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The following wage increases will be implemented to change current rates contained in Article VI, with effective dates as noted, for a new five year labor agreement to replace the expired contract. Retroactivity for these increases from the contractual effective date up to the date of actual implementation is included as part of this agreement:

Effective January 1, 2001 .6133/hour or $23.00/week
Effective January 1, 2002 .5066/hour or $19.00/week
Effective January 1, 2003 .2666/hour or $10.00/week
Effective July 1, 2003 .2666 /hour or $10.00/week
Effective January 1, 2004 .2933/hour or $11.00/week
Effective July 1, 2004 .2666/hour or $10.00/week
Effective January 1, 2005 .32/hour or $12.00/week
Effective July 1, 2005 .3333/hour or $12.50/week

If by the end of 2004 the total annual advertising revenue (including BostonWorks) attributable to the Globe’s newspaper operations has increased by $50 million over its ad revenue during 2001, the July 1, 2005 increase will be advanced to January 1, 2005. The above hourly increases will be applied to the weighted averages of approximately 826 full time employees as of January 1, 2001 to determine the appropriate percentage increase for each year. The weighted average for the first year’s increase (2001) is $1,074.77 which equates to a percentage increase of 2.14%. The weighted average for 2002 is $1097.77 calculated after addition of the 2001 increase of $23.00 per week which yields a percentage increase of 1.763%. The weighted average for January 1, 2003 is $1116.77 calculated after addition of the 2002 increase of $19.00 per week which yields a percentage increase of .8954%. The weighted average for July 1, 2003 is $1126.77 calculated after addition of the January 1, 2003 increase of $10.00 per week which yields a percentage increase of .8875%.

The actual weighted average for January 1, 2004 is $1116.25 based on approximately 727 full time employees which yields a percentage increase of .9854%. The weighted average for July 1, 2004 is $1127.25 calculated after addition of the January 1, 2004 increase of $11.00 per week which yields a percentage increase of .8871%. The weighted average for January 1, 2005 is $1137.25 per week calculated after addition of the July 1, 2004 increase of $10.00 per week which yields a percentage increase of 1.0552%. The weighted average for July 1, 2005 is $1149.25 calculated after addition of the January 1, 2005 increase of $12.00 per week which yields a percentage increase of 1.0877%.

Under these percentage increases, top step reporters, for example would receive wage increases of $26.97 per week effective January 1, 2001, $22.69 per week effective January 1, 2002, $11.73 per week effective January 1, 2003, $11.73 per week effective July 1, 2003, $13.14 per week effective January 1, 2004, $11.94 per week effective July 1, 2004, $14.33 per week effective January 1, 2005 and $14.93 per week effective July 1, 2005.

The Globe will recalculate the actual weighted average for the then full time employees as of December 19, 2004. If the wage increase based on full time employment at the time produces a higher percentage increase than the application of the wage increases as outlined in the above calculations for 2005, the Globe will pay the increases based on the higher percentage. The Globe will share its calculations with the Union.

These percentage increases will be applied to all contract book rates for all bargaining unit employees pursuant to the parties’ 1987 letter of agreement. It will not be applied to merit pay or other supplemental payments. It will be applied to “differential weekly meritâ€? and “differential hourly meritâ€? for all full time and part time employees whose names appear respectively on Exhibits B and C to the collective bargaining agreement. Future merit adjustments will be administered solely by the Globe according to Article VI, Section 3.

These percentage increases will be applied to all contract book rates and grandfathered merit differential for bargaining unit employees (full and part-time) pursuant to the parties’ 1987 letter of agreement. They will not apply to merit, shift differential or other supplemental payments.

1. Terms of Payment

Wages shall be paid weekly and during day working hours. Following ratification and signing of the current contract, all full time employees shall be converted from the current system by which they are paid currently (i.e. during the week in which the hours are worked) to a system in which they are paid in arrears (i.e. during the week following the one in which the hours were worked).

As part of this conversion, all current full-time employees (by name) will be carried on a prepaid wage accrual account. When each such named employee leaves the Globe, he/she will have his/her last paycheck adjusted by the prepaid accrual amount.

All new full-time employees hired after ratification and signing of the contract will be paid one week in arrears.

The Employer will institute the new schedule of wage rates starting the first financial week after the date of signing.

2. Wages

No employee within the classification set forth below shall receive a weekly wage less than that set forth in the following schedule.

3. No Reduction in Wages or Loss of Merit

There shall be no reduction in the pay of any employee covered by the terms of this agreement during the life hereof.

