Agreement between

MINNESOTA NEWSPAPER GUILD/TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION CWA LOCAL 37002

and

STAR TRIBUNE

Effective August 1, 2008 to and including July 31, 2011

PREAMBLE

This Agreement is made this 15th day of September, 2008, between the Star Tribune, hereinafter known as the Publisher, and the Minnesota Newspaper Guild/Typographical Union, a local chartered by the CWA, hereinafter known as the Guild, for itself and on behalf of all the employees of the Publisher (except those herein excluded) employed in the News and Editorial Departments of the Star Tribune including the Sunday Tribune, employed in the Sales Development/Promotion Department doing art and creative work, and all Metro District Sales Managers in the Metro Circulation Department, and no others.

The Publisher recognizes the Guild as the duly authorized collective bargaining agent for said employees. The jurisdiction of the Guild is defined as all work presently being performed for the Publisher by the employees covered by this Agreement, and the performance of such work shall be assigned to employees within the Guild's jurisdiction. It is the intent of the parties that this Agreement shall not alter the jurisdiction of the Guild as established by present practice.

It is agreed that the performance of fact‑gathering, writing, photography or editing for electronic distribution of news material is within the Guild's jurisdiction in the same way as comparable work now performed for the News and Editorial Departments of the Star Tribune. It is understood that the Guild's jurisdiction over electronic news material ceases when such material is transmitted from the Library or the News and Editorial Departments of the Star Tribune.

References in this Agreement to the masculine and feminine genders are used interchangeably and apply equally to both genders.

ARTICLE I‑‑EXCEPTIONS

1. This Agreement shall not apply to: Executive Editor/Editor, Executive Assistants, Associate Editors, Managing Editors, Deputy Managing Editors, Assistant Managing Editors, three News Editors, Editorial Page Editor, Deputy Editor, Editorial Page, St. Paul City Editor, Sports Editor, Foreign Correspondents, Washington Correspondents, New York Correspondent, Director of Photography, Marketing Creative Leader, Associate Creative Directors, Director of Strategic and News Research, Editor, startribune.com, Deputy Editor, startribune.com, Technology Director, 1A Coordinator, Features Editor (1), Recruiting and Training Coordinator, Night News Editor, Deputy Photo Director (1), Deputy Local News Editor (1), Deputy Business Editor (1), Deputy Sports Editor (1), Director, Copy Editing (1), Head Librarian, Assistant Librarian, Electronic News System Coordinator, Survey Specialist and the Administration Specialists, Employment Training Specialists and Executive Secretaries of any of them. Occasional part‑time and temporary employees shall be excluded, likewise, except as to wages, hours and overtime as provided in Article XIII.

2. This Agreement shall apply to regular part‑time employees only as specifically provided in Article XIII.

3. The following are exempt from the provisions relative to the five‑day week and payment of overtime: St. Paul Bureau Chief and Women's Editors.

4. If the Publisher creates during the term of this Agreement a new position in any department represented by the Guild, and if the Publisher asserts that the new position should be excluded from Guild representation, then the following procedures shall apply:

a. The Guild shall be given notice of the new excluded position within fifteen (15) days of its creation.

b. The Guild may initiate discussions with the Publisher to discuss and/or challenge the excluded designation.

c. In the event of a failure of the parties to reach an agreement on the status of the newly created position, the matter may be moved to arbitration pursuant to Article XI of the Agreement.

d. Failure of the Guild to move to arbitration the question of the status of the newly created position within ninety days of receiving notice pursuant to paragraph 1 above shall waive the Guild’s right to challenge the excluded designation.

5. If the Publisher fills any of the following newly created and vacant exempt positions - Deputy Photo Director, Deputy Local News Editor, Deputy Business Editor, Deputy Sports Editor, Director, Copy Editing, Features Editor – with a bargaining unit employee, the Publisher shall fill the vacancy created by the bargaining unit employee filling the exempt position.

ARTICLE II‑‑ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION

1. In conjunction with the 1980 negotiations, the Publisher agreed to extend certain new jurisdictional rights to the Guild regarding the preparation of news material for electronic distribution. Those jurisdictional concessions are set forth elsewhere in this Agreement.

2. The Publisher shall, within the framework of the existing joint Guild Management Committee in: (1) the newsroom of the Star Tribune, (2) the Library and (3) the Metropolitan Circulation Department endeavor to provide as early and as complete information as possible regarding proposed experimental electronic news distribution systems.

3. It is anticipated that Guild representatives on said committees will make all reasonable effort to provide such input and advice regarding the most mutually beneficial way of planning and moving into experimentation with and implementation of electronic news distribution in the same manner as Guild members did in the successful mutual effort to introduce the Atex Systems into the Publisher's newsroom.

4. The management of the Metropolitan Circulation Department, including the Manager of said department, shall meet with Guild representatives as feasible and upon request to apprise the Guild when and if there is a reasonable probability of implementation of any electronic distribution system which would have a measurable impact on the need for District Sales Managers within the department.

ARTICLE III‑‑UNION SECURITY

1. All employees covered by this Agreement who are members of the Newspaper Guild of the Twin Cities on August 1, 2008, the effective date of this Agreement, and all employees who become members thereof on or after said date, shall, as a condition of employment, maintain their membership in the Guild for the duration of this Agreement in the manner and to the extent permitted by law.

2. Upon an employee's voluntary written assignment, the Publisher shall deduct per payroll period from the payroll period's earnings of such employee and pay to the Guild not later than two weeks following that pay period an amount equal to Guild initiation fees, dues and assessments. Such amounts shall be deducted from the employee's earnings in accordance with the Guild rate furnished the Publisher by the Guild. Such schedule may be amended by the Guild at any time. An employee's voluntary written assignment shall remain effective in accordance with the terms of such assignment.

