're the best and the brightest of the company."

Star-Ledger announces cuts

George Arwaday, publisher of The Star-Ledger of New Jersey, sent a memo to employees Thursday detailing new pay and benefits cuts at the paper. The entire memo has been posted to Poynter's Romenesko blog.
From the memo:

The first $40,000 of your new combined annualized income will be cut by 5%. If you make more than $40,000, your next $40,000 in income up to $80,000 will be cut by 10%. Any annualized income over $80,000 will be cut by 15%.

In addition, Arwaday told employees that any bonuses they receive will be rolled into their salary and not delivered all at once at the end of the year.
In addition, all employees will now have to pay for 25 percent of their health care coverage. These moves were put in place to help offset a $20 million year-over-year drop in first quarter ad revenue.
To read the memo, click here.

Globe union and NYT reach deal

Early this morning, a tentative deal was reached between the New York Times Co. and The Boston Globe.
The Globe reports that the agreement includes "substantial pay cuts, unpaid furloughs, and modifications to the lifetime job guarantee provisions that protect almost 200 employees in the Boston Newspaper Guild."
From the story:

The Newspaper Guild was the last major union without a tentative agreement after more than a month of high-stakes bargaining to wring $20 million and major contract concessions.

The two sides began the bargaining session last night so far apart that the company had proposed what it called its "last, best offer," deeply slashing wages of guild members by 23 percent to gain the $10 million in concessions, according to union and management representatives with knowledge of the negotiations.

NY Times union tentatively agrees to pay cuts

The Newspaper Guild, which represents newsroom employees at The New York Times, has agreed in principle to a five percent pay cut on union employees, according to an article on the Times' website.

The company has said that the pay reduction would save $4.5 million and avert the elimination of about 80 jobs, mostly in the newsroom. But the union, in reaching the agreement, did not win assurances from the company that there definitely would not be layoffs through the end of the year. If employees are laid off during the period, however, severance packages would be paid based on employees’ salaries before the reduction.

Union members will vote on the pay cut next week. The move comes as the Times is looking for ways to save money after losing nearly $75 million in the first quarter of the year.
To read more, click here.

Star Tribune, union agree on tentative deal

The Star Tribune, currently working through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has reached a tentative deal with its newsroom union, according to MinnPost.com.

Workers who remain will get a 3 percent wage scale cut, a 30 percent across-the-board merit pay reduction (most of the newsroom gets so-called "overscale"), two furlough days a year for the next two years, and a pension freeze. Pension savings is not included in the $1.7 million the Star Tribune will save.

According to the article, Star Tribune management was not able to get rid of seniority when it comes to layoffs.
However, the union did agree to let management save a "small number" of less-senior employees in the event of more layoffs, so the seniority rule is no longer as concrete as it once was.
The agreement is expected to save the paper just under $1.7 million, plus pension savings.
Click here to read more.