Some 530 members of Toronto 100M overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract with the Toronto Star.

The new contract for the press, plate, and mailing bargaining units represented by Local 100M includes improvements in wages and benefits. The pact also maintains the mailers' current staffing levels, which management had targeted for reduction.

The new pact features a unique "living agreement" aspect that provides for the union and management to talk during the next three years about issues expected to be on the table during the next round of bargaining. The contract also was the first negotiated with the assistance of the Teamsters Newspaper Division.

The contract was hammered out by a joint council of unions that included the GCC/IBT; Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), which represents photoengravers; International Association of Machinists; and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Local 100M Pres. Brian Fletcher said the negotiations were "the toughest I've been involved in. The company was very aggressive in many areas. Everyone was being attacked on the benefits. We finally reached a deal in the witching hour."

The 112-year old Toronto Star is the largest daily newspaper in Canada, with a weekday circulation of nearly 464,000. The paper is owned by Torstar Corp., a multimedia company that also owns other daily, weekly and monthly publications, television properties, and websites.

Negotiations on the new contract took nearly nine months. In early April, negotiators began round-the-clock bargaining with a mediator that lasted 17 days. The bargaining committees and the company finally struck a tentative agreement in the early morning hours of April 18.

Assisting Local 100M with negotiations were Joe Molinero, director of the IBT Newspaper, Magazine and Electronic Media Workers Division; John Peralta, IBT international representative; and Mike Huggins, GCC/IBT representative.

Local 100M Exec. Vice Pres. Tom Donnelly said the negotiations were "absolutely the toughest in my 25 years of bargaining. The council did a fantastic job of sticking together."

Donnelly said the "Teamsters presence there made a big difference. Their experience was very beneficial. Some of the their ideas were unique, and we used some of them."

Fletcher said there "was a learning curve" when the Teamsters entered the bargaining because "we have a very different style. But so far it seems to be very positive."

In a press release, Molinero said: "We are very pleased with the success of this contract. It helps build a solid foundation for future collaborations."

Peralta said the bargaining "committee is one of the best I've seen. They have a very progressive way of approaching negotiations and knowledge of department operations that was invaluable to the final outcome of this contract."

Donnelly said the "living agreement" part of the new pact is "a great idea. . . . We highly recommend it."

Instead of trying to deal with management's plans to change hours, manning and wage rates during regular contract bargaining, union representatives can sit down and "discuss with management what they intend for the future. . . . We can take it back to the membership and tell them what is going on. . . . This gives us a chance to look at where the Star is going and come up with our own ideas. What it is actually doing is giving us a chance to have some input into the company's way of thinking," Donnelly said.

Fletcher added that, if the unions and management can reach agreement during these talks, so much the better. But if they don't, he said, at least there will be fewer surprises on the table at the next round of negotiations. "We're taking the position that forewarned is forearmed," he said.

Donnelly explained that one of the issues to be explored during the "living agreement" talks is voluntary severance packages (VSPs) in return for staffing and wage rate changes. He said any possible voluntary buyout packages for the mail and plating units would have to differ for the press unit because the press contract includes language requiring specific manning levels.

Fletcher and Donnelly said Molinero and Peralta of the Teamsters have indicated they want to be involved in the "living agreement" discussions. "Hopefully it's something the whole GCC/IBT can look at and they want to be involved," Donnelly said.

Other provisions of the new Star contract include:

• Wage increases of 2.5 percent the first two years.
• Wage increases ranging from 1.5 to 3.0 percent in 2007, based upon inflation in the Toronto area.
• Pension upgrades.
• Changes to health benefits that include an $8 cap on dispensing fees.
• Provisions for platemakers to receive paid education if new technology–such as computer to press–is introduced.

Committee members negotiating with the Toronto Star included, seated from left: Joanne Marsh, mail unit; Joe Molinero, director of the IBT Newspaper, Magazine and Electronic Media Workers Division; Toronto 100M Exec. Vice Pres. Tom Donnelly and Pres. Brian Fletcher; and Kevin Logan and Judy Diamond, press unit. Standing from left are: Terry Banks, mail unit; John Peralta, IBT international representative; Chris Grabb, plate unit; Mike Huggins, GCC/IBT representative; Frank Mandarino, mail unit; George Pomorski, plate unit; Glen Wilson, press unit; Jack Gibson, mail unit; and David Gibson, press unit.