Let's talk some more

We will keep meeting.

That’s the most significant agreement reached Friday in talks between the Guild and Times management.

The company team had been resisting setting more dates beyond Friday, saying it wanted to conclude negotiations sooner rather than later.

Trust us when we say that none of us feel very keen about sitting in the Vancouver Room for hours on end discussing the minutia of our contract. But that’s just what negotiations are about, and we remain committed to working until we’ve reached agreement. We see no reason to rush. Mistakes happen when you rush.

So the company offered to put more dates on the schedule, and for that we are glad. The next two sessions will occur Aug. 4 and Aug. 11.

Also Friday, the Guild decided to drop its bereavement proposal (paid time off for the death of a family member who lived with them) and return to current contract language. We simply didn’t see the point in accepting the company’s proposal to let employees ask for unpaid or vacation time. Employees can already ask for that time, and we figured we could use our time better by moving on to other issues.

Such as vacation. We’re still committed to this issue. The latest proposal adds a fifth week for everybody who has been with the company for seven or more years. All other accrual steps would remain the same. Guild negotiator Darryl Sclater mined some interesting statistics about the proposal. Only 47 percent of the membership (a correction from Friday after Darryl reworked the numbers) would begin accruing that extra week of vacation, while another 14 percent would be eligible in the next two years. He calculates the total cost to the company at 1.07 percent (corrected).

We also introduced a new severance plan, one that was used in the call center outsourcing. The formula goes like this: 1.5 weeks per year of service, a minimum of four weeks a maximum of 26 weeks. We also inserted language that says the company can increase the formula if it wants to.

We look forward to hearing the response from the company on both issues.

Until then, hang tight and keep telling us what you’re thinking. Look for posts in the future listing what we’ve secured in this negotiation and what remains to be done. We’re also going to take another look at salary information and introduce you to the contracts of other unions.

We’d like to hear your stories, particularly, about the financial hardship that a wage freeze would impose on you. Email us at info@pnwguild.org or post anonymously to the blog if you want. Please let us know if we can use your name.

Finally, in response to a few questions we’ve had lately, the terms of the contract continue while we continue to negotiate.

Have a great weekend!

Why are we here? ... and other questions about our mission

The Guild bargaining team on Wednesday brought to the table three new proposals designed to move along contract talks with Times management.

The answers?: We’ll look at it, no, and no.
The reason?: “That’s not what we’re here to do.”

Those are the words of Times management negotiator Chris Biencourt. After Wednesday‘s session and the cumulative effect of two months of bargaining, the Guild team is questioning what the Times is at the table to do. Insert the language “if it’s something the employees want” to the beginning of Biencourt’s statement, and you’ll begin to see how your team is feeling.

Times unit chair Gene Balk explained the team’s frustration to Times management. “We realize the sense of urgency with these negotiations and we have had productive conversations,” he said. “But you’re asking for a two-year wage freeze, which you have to concede is a big deal. If we could just go back to our members with something tangible - and we’re open to whatever that might be - then we could cut a deal and this would be over.”

Unfortunately, the company is barely budging, if at all. Guild bargainer Paul Morgan said he was disappointed that while the conversations have been good, the results have been “hollow.”

“The sick leave issue is an example,” he said. “You weren’t willing to commit to the policy in the contract.”

Another issue is the successor clause. The Guild team proposed language that would require any buyer of the Times to honor the Guild’s contract. According to the old proverb, it’s like giving the sleeves off your vest. If the Times isn’t interested in selling, then offering a successor clause shouldn’t be a big deal. Right?

Umm . . .

“We know there is a fear out there,” Biencourt said. “But we believe most rational people aren’t thinking that way.”

“What is the negative for the company?” Guild bargainer Darryl Sclater asked. “Sometimes symbolic gestures carry a lot of weight.”

“We’re negotiating a contract for this owner,” replied Biencourt. “That’s not something we’re here to do.”

“I don’t think that answered my question,” Sclater said.

“That’s not what we’re here to do,“ Biencourt said again. “It’s not our job to eliminate uncertainty.”

The Guild also came back to the table with a new vacation proposal, this one moving the fifth week of vacation to after seven years of service.