The dues deductions assignment shall be made upon the following form:

ASSIGNMENT

and

AUTHORIZATION TO DEDUCT GUILD MEMBERSHIP DUES

To: Star Tribune

I hereby assign to the Newspaper Guild of the Twin Cities, from any salary or wages earned or to be earned by me as your employee, an amount equal to all Guild initiation fees, dues and assessments lawfully levied against me by the Guild for each payroll period following the date of this assignment as certified by the Treasurer of the Newspaper Guild of the Twin Cities.

I hereby authorize and request you to check‑off and deduct such amounts from each payroll period for which such initiation fees, dues and assessments are levied and the Guild so notified you, from any earnings then standing to my credit as your employee, and to remit the amount deducted to the Newspaper Guild of the Twin Cities.

This assignment and authorization shall remain in effect until revoked by me, but shall be irrevocable for a period of one year from the date appearing below or until the termination of the collective bargaining agreement between yourself and the Guild, whichever occurs sooner. I further agree and direct that this assignment and authorization shall be renewed automatically and shall be irrevocable for successive periods of one year each or for the period of each succeeding applicable collective agreement between yourself and the Guild, whichever period shall be shorter, unless written notice of its revocation is given by me to yourself and to the Guild by registered mail, or delivered to the Guild office in person, not more than thirty (30) days and not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the expiration of each period of one year, or of each applicable collective agreement between yourself and the Guild, whichever occurs sooner. Such notice of revocation shall become effective for the calendar month following the calendar month in which you receive it.

Date___________ Employee's Signature_____________________

3. Not fewer than four (4) of five (5) new employees hired after August 1, 2008, as "A" classification or "H" classification employees on the Star Tribune, as Metro Circulation District Manager, as Coordinators and Copy Specialist in the Sales Development/Promotion Department, as Senior Creative employees in the Sales Development/Promotion Department, as Artists in the Sales Development/Promotion Department, as Night Supervisors in the Library, as Classifiers or Researchers in the Library, as Assistants in the Library, as Lab Assistants, either color or black and white, in the Photo Lab, and as News Assistants, Receptionists, Typists, Clerks or Copy Aides in the News Departments, shall, as a condition of employment, become members of the Guild not later than thirty (30) days after the date of their employment, and shall maintain their membership in the Guild for the duration of this Agreement in the manner and to the extent permitted by law. Notice of exclusion of any such new employee from compulsory union membership must be given to the Guild by the Publisher within ten (10) days after the date of commencement of employment of such new employee. Any one new employee out of each five hired in each department represented by the Guild may be excluded from the compulsory union membership requirement. In the event that no exclusion is requested in any group of five new employees in any such department, the Guild will give favorable consideration to a request from the Publisher for an added exclusion in any such department at some subsequent date.

4. In the event of dismissal by the Publisher of an employee by reason of the requirements of this Article, the Publisher shall be relieved of all obligations to such employee under this Agreement as they relate to dismissal pay and vacation pay.

ARTICLE IV‑‑WAGES

1. GENERAL INCREASE. All employees earning more than the minimum wage rate for their classification, based on rates in effect in the Agreement signed by the parties on September 15, 2008, shall receive effective December 1, 2009, June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2011, a general increase that is equal to the appropriate scale increase set out below in the minimum rate for their classification. Effective June 1, 2010, if, at any time specified for any general increase, the rate of pay of any employee is more than 110% of the appropriate minimum wage scale applicable to that employee on the date such general increase is to become effective, then such employee shall not necessarily receive a general increase.

2. MINIMUM WAGE SCALES. In the application of this Agreement, employees shall be divided into the classifications set forth below. Employees shall be paid at bi‑weekly intervals. Effective on the dates indicated below, the minimum weekly wage for full‑time employees in each classification, based on their years of experience therein, shall not be less than set forth in the following minimum wage scale:

A.	Writers, Reporters, Copy Editors, Photographers, and Graphics Artists:
		1^st year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
8/1/2008		714.00	831.00	949.50	1,067.50	1,185.25	1,344.00
12/1/2009		723.00	841.50	961.25	1,080.75	1,200.00	1,360.75
6/1/2010		730.25	849.75	971.00	1,091.75	1,212.00	1,374.50
1/1/2011		741.00	862.50	985.50	1,108.00	1,230.25	1,395.00

B.	Reference Librarians:
	1st year	2nd Year	3rd Year
8/1/2008	939.00	1,079.75	1,137.00
12/1/2009	950.75	1,093.25	1,151.25
6/1/2010	960.25	1,104.25	1,162.75
1/1/2011	974.75	1,120.75	1,180.25

C.	Library Classifiers and Researchers
	1st year	2nd Year	3rd Year	4th Year	5th Year
8/1/2008	633.00	702.00	770.75	825.75	877.50
12/1/2009	641.00	710.75	780.50	836.00	888.50
6/1/2010	647.25	718.00	788.25	844.50	897.25
1/1/2011	657.00	728.75	800.00	857.00	910.75

D.	Photo Lab Assistants:
	1st year	2nd Year	3rd Year	4th Year	5th Year
8/1/2008	630.50	726.25	821.25	917.00	1,043.75
12/1/2009	638.50	735.25	831.50	928.50	1,056.75
6/1/2010	644.75	742.75	839.75	937.75	1,067.25
1/1/2011	654.50	753.75	852.50	951.75	1,083.50

F.	Receptionists, Typists, Clerks:
	1^st year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year
8/1/2008	599.25	624.75	649.50	675.50	718.00
12/1/2009	606.75	632.50	657.50	684.00	727.00
6/1/2010	612.75	639.00	664.25	690.75	734.25
1/1/2011	622.00	648.50	674.25	701.25	745.25

H.	Asst. News Editors, Assist. City Editors, Team Leaders, Asst. Sports Editors, Asst. Features Editors, Copy Desk Chiefs, Photo Editor, Sunday Editor, Design Director, State Editor, Travel Editors, Books Editor, Culture Editors, Support Staff Leader, Assistant Design Directors, StarTribune.com Design Editor.
	1st year
8/1/2008	1,481.75
12/1/2009	1,500.25
6/1/2010	1,515.25
1/1/2011	1,538.00

