Shop Paper #2: Last week's bargaining session & more on our new proposals

June 10, 2022

Hi Shop F!

We were back at the bargaining table on Friday 6/10 for our second virtual session after a 3-month delay. Shout out to our bargaining committee, unit rep Anthony Napoli, lawyer Thomas Lamadrid and the 31 observers who attended the four-hour session.

We kicked off the session asking for feedback on the 15 proposals we presented at our first meeting in March but got off to a bit of a slow start on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion proposal, where management started to go through it word-by-word, knocking some language without proposing alternatives. But things got better once we started discussing our proposed creation of a joint union-management diversity committee and got to hear from SVP of HR Ali Intres and Managing Editor Joyce Bautista-Ferrari about the company’s current initiatives, the challenges when it comes to voluntary collection of this data and where we might be able to find common ground. It’s clear that both sides agree Forbes needs to do better when it comes to recruiting and retaining staffers from underrepresented groups. We look forward to getting a counter proposal from management and want to put their commitments to DEI into meaningful, legally enforceable action.  

Next we laid out our second tranche of 14 proposals (more details on what they entail below). This time we had some back-and-forth with management as we presented each proposal, which we thought was constructive and appreciated getting real-time feedback.

Then we asked management to agree to the next bargaining date, and this is where a vaccine requirement continues to be an issue. We are still living in a global pandemic, and we are not going to risk our health and safety by agreeing to management’s unreasonable terms. Management has proposed meeting at their lawyer's office, which doesn’t have a vaccine requirement. This doesn’t make any logical sense to us, since the Forbes office has a vaccine requirement. We’ve also offered our union office, which has a vaccine requirement. We are disappointed that vaccination remains a sticking point when public health officials recognize it to be one of the most important tools in combating the pandemic.

We continue to believe in the current environment that remote bargaining is the best and safest option for our members. We also believe that any bargaining sessions, regardless of whether they are remote or in-person, should have observers. After dragging their feet for three months, management finally agreed to this virtual bargaining session because we pushed them collectively with our actions—on Slack, social media and with our signed petition. We're going to need to keep up the collective action in order for us to win the contract we deserve.

To sum it all up: We thought this bargaining session was productive, we appreciated getting to hear from Ali and Joyce, who represented Forbes alongside Patrick Collins, outside counsel from Ogletree Deakins, and we look forward to continued discussions with management on the proposals we have put forward. We hope we will soon have a new date for our next bargaining session.

Get Involved: We are looking for new people to join the bargaining committee. Contact Andrea Murphy: andreadmurphy@gmail.com to learn more.

Cheat Sheet: Here’s a rundown of the 14 proposals we presented.

Vacations and Other Time Off — This proposal details time off, including vacation days (baseline of 15 days starting January 1 with the number increasing based on years of service), the holiday week between Christmas and New Year, 15 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays, 5 personal days, 7 Summer Fridays and 3 volunteer days.

Sick Days and Disability Insurance — Employees will receive a bank of 20 paid sick days on January 1 for their illness or to care for a sick family member. The company will provide and pay full coverage for short-term disability benefits for 26 weeks and for life insurance.

Leaves of Absence — Employees may take 26 weeks of paid parental leave and 26 weeks of paid family leave. This also outlines sabbatical leave (8 weeks paid after 5 years of service) and Book/Creative Leave (paid up to 12 weeks). Other leaves include: Jury Duty, Voting Time, Military Leave, Bereavement Leave, Union Leave.

Severance — Employees shall receive 12 weeks pay for the first full year of service and one week's pay for each subsequent six months, along with fully paid medical coverage for the same length of time. Employees who are laid off out of seniority order shall receive enhanced severance.

Reduction In Force — The company will provide 30 days notice of any potential layoffs. The company will first ask for volunteers and then follow reverse seniority order.

Equipment & Expenses — The Company shall provide all equipment necessary for employees to complete their work, as well as cell phones, service and data plans. The company shall pre-pay for travel and lodging expenses above $50. Employees traveling for work shall receive $100 per diem for meals.

Travel Time — Travel time when an employee is on assignment shall be deemed working time.

Health, Safety, Return To Office — Establishes a joint management-union Health and Safety Committee. Employees will have the option to work remotely. A union-appointed health and safety expert will complete an analysis of the office before any employee is mandated to return. Also includes protections for doxxing and online harassment and establishes employees will not be required to cross picket lines.

Employee Training & Professional Development — Establishes new hire training, a peer-to-peer mentorship program and up to $5,000 for professional development courses.

Partnership Committee — Establishes a joint management-Guild committee to discuss business activities and other matters affecting Guild-represented employees.

Information To The Guild — Establishes types of information Forbes will provide to the Guild on a regular basis, including monthly reports outlining employees in unit, new hires and resignations.

Union Security — Employees have the right to organize and bargain collectively and there will be no interference with the operation of the Guild. Establishes procedure for how union dues are deducted from paychecks.

Bulletin Board — The company shall provide a physical space for a bulletin board for union communications, as well as an electronic communications channel on the company intranet.

Successorship — In the event of the sale of all or part of Forbes, the Guild shall be granted the right of first refusal, and shall be given access to financial information at the same time as other prospective bidders.

In solidarity, your bargaining committee:

Merrilee Barton
Katie Jennings
Alex Konrad
Andrea Murphy
Jon Ponciano