“Higher housing prices are forcing more employees out of the city and into long commutes,” Morgan said, lamenting that his commute from Lynnwood got longer because gas prices have forced him onto the bus. “My bus trip often takes me 45 minutes to an hour each way. Conservatively, that’s 18 days per year spent getting to and from work.

“That shortens the time I can spend playing with my son, working on our house or generally being away from the stress of the workday. This year, I used four of my 15 vacation days to do home-improvement projects that I simply could not get done in a weekend. I have taken one weeklong vacation since September. I’m burned out, and I’m not the only one.”

Then Morgan brought up retention, an issue the company will surely be facing in the case of a wage freeze. “The best part about this vacation proposal is, it rewards people who have stuck it out with the Times. The first step to right these issues is, of course, to keep pay in step with the cost of living in this community. The families that work for the Times are being forced out of the city because we can’t afford to live here. And the secondary cost of that is the lost time we spend in traffic that we could have spent with our children and spouses. So you need to take a hard look at the kind of workforce you want.

“Stressed, distracted, unhealthy and looking for a new job? Or rested, grounded, healthy and ready to put in a good day’s work?”

The answer from management on vacation?: “No.”

Retention, said Biencourt, was an issue. But that won’t change the company’s position.

“We respect that people have to make individual decisions,” he said. “We hope people are going to stick with us … But if people can't stick with us through that process, we understand that.”

The company did come with a counterproposal on bereavement leave. Unfortunately, it’s not worth much.

We wanted to add accepted bereavement leave for workers who had suffered the death of a family member who had lived with them. The company wants to add that language as unpaid bereavement leave, which is contingent on a supervisor‘s approval. The company’s main contention is “who pays for it?” Our position: Why give us another handful of air? Workers can already request unpaid leave or vacation time. It’s unlikely a supervisor would deny such a request under those circumstances.

The one proposal the management team agreed to consider involved a swap: We’ll drop our card check and neutrality proposals if they’ll eliminate their proposal to increase the number of union exemptions from one out of 10 to two out of 10.

We expect an answer on Friday, which is the last scheduled meeting between the two groups. The Times has resisted scheduling more meetings with the Guild team. The Guild team is willing to talk until we’re done.

In other news, the company has agreed to the accountant supplied by CWA to look at the Times’ books. That review will happen next week.

In the meantime, we love to hear from members in the comment section, even if they post anonymously. We want to know what you’re thinking.

Like walking up a sand dune

Ever visit the sand dunes in Oregon? It's a beautiful landscape sculpted by the wind into sharp edges and unbelievably smooth hills.

But try walking up one and you'll soon discover you're in for an arduous hike. Every step sends more sand cascading down the hill, and each step only gets you a half-step forward.

The Guild and the Times inched closer to an agreement on Tuesday, but each step yields less progress than we'd like.

Exhibit A: The Times agreed to increase the salary minimums of news researchers, who wanted recognition from the company for the expanded duties they handle in the "information age."

Exhibit B: The company said no to the Guild's new proposal on a severance package. The proposal simply mirrored the package the Times negotiated with the Guild in the 2004 reduction in force. The company's position seems to be that it doesn't want severance in the contract because, as chief negotiator Chris Biencourt said, "we're trying to stabilize the business so that doesn't happen." The Times also argues that any layoffs would trigger "effects" bargaining with the Guild, a process we all know can take time and limit the choices of employees.

We believe the employees of the Times are doing everything THEY can to help the business succeed, and they deserve the security that a guaranteed severance package provides. The unfortunate reality is the employer has a lot more power to make decisions about the bottom line, and it is very often an employer's decision that necessitates layoffs. In short, where is the protection for employees who have worked so hard?

Finally, we acknowledge and applaud the Times' efforts in the past to ease the blow of layoffs. But negotiating a severance package under the gun is not our idea of a good situation. We want it in the contract.

We're back at the table Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon in the Vancouver Room. Members are free to drop by.

A new look for pnwguild.org
Six years is too long to go without a new look on your website in this go-go Internet age. So the Guild has updated its website. Be sure to check it out and give us feedback!

Some barking, some biting

Contract Expiration Day. Normally a time for indigestion.

Instead, we chose digestion.