I.	Sales Development/Promotion Coordinators and Copy Specialists:
	1st year	2nd Year	3rd Year	4th Year	5th Year	6th Year
8/1/2008	714.00	831.00	949.50	1,067.50	1,185.25	1,344.00
12/1/2009	723.00	841.50	961.25	1,080.75	1,200.00	1,360.75
6/1/2010	730.25	849.75	971.00	1,091.75	1,212.00	1,374.50
1/1/2011	741.00	862.50	985.50	1,108.00	1,230.25	1,395.00

J.	Metro Circulation District Managers:
	1st year	2nd Year	3rd Year	4th Year	5th Year	6th Year
8/1/2008	701.75	792.25	873.50	955.00	1,038.75	1,239.25
12/1/2009	710.50	802.25	884.50	967.00	1,051.75	1,254.75
6/1/2010	717.75	810.25	893.25	976.50	1,062.25	1,267.25
1/1/2011	728.50	822.25	906.75	991.25	1,078.25	1,286.25

K.	Designers and Layout Editors, including Page One Designers:
8/1/2008	750.50	873.50	998.25	1,122.25	1,246.00	1,412.75
12/1/2009	760.00	884.50	1,010.75	1,136.25	1,261.50	1,430.50
6/1/2010	767.50	893.25	1,020.75	1,147.75	1,274.25	1,444.75
1/1/2011	779.00	906.75	1,036.25	1,164.75	1,293.25	1,466.50

N.	News Assistants:
	1st year	2nd Year	3rd Year	4th Year	5th Year
8/1/2008	633.00	702.00	770.75	825.75	877.50
12/1/2009	641.00	710.75	780.50	836.00	888.50
6/1/2010	647.25	718.00	788.25	844.50	897.25
1/1/2011	657.00	728.75	800.00	857.00	910.75
T.	Graphics Composition Technician:
	1st year	2nd Year	3rd Year	4th Year	5th Year
8/1/2008	865.00	931.00	997.25	1,063.50	1,129.00
12/1/2009	875.75	942.75	1,009.75	1,076.75	1,143.00
6/1/2010	884.50	952.00	1,019.75	1,087.50	1,154.50
1/1/2011	897.75	966.25	1,035.00	1,104.00	1,171.75

3 (a). The night rates for classifications A, B, C, D, F, H, K, N and T shall be determined by adding to the appropriate day rates the amounts set opposite each of said classifications as set forth.

A&I

A: Writers, Reporters, Copy Editors, Photographers, and Graphics Artists:

I: Sales Development/Promotion Coordinators and Copy Specialists:

1^st Year

2^nd Year

3^rd Year

4^th Year

5^th Year

6^th Year

8.50

11.65

13.80

B	Reference Librarians:
	1^st Year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
	10.25	10.25	10.25

C	Library Classifiers and Researchers:
	1^st Year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
	6.95	6.95	6.95	8.30	8.30

D	Photo Lab Assistants:
	1^st Year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
	6.55	7.65	8.60	9.70	10.90

F	Receptionists, Typists, Clerks:
	1^st Year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
	5.55	5.75	5.95	6.15	6.55

H	Asst. News Editors, Asst. City Editors, Team Leaders, Asst. Sports Editors, Asst. Features Editors, Copy Desk Chiefs, Photo Editors, Sunday Editor, Design Director, State Editor, Travel Editors, Books Editor, Culture Editors, Support Staff Leader, Assistant Design Directors, StarTribune.com Design Editor.
	1^st Year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
	15.20
K	Designers and Layout Editors, including Page One Designers:
	1^st Year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
	8.90	8.90	8.90	12.25	12.25	14.50

N	News Assistants:
	1^st Year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
	7.05	7.05	7.05	8.30	8.30

T	Graphics Composition Technician:
	1^st Year	2^nd Year	3^rd Year	4^th Year	5^th Year	6^th Year
	8.30	8.95	9.55	10.20	10.75

3(b). News and Editorial Department employees whose schedule requires them to work after 8 p.m. or before 6 a.m. for an entire work week shall be paid the night rate for that week. In addition, News and Editorial Department employees whose regular working schedule consistently requires them to work a shift that extends after 8 p.m. or begins before 6 a.m. shall be paid the night rate for that shift. In no case shall employees receive the night rate if such hours are overtime hours compensated for at one and one‑half times the hourly day rate.

4. The classification into which an employee falls shall be determined by the duties performed by the employee during the major part of his weekly working time. If during any week an employee works one or two full days in a higher classification, he shall be paid at least the minimum for the higher classification for each of such full days worked or if he works three or more full days in any such week in a higher classification, he shall be paid at least the minimum for the higher classification for the entire week.

(a) An employee who performs 40 or more hours of higher classification work in the H‑scale during a two week pay period shall be paid at least the minimum for the H‑scale for each hour of such work, in addition to the terms described above.

(b) An employee who performs three or more hours of higher classification work in any scale other than the H‑scale shall be paid at least the minimum for the higher classification for each hour of such work, in addition to the terms described above.

(c) An employee who is scheduled and/or assigned by the publisher or designated manager to perform a majority of work in a higher classification during any 26‑week period shall be reclassified to the higher classification. This provision shall not apply in those cases where an employee is reassigned temporarily to fill a vacancy created by a leave of absence, extended sick leave or special project that extends one month or more. (In such case, the 26‑week period may be extended to accommodate the duration of the reassignment so that, in effect, time spent filling such vacancies would not count against an employee who otherwise might have qualified for a reclassification.)

In modifying Article IV, Section 4 above, it is understood that the current practice of hiring and assigning full shifts of work, including H‑scale work, shall continue.

Further, it is understood that as part of this Agreement, bargaining unit members occasionally may work in a higher classification without being compensated at the higher rate for each hour worked, but not a majority of the time without receiving said higher rate, according to the terms described herein.