The provisions of this paragraph are subject to the following exceptions:

a. The military leave provisions as set forth in Article V, Section 9.

b. Employees who voluntarily apply and are accepted for a position, which has a lower base pay, may have their pay reduced to the appropriate scale in the new classification. If the Employer decides that an employee, who has voluntarily accepted such a lower base pay position, shall not have his/her pay so reduced, that difference in pay shall not be considered to be a merit increase for purposes of this contract.

c. Employees who become incapacitated may continue in employment at a rate of pay mutually agreeable to the Employer and the employee.

d. The trial period provisions as set forth in Article II, Section 7H. Merit increases shall be determined by the Employer. Any employee may at any time send written communication to the head of his/her department, or to the Employer, requesting a joint hearing as to monies in excess of base pay. Merit shall be defined as pay granted by the Publisher in recognition of past performance, above the rates for any classification listed in Article VI.

No merit increase shall be lost or reduced by any increase or reduction in salary or classification.

4. Length of Service Steps

The word “yearâ€? or “yearsâ€? as used in this article in relation to step raises shall mean year or years of experience in work at the Globe.

In determining the initial pay of a newly hired employee:

a) credit for earlier employment at the Globe in the same classification will be granted;

b) credit for experience at another organization will be given due consideration based on comparability of duties, comparability of employers and previous rate of pay.

In all cases, newly hired employees shall not be paid less than contract rates for their job classifications.

5. Definitions

A. The Article VI classification of Senior Clerk, existing in prior agreements, is not included in this agreement as a pay classification subsequent to May 8, 1993. Incumbent bargaining unit employees at the date of signing of this agreement will retain the title of Senior Clerk. All employees currently classified as “clerksâ€? whose names appear on Exhibit B to the Supplemental Agreement shall advance to the Senior Clerk Classification when they would have reached that step under the previous contract. All part-time employees currently classified as part-time “clerksâ€? whose names appear on Exhibit C to the Supplemental Agreement shall advance to “part-time Senior Clerkâ€? when they would have reached that step under the previous contract so long as they retain their part-time status.

B. Layout, Makeup, Slot includes Regular Layout, Regular Weekend News Editor, Regular Slot, Regular Sunday Slot and Makeup, Head of Night Sports Desk, Regular Departmental Layout Makeup Persons (Sunday Editorial Page, Financial, Living Arts).

6. Supplemental Payments

The following supplemental payments will be required in circumstances where an employee substitutes for an entire shift in the classifications indicated below unless inter-classification fill in pay (Article IV, Section 13) is higher:

A. Editorial employees used as substitutes for regular layout; wire, Sunday, local and sports slot; photo editor; national/foreign editor; assistant metropolitan editor; chief photographer; assistant chief photographer; and assistant night editors, shall be paid $15 per day or night extra.

B. Chiefs of the following bureaus or teams shall be paid $60 per week above scale: State House, City Hall, Spotlight Team, Washington, Zone sections, and any bureau outside the continental USA. If and when any other chiefs of bureaus or teams are designated as such by the Employer, they will also be paid $60 per week above scale. It is understood that Bureau Chief pay is required to be paid only at the time any employee is assigned to that position. However, any employee who is no longer a Bureau Chief but is receiving such pay as of the ratification date of this contract shall retain such supplemental pay.

C. A student employee used as a reporter, photographer, or copy editor while on co-op term will be paid 80 percent of first year scale of the job they are performing per day or night. Students employed under this paragraph in these classifications will be limited to five, during each co-op term, with no more than three to be assigned in the entire Editorial Department, in any twenty-four hour period in all three classifications combined. Such students will be selected from those in their Junior or Senior year as a co-op student and will be limited by Article XV, Section 2, Section A4 (Student Employees).

D. A student employee who has completed his/her sophomore year and who is assigned to the Editorial Department will be given one opportunity each month while on their co-op term to work closely with a staff reporter, photographer or copy editor. Participation in this opportunity will be voluntary for the staff person. However, if the Globe is unable to secure participation by any staff in a timely manner, it will have the right to assign participation, except that no individual employee will be compelled to accept such assignment more than once every three months. The Globe will be reasonable in its request to staff to participate in these student opportunities.

Such opportunity may result in the student receiving credit at the end of each published story to which he/she contributed and, in addition, up to two byline credits (including for published photos) per co-op term. Student employees shall be paid a bonus of $25.00 for each by-line credit received. No reporter, photographer or copy editor shall be disciplined for errors which result from work product of student employees, but shall remain responsible for their own work product.

The current practice on the “City Deskâ€? in which student employees provide back-up to staff to report on brief stories (such as obituaries and “news briefsâ€?) on holidays, weekends and late nights shall also continue.

January 7, 2001