Mmmmmm, hot dogs. Mmmmmmmmm, solidarity.

Members of your Guild bargaining committee were tickled to see so many of our brethren come to the “Feed Your Watchdog Hot Dog Cookout” on the other side of the Vancouver Room window on Friday. We weren’t just sitting on our buns. The team relished its role as it continued its careful, measured march toward a tasty labor agreement.

(Burrp!)

That bit of hot air passed, let’s get on to what happened in the meeting with Times management!

The good news is we have finally reached agreement on sick leave language in the contract. The not-so-good news is that the company can still change the policy without consulting the employees. Still, we made progress here and we’re pleased that the company was willing to hear our concerns on this issue.

We agreed to this text (underlined is new):

“The publisher retains the right to determine the length of time sick leave benefits shall continue, provided, however that employees under this contract shall benefit from the same sick-pay policy as is made applicable to the Publisher’s managerial and unaffiliated employees. The current formula, which may be changed at the Publisher’s discretion after written notice to the Guild and employees, allows full-time employees ten (10) days (80 hours) of paid sick leave per year of service, less time used, and is pro-rated for employees working less than full time. Unused sick leave is carried forward and builds up to a cap of six months (1,040 hours of the pro-rata equivalent). The Publisher shall periodically post or otherwise notify covered employees of its sick pay policy.”

See, that wasn’t so hard, now was it?

The Guild and management also agreed to place the Job Share agreement in the contract.

The Guild again gave an emphatic NO to the company’s proposal to increase the number of non-union slots from one to two out of 10. If the company wants to use exemptions from union membership as a recruiting tool (and what about using the Guild AS a recruiting tool?), then it should use those slots more judiciously. Like the P-I does, for instance.

One sticking point was the Guild team’s desire to define which employees are eligible for overtime and which are exempt. According to our interpretation of the law and our contract, the only Guild members exempt from OT are outside sales reps. We’re not saying the company has been unfair in the past. We simply believe that employees should not be forced to waive their rights to overtime because the company has determined they should.

After all, that’s why we have the Long Term Flexible Work Agreement in the contract. It’s supposed to be used by the company and employees to come to a fair agreement on compensation when the employee is asked to cover an event that will require odd and excessive hours. (Think elections, Super Bowl, Olympics, investigative.) That keeps everything above board and on the books.

Time chief negotiator Chris Biencourt disagrees with the Guild. He says that columnists and some reporters are exempt from OT now, and that the Times has either simply paid them OT out of expediency or worked out other arrangements. The definition of “some reporters” seems to mirror that famous line about obscenity from Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: We know it when we see it. Biencourt said it’s decided on a case-by-case basis. He says defining a group as the only one to have OT would preclude the company from using the Long Term Flex agreement.

What do you reporters out there think? We need feedback here. Are you exempt? Do you know if you are exempt? Email us at info@pnwguild.org.

The next session between the Guild and the Times is Tuesday. With three sessions next week, we hope to make more progress. But there are still some pieces of the company’s proposal that make us extremely nervous, especially considering the company’s demand for a wage freeze.

Again, we thank you for your support. Hope those dogs were tasty! Have a great weekend.

No, really.
That IS what you're getting paid.

By popular demand, we've figured medians for most of the job titles for which we already posted the (company-calculated) averages. We didn't do two-person titles because in that case, the median IS the average. (We didn't do one-person titles, because figuring an average or median of one number would be silly.)

A median is the middle number in a series of numbers. That means half the numbers in the series are above it and half are below. As with the other set of figures, these numbers are for post-diversion wages (AFTER medical premiums are removed), and should be equivalent to the hourly wage you see on your pay stub.

Advertising
Outside classified sales, 22.07; outside national sales, 24.26; outside retail sales, 22.53; advertising graphic designer, 23.94; targeted products designer, 22.40; sales associate, 16.46; inside sales, 18.01; inside/territory sales classified, 19.50; advertising marketing coordinator, 20.43; sales support assistant, 15.63; senior clerk, 17.48; clerk, 13.06; customer service sales classified, 14.74; commission sales, 0 (no hourly wage; paid on a commission-only basis).