5. There will be no reduction in pay for the life of this Agreement, subject to the following exceptions:

(a) Transfer from night work to day work.

(b) Transfer made at the request of the employee.

(c) Transfer from a higher-paying classification to a lower-paying classification (i) for reasons of economy, or (ii) in the event of a transfer for just and sufficient cause.

(d) A new pay basis for an employee may be negotiated with the Guild in the event the employee is transferred to a different position with lesser responsibilities within the same classification or in the event a reduction in pay is warranted for just and sufficient cause.

6. All wage rates set forth in this Agreement are minimum wages; however, nothing expressed herein shall in any way prohibit the Publisher from recognizing individual merit by the payment of wages in excess of said minimums to those employees, who, in the Publisher's judgment, are entitled thereto at such time and in such amounts as the Publisher shall determine.

ARTICLE V‑‑BEGINNERS AND EXPERIENCE RATINGS

1. In all classifications herein, proved experience on other daily newspapers, news and press associations and news picture services, and any other mutually agreed qualifying experience, shall be given fair consideration, and the number of years of experience agreed upon between the employee and the Publisher shall be reported by the Publisher to the Guild in writing at time of hiring.

2. Of the total number of employees in the News and Editorial Departments, not more than eight (8) percent shall be of less than one year's experience, except if persons of more than one year's experience satisfactorily in competence are not available for any specific situation, the limitation in this section shall not apply.

3. Of the total number of Metro District Managers, not more than twenty (20) percent shall be of less than one year's experience, except if persons of more than one year's experience satisfactorily in competence are not available, the limitation in this section shall not apply.

ARTICLE VI‑‑HOURS

1. The following provisions shall apply to the News, Editorial and Sales Development/Promotion Departments:

(a) The 40‑hour week shall apply to all employees in these departments and, except as provided hereafter, it shall be a five‑day week, the two days off each week to be consecutive whenever possible.

(b) Except as provided hereafter, the working day shall consist of not more than eight hours, to be scheduled within nine consecutive hours.

(c) The eight‑hour day need not be worked within nine hours by sports reporters who with the consent of the Guild schedule their own hours.

(d) Suburban and police reporters may be scheduled to work a four‑day week consisting of four ten‑hour days, and only work in excess of 10 hours per day or 40 hours per week shall be construed as overtime.

(e) Normal working days and working hours shall be regularly scheduled thirteen (13) days preceding the week of operation, and work required at hours not scheduled at least ten (10) days preceding the week of operation shall be considered overtime, except that in a major emergency the Guild will waive this requirement.

(f) All time actually worked in excess of nine hours per day or 40 hours per week shall be construed as overtime and shall be compensated for at the rate of time and one‑half, payable in cash, except that an employee on his own motion, and if agreeable to the Publisher, may take compensating time off in lieu thereof. Overtime shall be worked only when required by the Publisher or authorized by proper supervisors. For time worked in excess of eight hours but less than nine hours on any given day, the Publisher may direct the employee to take compensating time off during the week in which that day occurred or in the following week. The parties agree that this provision shall be used as a means of controlling overtime costs and not as a basis for scheduling 9-hour shifts. An employee called back to work after completing his regular working day, and having left the place of his employment, shall be paid $2.50 and time and one‑half for actual overtime worked. When an employee is called to work on his regular day or days off, he shall receive, as a minimum, pay in an amount equal to eight hours at straight time. Out‑of‑town assignments shall be considered individually and on their merits as they concern overtime pay.

(g) The Publisher shall keep a record of all overtime and shall furnish to the employee concerned duplicate blanks for reporting such overtime, one copy of which shall be retained by the employee.

(h) Sections 1(b) and 1(f) of this Article shall not apply in situations in which (1) the employee requests and the Publisher agrees to a flexible scheduling arrangement or to an arrangement wherein the employee may work a portion of a shift at home, or (2) the Publisher makes such a request of an employee and the employee and Publisher mutually agree to the request. Either the employee or the Publisher, subject to the scheduling requirements set forth in this Article may terminate any such flexible scheduling arrangement. At the request of the Guild, the Publisher shall inform the Guild of any flexible scheduling arrangements which have been mutually agreed upon.

(i) Subject to approval by the Publisher, employees may reduce their work week for a designated period not to exceed 12 months. In the event of a business need, the Publisher may require the employee to return to his or her former status before the designated period ends. Thirty days prior to the expiration of the designated period, the employee shall notify the Publisher if the employee elects to return to his or her former status at the end of the designated period. If the employee fails to provide such notice or elects not to return to his or her former status at that time, any future change in the employee’s hours shall be at the discretion of the publisher.

2. The following provisions shall apply to the Metro District Managers:

(a) The regular work week shall consist of five days. Time worked in excess of 40 hours per week or eight hours per day shall be compensated at the rate of time and one‑half for actual time worked, payable in cash, except that an employee on his own motion, and if agreeable to the Publisher, may take compensating time off in lieu thereof.

(b) Time spent by Metro District Managers with carriers in supervising recreational activities and/or in connection with promotional awards shall be counted as time worked when sponsored and authorized by the Publisher.

(d) Normal working days shall be regularly scheduled twenty days preceding the week of operation and work required on days not scheduled shall be considered overtime, except that in a major emergency the Guild will waive their requirement. Normal working hours shall be scheduled thirteen days preceding the week of operation and work required on days not scheduled shall be considered overtime, except that in a major emergency the Guild will waive this requirement.

(e) Employees shall keep a record, in duplicate, on blanks to be furnished by the Publisher, showing hours worked each day of the week and total hours worked for the week. Once a week a copy of such record of time worked shall be turned in to the Publisher.

(f) The working day shall consist of not more than eight hours, to be scheduled within 10 consecutive hours and all work in excess of eight hours shall be construed as overtime.