Circulation
District adviser, 24.79; field assistant, 12.45; circulation marketing graphic designer, 23.26; assistant district adviser, 16.54; circulation new business account executive, 21.05; customer service specialist, 16.95; senior clerk, 17.17; zone clerk, 16.44; clerk, 14.79; collections representative, 13.17.

Corporate marketing
Marketing presentation writer, 22.40.

Editorial
Editorial writer, 34.71

News
Assistant art director, 34.69; columnist, 41.03; desk editor, 31.16; news page designer, 28.10; news resident, 17.74; digital production assistant, 18.25; news assistant, 13.70; news artist, 27.15; photographer, 32.46; reporter, 30.83; zone reporter, 23.75; lead news assistant, 18.04; senior clerk, 19.29; news researcher, 23.66.

Operations
Page layout specialist, 22.87; clerk, 14.94.

Here's the post that had the averages, for easy comparison.
(Never let it be said that I'm not a full-service volunteer.)

More wage data TK

Again, apologies for not being able to respond individually to everyone who's written with concerns about Times pay levels and the proposed wage freeze.

We'll calculate median pay to give you a better idea of what the distribution is within job titles and classifications.

In the meantime, please be sure to express your concerns about wages to your managers and to Times Labor Relations so that they know it's not just the bargaining team telling tales.

Thanks for your patience,
Yoko

Composing: Gathering odds and ends

Who knew “housekeeping” could be so much fun?

Guild and Times bargainers in Composing-unit talks spent much of Wednesday’s session clearing away remaining areas of disagreement.

Highlights include:

• The Times withdrew its proposal to reduce associates’ minimum shift length from 5 hours to 4 hours.

• Both sides agreed on a 2-year term, with the contract expiring on Aug. 15, 2008.

• Guild bargainers agreed to accept the same modifications to the substance-abuse addendum as were agreed to in the main Guild unit (Advertising, Circultation, News). Included in this was the company’s withdrawal of its proposal to lower the prohibited blood-alcohol level from .05 to 04.

• Times management withdrew “union-management cooperation” proposals after hearing that members found the language offensive.

In addition, Times management plans on putting together a proposal that would allow Composing-unit members to join the company’s Long-Term Disability plan, if they so choose. Composing members will have the opportunity to attend a presentation on the plan and would vote (separate from contract ratification) on whether to join.

We also discussed sick leave, but management said that sick leave for Composing members was a no-go unless we agreed to roll the Composing contract into the main Guild contract.

Composing-unit Chapel Chair Rena Mefford reiterated members’ position that we’d prefer to maintain the status-quo practice of having the chapel chair be in charge of initial vacation scheduling.

“It’s worked well for years, and the system’s not broken,” Mefford told management reps.

The next Composing-unit session is at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2.

Devil's in the details
Tuesday was one of those mind-numbing days in bargaining where nothing sexy happens. It’s all about gritty details, drooping eyes and parsed language.

But one tentative agreement did create some relief to our members in circulation, who finally received one of the rights enjoyed by the rest of Times employees: Two weeks notice on schedule changes except in unanticipated circumstances. We’ll post that language later.

Sometimes very interesting things can float to the surface on days like Tuesday. Something like this: If you’ve received merit pay any time since 1983 (try to stifle your guffaws) it can be taken away by the company.

It says so right there in the contract, but wouldn’t if the Guild had its way. We proposed to get rid of that clause. The company wants to keep it in.

We also heard loud and clear where the company stands on its employees organizing.

“We will respect the wishes of employees,” Times chief negotiator Chris Biencourt while shooting down the Guild’s proposal that the company remain neutral if unaffiliated employees seek Union representation. “But we will not remain neutral. We want to have a voice. We believe people should have all the facts.”

The Guild team can only imagine what those facts might be.

The company also said no to the Guild’s proposal to increase vacation time, and came back with a counterproposal on sick leave. The Guild team is weighing its options in both cases.

Bargaining continues Friday, the day our contract expires. Be sure to come to our Contract Expiration Day Hot Dog Cookout from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday in front of the Denny Building. We’ll have hot dogs and chips, drinks, stickers and solidarity!

Since you asked...

Some members looked at recently posted Times wage information and wanted to know who's getting paid more: Times or P-I workers.

We compared wage information supplied by both employers, and found that the variance in most cases isn't all that large. (In one category, average wages at the Times and P-I were just 2 cents per hour apart.)

Because the P-I doesn't have separate Circulation or Advertising departments, these comparisons are for news/editorial positions only.

Which paper pays more?

Reporter: P-I
Photographer: Times
Artist: P-I
Layout editor/page designer: P-I
Receptionist: Times
News researcher: Times
Editorial writer: P-I
Desk editor: P-I (But the P-I has both desk editors and copy editors; the Times has no copy editors. When the desk editor and copy editor positions are combined, average wages for these positions are higher at the Times.)

Some positions weren't compared because they didn't have a clear equivalent in the other newsroom.

Parking blues

An e-mail from Times employee Patti Stanley to her co-workers on Wednesday, July 12, 2006:

A while ago, I wrote to the mayor asking about the "rumored" increase in employee parking fees. Finally, today, I received my reply.

His "plan" is described briefly below and he provided a link to review the plan in detail.

Not only are homeowners being gouged (again), but The Seattle Times will be expected to pay $25 for every employee that drives a car to work (I'm wondering if this will be passed on to us????) AND there will be a 10% increase in parking lot fees.

I wrote to the Mayor and advised - though I would love to be able to take public transportation to work, it's not possible because I am required to drive my car every single day in order to conduct my day-to-day business in outside sales. I was virtually ignored.


I fully believe that he should hear feedback about his proposal.

Patti

-----Original Message-----
From: Mayor\'s Office and CSB (imailagent)
[_mailto:CSBandMayor@crm.seattle.gov_]
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 10:25 AM
To: Patti Stanley
Subject: Parking Tax (Intranet Quorum IMA00346520)


Dear Patricia:

Thank you for your email regarding the proposed commercial parking tax.
On May 22, I recommended a 20-year transportation plan called “Bridging
the Gap.” The purpose of this transportation initiative is to eliminate
the city’s transportation maintenance backlog, pave our city’s streets,
repair our aging bridges, provide better bicycle and pedestrian paths,
and improve transit service. I’ve also included funding to make
improvements to some key facilities to maintain access to downtown
during construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project.

The City of Seattle’s transportation system is failing. Statewide
initiatives, court rulings and the inability of gas tax revenues to keep
pace with inflation have substantially decreased dedicated revenues for
local transportation over the last 10 years. Faced with limited options
to raise transportation funds, I joined mayors across the state to ask
the State Legislature for more local funding tools. Unfortunately, we
have not succeeded in this request. This has meant that there are not
enough funds to maintain our city’s transportation infrastructure.

By increasing maintenance of our roads, sidewalks and bridges now, we
can avoid costly replacements of these facilities later. As an example,
the cost of reconstructing deteriorated roads is five times greater than
the cost of maintaining them. The sooner we can obtain funding for
maintenance, the more tax dollars we will save in the future.

*This comprehensive transportation package will be funded by three
sources: first through a property tax, which will cost the average homeowner $195 in the first year; second through a business transportation tax, which employers will pay $25 per employee, but exempted for those employees in transit programs; lastly, through a 10 percent commercial parking tax.*

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, each day 238,500 workers commute to jobs inside Seattle from residences outside the city limits. More than half of these commuters drive their cars and park in the city. These cars place significant demands on the city’s transportation system. In
order to capture the impact these cars have on our roads, I introduced the parking tax to help. Likewise, cities, such as Bremerton, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Pittsburgh have employed this tool for funding maintenance and improvement of their roads and bridges.

I invite you to review the details of my transportation initiative at:
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor.

Thank you again for taking the time to write and express your opinion.
Should you have additional questions, please call Doug Wentworth at
(206) 684-0814.

Sincerely,

GREG NICKELS

Mayor of Seattle

A little something that's been on our minds
In the past, the Times has sought to keep the expiration dates of its labor contracts kept as far apart from each other as possible, as much as two years between contracts. Logistically, this makes a lot of sense, considering there's only one company to negotiate with several unions. Now, all its contracts have been negotiated to expire within an 18 month period. We're not sure how they are going to negotiate so many contracts concurrently, but it certainly makes things tidy!