3. If an employee is required at any time by the Publisher to start work on any shift for which he is scheduled within ten (10) hours immediately following the end of his last scheduled shift worked (excluding any overtime thereon), he shall be paid time and one‑half for the time worked prior to the lapse of said 10‑hour period. This provision shall not apply in the circumstances where an employee schedules his own hours with the consent of the Publisher and the Guild.

4. Those copy editors, page layout editors and wire editors who, consistently, work full shifts for the entire work week editing copy or performing layout work at a computer terminal shall, during the term of this Agreement, receive during each day at the work place, at least two (2) separate breaks. The breaks shall total one and one‑half hours (1 1/2) hours duration, including the meal break. The scheduling and timing of breaks shall be at the discretion of the Publisher and the Publisher shall designate those employees eligible for breaks.

Employees receiving work breaks as set out herein shall receive such breaks except when manpower shortages, major news events, severe weather problems or other similar emergencies make the granting of such breaks incompatible with the production requirements of the newspaper.

The total length of the work day shall not be altered and employees receiving such breaks are subject to the normal scheduling, overtime and other provisions set out elsewhere in this collective bargaining agreement. The employees who receive work breaks as provided herein will vary depending upon whether or not their jobs entail continuous work on computer terminals over a period of time.

ARTICLE VII‑‑HOLIDAYS

1. There shall be eight (8) recognized holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4^th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day (or the days officially celebrated as such) and two floating holidays each calendar year. The dates of such floating holidays shall be mutually agreed upon by the employee and his manager or supervisor. The employee's floating holidays may not be carried over from year to year but must be used during the year they occur.

2. Holiday shifts shall be the day shift worked on the day of observance. The night holiday shift shall be the night of the day of observance; except, Christmas and New Year's shall be celebrated, on the nightside, on the eve of the holiday.

3. Any employee whose regular day off falls on such a holiday shall be given a compensating day off. Any employee who is required to work on such a holiday shall, in addition to his regular day's pay, be given a compensating day off and shall be paid one and one‑half (1½) times his regular rate of pay for any time worked in excess of five and one‑third (5 1/3) hours on such a holiday. Provided that Metro Circulation District Managers who work on a holiday may, on appropriate notice, elect to not take the compensating day off and will then receive an added day's pay at straight‑time rates in the financial week in which the holiday occurs.

4. No less than six (6) weeks in advance of each holiday, the Publisher shall post requests for volunteers to work on holidays, and shall utilize such volunteers, if the Publisher deems them acceptable to perform the work, when establishing work schedules for holidays.

ARTICLE VIII‑DISMISSAL PAY

1. Upon dismissal, except for proven dishonesty or gross neglect of duty, an employee shall receive cash dismissal pay in a lump sum equal to one week's pay for employees of twenty‑six (26) weeks' continuous service and one additional week's pay for each additional twenty‑six (26) weeks of continuous service or major fraction thereof, up to and including a maximum of forty (40) week's pay, such pay to be computed at the highest rate of pay received by the employee during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding his dismissal. The term gross neglect of duty shall include, but not be limited to, conduct constituting gross or repeated insubordination, provided that in cases of this nature, the standards and concept of gross neglect of duty shall be met. The period of service to be used for computing dismissal pay under this clause shall include only service rendered in the employ of the Star Tribune and shall not include service rendered in the employ of any other person or corporation.

Assignment to Washington Bureau service shall not constitute a break in employment.

The merger, consolidation, financial reorganization, reincorporation or change of name of the newspaper does not constitute a severance of employment, and no dismissal payment shall be made provided the employee is offered the opportunity of continuing his employment at equivalent salary with the merged, consolidated, reorganized, reincorporated or newly named newspaper, and provided further that the record of past service of the employee while working for the newspaper is recognized and assumed in writing to the employee and continued by the Publisher of said merged, consolidated, reorganized, reincorporated or newly named newspaper.

If the Star Tribune should be sold or leased to an outside interest, then each employee covered by this Agreement, who is at the time of such sale or lease working for the publication sold or leased, shall have a period of five days within which to decide whether or not he wishes to continue as an employee of the said sold or leased publication. If he decides in the affirmative, and upon written assumption to him of dismissal pay liability by the new owners of said sold or leased publication for the length of service of the employee while working for the Star Tribune the liability for dismissal pay upon the part of the Star Tribune shall terminate and cease. If, however, said employee concludes that he does not wish to continue working for said sold or leased publication under its new outside ownership, then said employee may resign within the five‑day period and his resignation will in such instance, unless he is thereupon offered work at an equivalent salary, with continuous service record, on one of the remaining Minneapolis publications owned by the Star Tribune be construed as dismissal, by the Star Tribune and dismissal payment will be promptly made.

"Outside interest" is defined as new ownership of which the major part is held by others than the Star Tribune and individuals who then are, or immediately prior to the transaction were executives, employees or stockholders of the Star Tribune.

2. In the event an employee is dismissed and paid dismissal pay, and is later rehired before the expiration of the period covered by the dismissal pay, the employee shall refund the unexpired portion to the Publisher. Thereupon the employee shall resume his continuous service status as at the date of dismissal. If necessary, such refund may be made in installments to be determined by mutual agreement.

3. Upon the death of an employee, the amount of dismissal indemnity he would have been entitled to upon dismissal, but not exceeding thirteen (13) weeks' pay shall be paid to his legal beneficiaries, except where group life insurance to which the Publisher contributes is available.

ARTICLE IX‑‑VACATIONS AND LEAVES

1. Employees shall accrue vacation at rates based on their length of service (lapsed time from latest employment date) with the Publisher, as follows:

Service Years		Hours of Vacation
Less than three		1 for each 26 worked (80 hours per year)

More than three but less than six		1 for each 17.333 worked (120 hours per year)

More than six but less than 20		1 for each 13 worked (160 hours per year)

More than 20		1 for each 10.4 worked (200 hours per year)

2. Employees begin accruing vacation on their first day of work for the Publisher. Changes in accrual rates are effective on an employee's employment anniversary date.

(a) Accrued vacation shall be placed in each employee's available vacation pool. This amount shall be reflected in hours on each bargaining unit member's payroll stub. Each person may accrue up to 150 percent of their annual vacation amount. Notwithstanding any previous practice to the contrary, a person may not accrue above that amount. However, as soon as some time is used, a person again would begin accruing vacation time.

(b) As an example, a person who is eligible to accrue four weeks of vacation‑‑or 160 hours‑‑in a year, will earn 6.16 hours each payroll period. This will be reflected on the payroll stub as available vacation. She will be able to accrue a maximum of 240 hours. At that point accrual will stop, and she will not earn vacation until some vacation is used. She will begin to accrue as soon as she falls under 240 hours during any payroll period. A person eligible to accrue five weeks of vacation‑‑or 200 hours‑‑in a year, will earn 7.7 hours each payroll period. He will be able to accrue a maximum of 300 hours.

(c) Vacation accrual works the same for part-time employees, and their vacation will be capped based on their standard work hours and vacation accrual rate. For example, if an employee has 4 years of service and works a standard 20 hours per week, she can expect to accrue about 60 vacation hours per year (3 weeks of 20 vacation hours each.) The employee’s vacation will be capped at 150 percent of the annual vacation amount of 60 hours. Thus, the vacation cap will be 90 hours for this employee. If a full-time employee moves to a part-time status, the vacation cap will be adjusted downward to her new part-time cap. If the employee has already accrued vacation in excess of the new part-time cap, she will be compensated for the lost accrued vacation that exceeds the new cap.

(d) If an employee loses the opportunity to accrue additional vacation time because he or she is at or near maximum accrual and a manager asks the employee to continue to work during the period when he or she expected to use vacation time, that employee's right to be compensated for the lost accrual opportunity will depend upon which of the following circumstances applies.

(i) If the employee tells the manager in advance that he or she will lose additional accrued time by working and the manager still decides that employee must work during that time‑frame, the employee will be compensated for the accrued time lost.

(ii) If an employee tells the manager, after the fact, that he or she lost accrued vacation time because he or she was unable to take any time off, that employee will not be compensated for the lost opportunity to accrue time.

3. Vacations shall be taken on consecutive days within the same or during consecutive weeks unless otherwise agreed to by the Publisher.

4. Vacation schedules shall be drawn up and posted by the Publisher, and the Publisher agrees that no employee shall be required to take a vacation on less than sixty (60) days' notice. If there is a recognized holiday during the time a regular full‑time employee is on vacation, he shall be granted, at the option of the Publisher, either an additional day's pay or a compensating day off with pay.

5. If an employee's employment terminates, he shall be paid for any vacation not yet taken to which he is then entitled based on his credits for continuous service and employment, up to the date of his termination of employment.

6. Employees accrue vacation during their first six months of work, but these hours are not available for use until the employee has six months of service. Employees with at least six months of service who are terminating employment will be paid for any accrued unused vacation.

7. By arrangement with the Publisher, an employee may be granted a leave of absence without pay not to exceed one (1) year unless otherwise agreed to. Upon adequate notice, a leave of absence without pay shall be granted, not to exceed one (1) year unless otherwise agreed to, for an employee to fulfill his duties as delegate or officer of the Guild or any labor organization with which the Guild is affiliated. Parenting leave, without pay, for a dependent newborn or newly adopted child, will be granted in accordance with the established policy of the Publisher and in accordance with applicable state and federal law. Star Tribune policy recognizes same sex domestic partner as eligible family members for whom a leave for family care may be taken.

8. An authorized leave of absence shall not be considered as an interruption of an employee's record of continuous service with the Publisher, but the period of time on leave shall not be construed as service time in the determination of an employee's credits for experience, dismissal pay, vacation and other benefits based on actual time worked.

9. a) Effective 2004 Full-time employees shall receive 80 hours of sick time for use during each calendar year, credited to them each January 1. New, full-time employees are credited with 1/12 of the annual sick time allotment for each month worked in first year.

Part-time employees, who are regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week, are credited with a pro-rated amount of sick time each January 1, based on their standard work hours on January 1. For example, an employee with 20 standard work hours will receive 40 hours of sick leave for the year. New part-time employees hired after January 1 are credited with 1/12 of their sick time allotment in the same manner as full-time employees, based on the employees’ standard work hours at their hire date.

These sick time hours are available for use immediately. At the end of a calendar year, unused sick leave time cannot be carried over.

If an employee changes status (e.g. full-time to part-time) or standard hours during the year, his/her sick time allotment will change on January 1 of the following year.

Sick time hours can be used for both personal and family illnesses, including those of a child, parent, spouse or same sex domestic partner.

Employees receiving sick pay for any reason may be required to submit medical evidence that they are not able to work.

b) For extended illnesses beyond 7 days, eligible employees may receive 100% of their base pay for up to 26 weeks as an extended illness benefit, upon approval by a third party administrator. The third party administrator determines whether an extended illness qualifies for payment under this benefit. Requests for extended illness payment shall follow the established policy of the Publisher. Upon certification of the extended illness by the third party administrator, the first 7 days of an extended illness shall be restored to the employees annual sick time.

Absences due to pregnancy or childbirth shall be compensated for on the same basis and with the same limitations as are other forms of sickness. Employees who are on a leave of absence are not eligible for sick pay while on such leave of absence. Sick leave shall not be deducted from accrued overtime.

10. An employee who is a reservist in the armed forces shall be entitled to such leave of absence without pay as is made necessary by orders to which he is subject, and such leave of absence shall not affect vacation credits earned prior to his leaving.

11. If a death occurs in his immediate family, a regular full‑time employee shall be entitled to funeral leave under the following conditions:

(a) Immediate family shall mean the employee’s spouse, same sex domestic partner, child or step-child, parent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sibling or step-sibling.

(b) Funeral leave shall be limited to the three days immediately following the date of the death and includes the employee's off days, if any, falling on such days.