Already negotiated

Times Mailers (Teamsters 763)

Expires June 30, 2007



Times Press Workers (GCC-Teamsters 767M)

Expires Aug. 31, 2007



Times Truck Drivers (Teamsters 174)

Expires March, 2007



P-I News (Guild-CWA)

Expires July 21, 2008



In negotiation

Mechanics (Teamsters 763)

Adv., Circ, News (Guild-CWA)

Composing (Guild-CWA)



To be negotiated

Times Single Copy (Teamsters 763)

Expires Dec. 31, 2006



Times Color Camera & Platemakers (GCC-Teamsters 767M)

Expired June 15, 2006



Times Paper Handlers (GCC-Teamsters 767M)

Expired June 15, 2006

Big news for the P-I, bogging down at the Times

The big news of the day came not from the bargaining session in the Vancouver Room, but from the P-I the night before.

Unburdened from bargaining with the Times unit, the folks at the P-I have come to a tentative contract agreement with P-I management. Huzzah! More details to come.
The Times session on Friday, in contrast, started on an up note but bogged down as the meeting went on, at time getting downright contentious. We’re one week from expiration with lots more on the table.

The main sticking point? Language proposed by management that, as interpreted by the Guild’s legal counsel, the Guild International and the Guild bargaining team, could give the company sweeping and broad powers that would waive the union’s right to bargain changes in working conditions.

Here’s the proposal from the company:

“All management functions or prerogatives which the Publisher has not modified or restricted by a specific provision of this Agreement are retained and vested exclusively in the Publisher.”

Times management contends that the language in that proposal existed in past contracts with the Guild and was left out of the 2000 contract because of a clerical error. Management proofed and produced the final version of the 2000 contract. Now it seeks to reinsert language that the Guild did not agree to in 2000.

The Times also contends that the same language is present in many other union contracts, including at the P-I.

But the Guild team remains skeptical.

“What is it you wanted to do over the past six years that you couldn’t do (because the language isn‘t in the contract)?” Guild Administrative Officer Liz Brown said. “You wouldn’t propose this if you didn’t think you needed it.”

Times chief negotiation Chris Biencourt listed the 1999 AM conversion as an example, saying the language would only be applied in “fundamental business decisions.”

“We don‘t know what they are,” he said. “But if it has an effect on employees, we have to negotiate the effects (under the law)."

At one point, the discussion turned to how the language seemed to disappear. But Guild negotiator Paul Morgan said he didn’t care about that. “I wasn’t here in 2000,“ he said. “I’m working on the contract that’s in front of me.”

Brown and Guild prez Yoko Kuramoto-Eidsmoe were concerned that the company had given us no good examples of where, when and how this language might be applied. “We are practicing due diligence,” said Brown.

Biencourt returned to his contention that the Times was only seeking the same rights as those enjoyed by other employers.

“If you deserve those same rights, then why don’t we have the same severance package as they have at the P-I?” Morgan said.

Earlier in the session, the company shot down Guild’s quality-of-life proposals to give some relief to workers who start their shift in the hours between midnight and 3 a.m. The Guild team had asked to allow those workers to be exempt from the 2 percent tardiness/absenteeism policy, and to give them eight hours of pay for six hours of work. The latter is a common benefit companies give to workers who endure the night shift.

On a more positive note, we seem close to an agreement to define in the contract who does and doesn’t work flexible schedules.

The next session will take place in the Vancouver Room on Tuesday.

Wages: The real deal

Management isn’t offering wage increases, but we thought you might want to know what people are making (average, highest and lowest pay in each category). Actual pay rates are different from wage scales, after all.

These are post-diversion wage rates. To get actual hourly compensation, add .9976 per hour to what we have here. (That 99 cents an hour is diverted from wages to pay the employee’s share of medical premiums.)

We’ve left out rates for one-person job titles so as not to individually identify any particular person’s pay rate. Small (two- or three-person) groups are reflected as averages only for the same reason.


Advertising

One-person titles: Advertising Special Projects Editor, TMC Outside Sales, Targeted Products Design Specialist, Advertising Design Intake Coordinator, Advertising Training Coordinator, TMC Preprint Coordinator, Classified Front Counter Associate,

Direct Marketing Sales Specialist average: 22.30; Outside Classified Sales average: 21.15 (high, 24.26; low,16.69); Outside National Sales average: 23.58 (high, 24.26; low, 19.76); Outside Retail Sales average: 21.78 (high, 24.26; low, 16.69); Advertising Copy Writer average: 22.03; Advertising Graphic Designer: 24.35 (high, 27.48; low, 22.40); Targeted Products Designer average: 21.63 (high, 23.75; low,18.73); Sales Associate average: 16.05 (high, 18.52; low, 15.21); Inside Sales average: 17.75 (high, 19.50; low, 15.43); Inside/Territory Sales average: 18.24 (high, 20.33; low, 15.43); Advertising Marketing Coordinator average: 21.22 (high, 22.82; low, 20.43); Advertising Preprint Coordinator average: 19.26; Direct Marketing Production Coordinator average: 21.68; Sales Support Assistant average: 15.02 (high, 15.63; low, 14.09); Senior Clerk average: 16.69 (high, 17.48; low, 15.09); Clerk average: 13.06; Customer Service Sales Classified average: 14.60 (high, 15.63; low, 12.83); Commission Sales average: 0 (no hourly wage; they’re paid commission only)


Circulation

One-person titles: Circulation Marketing Copy Writer, Circulation Marketing Production Coordinator, Project Support Coordinator, Statistician, NIE Specialist,

District Adviser average: 24.75 (high, 26.54; low, 23.34); Field Assistant average: 12.06 (high, 12.45; low, 10.95); Circulation Marketing Graphic Designer average: 22.94 (high, 24.76; low, 20.80); Assistant District Adviser: 16.99 (high, 19.54; low, 14.67); Circulation New Business Account Executive average: 20.65 (high, 21.05; 19.45); Sales Development & Promotion Coordinator average: 19.89; Alternate Product Administrator average: 16.31; Customer Service Specialist average: 16.44 (high, 18.03; low, 14.01); Senior Clerk average: 17.68 (high, 20.25; low, 15.04); Zone Clerk average: 16.72 (high, 18.62; low, 15.63); Clerk average: 14.83 (high, 16.20; low, 13.54); Collections Representative average: 13.31 (high, 14.62; low, 12.53)


Corporate Marketing

One-person titles: Copy Writer, Marketing Production Coordinator, Traffic Coordinator

Graphic Designer average: 24.18; Marketing Presentation Writer average: 21.15 (high, 23.75; low, 17.28); Research Analyst average: 22.58


Editorial

One-person title: Editorial Cartoonist

Desk Editor average: 29.06; Editorial Writer average: 34.73 (high, 35.97; low, 33.76)


News

One-person titles: Book Editor, Pacific Northwest Art Director, Pacific Northwest Associate Editor, Newsroom Aide, News Marketing Coordinator, Computer-Assisted Reporting Specialist, Home Economist, Listing Coordinator, Resale & Permissions Specialist II, Receptionist

Assistant Art Director average: 32.02 (high, 35.14; low, 26.22); Columnist average: 41.74 (high, 48.83; low, 35.10); Desk Editor average: 30.16 (high, 34.83; low, 21.02); News Page Designer average: 28.23 (high, 37.56; low, 23.86); News Resident average: 17.33 (high, 17.74; low, 16.52); Resale & Permissions Specialist I average: 19.67; Digital Production Assistant average: 18.79 (high, 22.84; low, 15.27); News Assistant average: 14.40 (high, 18.74; low, 13.38); News Artist average: 27.94 (high, 34.27; low, 23.26); Photographer average: 31.19 (high, 37.19; low, 23.26); Reporter average: 30.82 (high, 44.51; low, 22.40); Zone Reporter average: 24.09 (high, 25.94; low, 23.26); Lead News Assistant average: 18.31 (high, 22.42; low, 15.50); Senior Clerk average: 18.89 (high, 21.03; low, 16.36); News Researcher average: 23.67


Operations

One-person titles: Ad Services Lead, Statistician
Page Layout Specialist average: 23.34 (high, 26.70; low, 21.05); Clerk average: 15.06 (high, 15.63; low, 14.94)