(c) The employee shall be paid at his regular straight‑time pay for each day not worked which he would have been normally scheduled to work during such leave.

ARTICLE X‑‑MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT SERVICE

1. Any employee, having a position other than a temporary one, who leaves such position to perform active service in the armed forces, or to perform compensatory service in lieu of military service, or who is required by law to serve the government of the United States shall, if still qualified to perform the duties of such position upon his return from such service, be granted the same position or a position comparable in character and pay provided he makes application for reemployment with the Publisher within ninety (90) days after he is relieved from such service, unless the Publisher's circumstances have so changed as to make it impossible or unreasonable to do so.

Upon returning to his duties with the Publisher, the employee shall be restored in such manner as to give him such status in his employment as he would have enjoyed if he had continued in such employment continuously from the time of his entering such service, until the time of his restoration to such employment unless otherwise agreed upon.

The Publisher is not obligated to rehire any replacement who also entered the armed forces, but the Publisher shall give any such replacement, who nevertheless is rehired, the same treatment as to dismissal pay and experience rating it gives regular employees.

Application for resumption of employment must be made within ninety (90) days of termination of such service, making reasonable allowance for return to place of employment. Voluntary continuation in such service beyond such time as an option of release from service is offered shall forfeit the right of return to employment.

In the event that a war emergency creates the necessity for the elimination of a department, thereby abolishing positions previously held by employees called into service, the parties shall enter into negotiations looking toward formulation of a mutually satisfactory supplement to the above section of the Agreement that will provide for such a contingency.

2. A regular employee promoted to take the place of one entering military service may, upon the return of the latter, be returned to his former position or other work at pay comparable to that of his former position. Any regular employee so promoted, and while such promotion is temporary, shall continue to receive credit in his experience rating for his employment in the position from which he was promoted. In the event of subsequent permanent change in employment and consequent change of classification, the employee shall receive full credit in his experience rating in such new classification for the period in which he already has been engaged in such new classification.

3. An employee hired as a replacement for one entering military service shall be considered a temporary employee but shall be covered by the provisions of this agreement applicable to the employee he replaces.

4. An employee hired as a replacement for one entering military service or discharged under government requirements will receive first consideration in the filling of vacancies not caused by such service leave, and, if displaced by return of an employee from such service, he will be given consideration when vacancies occur, qualifications being adequate in the judgment of the Publisher.

ARTICLE XI‑‑STANDING COMMITTEE‑ARBITRATION

1. The Guild, may designate a committee of its own choosing to take up with the Publisher's representatives any matter arising from the application, interpretation of or adherence to the terms and provisions of this Agreement or affecting relations of the employees and the Publisher during the term of the Agreement. Such matters shall be taken up with the Publisher's representatives within One Hundred Eighty (180) days after the event in question is known, or should have been known to the Guild.

2. The Publisher's representatives shall meet with the standing committee within seven (7) days after receipt of a written request for such meeting.

3. In the event of a dispute having to do with the application, interpretation of or adherence to the terms and provisions of this Agreement only, which cannot be satisfactorily adjusted by negotiations between the Guild and the Publisher at the written request of either the Guild or the Publisher served on the other, such dispute shall be referred to an arbitration board consisting of two (2) members to be selected by the Publisher and two (2) members to be selected by the Guild. This arbitration board of four (4) members shall meet within (7) working days of the time the arbitration of any dispute or grievance is requested in writing.

4. If the arbitration board or a majority of the members thereof cannot agree on a decision to such dispute or grievance within three (3) working days then it shall select a fifth (5) member who shall serve as an impartial chairman. If the arbitration board fails to agree upon the fifth (5) member within three (3) working days then the Guild and the Company shall, by joint letter, request the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, to submit a panel list of seven (7) names of arbitrators. If either of the parties refuse or fails to join in such letter, then the other party may make such written request to the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, concurrently mailing a copy thereof to the other party. Within five (5) working days after receipt of said panel list, representatives of the parties shall meet and select from such list one person to serve as a neutral arbitrator and chairman of the board of arbitration. Such selection shall be made in the following manner: The party who filed the grievance shall strike the first name and the other party shall then strike the second name; the parties shall then alternately strike until one name remains. The name remaining shall then be the neutral arbitrator.

The Guild and the Publisher shall each be entitled to reject up to one (1) arbitration panel on their individual motion.

5. The costs of such arbitration shall be borne equally by the parties except that no party shall be obligated to pay any part of the cost of a stenographic transcript without express consent.

6. On the motion of either party and with the concurrence of the other party, a grievance shall be submitted to Advisory Arbitration and the arbitration procedures contained in Section 4 of this Article shall be temporarily suspended. An advisory arbitration shall be conducted in the following manner: (a) Selection of the arbitrator shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 4 of this Article. (b) The parties will attempt to reach stipulations on as many factual questions as possible prior to the hearing. (c) The Hearing shall be informal in nature. No transcript shall be made. The parties shall not use outside attorneys in the arbitration and no briefs shall be filed. (d) The arbitrator shall advise the parties within 24 hours of the hearing's completion on how he or she would rule on the issue had it been submitted for final and binding arbitration. (e) Such advice of the arbitrator may be either written or unwritten, but any written advice shall be limited to one page. (f) It is understood that any opinion issued by and arbitrator in an advisory arbitration has no precedential value and may not be used in any other proceeding. (g) Both parties reserve the right to reject the arbitrator's advice and may proceed to final and binding arbitration in accordance with Section 4 of this Article.

The cost of such arbitration shall be borne equally by the parties.

ARTICLE XII‑‑INTRODUCTION OF NEW EQUIPMENT

The Publisher and the Guild have reached certain agreements concerning the introduction of new and substantially different equipment.

The understandings are as follows:

1. The Publisher will give the Guild at least 90 days written notice (hereafter called "first notice") prior to the installation of any new and substantially different equipment (hereinafter called "equipment") to be used in the performance of work normally performed by employees covered by the Agreement.

2. The term "employee" shall mean only a regular full‑time employee who is: (a) employed by the Publisher at the time the first notice is given, and; (b) covered by the Agreement.

3. If the Publisher contemplates that as a result of the operation of any such equipment the employment of any employee is likely to be terminated, the Publisher shall also so state in the first notice to the Guild. If the Publisher so states in the first notice to the Guild, then any time within 30 days after receipt of such notice, the Guild may request negotiations concerning questions of the termination of employment or conditions of termination of employment of any employee and the parties shall immediately commence negotiations on such question.

4. If the Guild has requested negotiations as provided above and if within 60 days following the date the Guild receives the first notice, the parties have been unable to agree in negotiations on the questions of termination or conditions of termination of any employee as a result of the operation of such equipment, then:

(a) Either party may suggest arbitration of the question and if the other party agrees to arbitration, arbitration shall then proceed as provided in Article XI of the Agreement.

(b) If arbitration is not requested or is not agreed to by both parties within 10 days following the 60 day period allowed for negotiations, then the Publisher may, at any time thereafter, give written notice to the Guild (hereafter called the "second notice") that not less than 60 days thereafter the Publisher intends to terminate the employment of any employee as a result of the operation of such new equipment.

5. If the Publisher gives the second notice then the Guild shall have the right at any time within 7 days of receipt of such second notice to submit questions of the term of employment or conditions or termination of any employee, as a result of the operation of such equipment to final and binding arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Article XI of the current collective bargaining agreement. For purposes of this paragraph, the procedures of Article XI shall be considered to begin with a meeting of the arbitration board of four members as provided in paragraph 3 of Article XI and such board will meet within 3 days after the Guild has notified the Publisher that it wishes to arbitrate the issue or issues in question.

6. In any event, the employment of any employee shall not be terminated as the result of operation of such equipment except:

(a) If the Publisher has stated in the first notice to the Guild that the Publisher contemplates that the employment of any employee is likely to be terminated and the Guild has failed to request negotiations as provided in paragraph 3 above, or

(b) Pursuant to any agreement reached in negotiations between the parties, or

(d) Pursuant to and at the time specified in the second notice.

7. In any negotiations or arbitration or on any reopening of this Agreement, the only questions shall be the termination of employment or conditions of termination of employment of any employee as defined in paragraph number "2" above. The right of the Publisher to install such equipment and to place such equipment in operation any time 90 days after the Guild has received the first notice shall not be restricted or impaired.

8. Nothing herein shall impair or limit the right of the Publisher, at any time, to dismiss any employee in accordance with the provisions of Article XIII of the Agreement.

ARTICLE XIII‑‑DISMISSALS, PROMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS

1. There shall be no dismissals except for just and sufficient cause or for reduction of the force for reasons of economy except that the first three (3) months of employment shall be a probationary period during which a new employee may be dismissed at the option of the Publisher.

2. The Publisher shall not dismiss any employee without giving him and the Guild notice thereof in writing. Such notice shall be given at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of dismissal, except that no advance notice need be given if an employee is dismissed for proven dishonesty or gross neglect of duty. If requested by the employee, the Publisher shall, upon dismissal of said employee, furnish him with a written statement of the reason for dismissal.

3. During the life of this Agreement, dismissals for reduction of the force for reasons of economy shall be accomplished by the Publisher first offering voluntary separation packages to employees within the job titles where, in the Publisher’s sole judgment, reductions are required. The terms of such a separation package shall at a minimum be the equivalent of dismissal pay as specified in Article VIII, Section 1. Employees shall have, at a minimum, a 14-day window in which they may elect to request a separation package. If more employees elect to request a separation package than the number of packages available, then employees will be selected to receive the package on the basis of seniority. If an insufficient number of employees in one or more job titles accepts the voluntary separation packages, the Publisher may then dismiss employees within those specific job titles in inverse order of seniority, with "seniority" being defined as length of service with the Publisher. For the purpose of dismissals under this provision, “job titles” are defined as the pay classifications listed in Article IV, Section 2, except that the “A” classification shall be divided into three subgroups: (a) reporters, columnists and editorial writers; (b) copy editors, and (c) photographers and videographers. Graphics artists in the “A” classification shall be grouped with designers in the “K” classification for purposes of this paragraph only.

4. If an employee is dismissed, he or the Guild shall have the right to question such dismissal within 60 days after notice thereof has been sent. If a dismissal is so questioned, representatives of the Publisher shall promptly review such dismissal with the employee and representatives of the Guild. All reviews concerning dismissals shall be conducted as promptly as possible.

5. Any Guild-represented employee who is dismissed because of reduction of the force for reasons of economy, suspension or reorganization of a department or abolition of a job, shall for one (1) year thereafter, upon his or her written request, have his or her name included in a rehiring pool and during such year be given first consideration whenever the Publisher is filling a position for which he or she is qualified. At the expiration of one (1) year and upon written request from the employee, the rehiring pool may be extended for an additional six (6) months. Individuals in the rehiring pool shall receive first consideration on the basis of seniority, as defined in Section 3 above. A former employee need not be considered for reemployment if he or she once refuses an offer for reemployment or if he or she cannot be available for work within thirty (30) days after he has been offered reemployment. To maintain his or her status in the rehiring pool, a former employee is responsible for notifying the Publisher of any changes in his or her address or other contact information.

6. In the event of consolidation, sale or suspension of the newspaper, the Publisher agrees that, when filling vacancies or adding to its staffs in departments within the jurisdiction of this Agreement, it will, so far as possible, draw from a list of those left unemployed thereby who are, in the Publisher's judgment, qualified for the new positions.

7. The Publisher reserves the right to offer voluntary separation packages for the termination of employment by employees covered by this Agreement. The frequency, timing and amount of any such packages shall be at the sole discretion of the Publisher. In addition, the Publisher shall have the sole discretion to decide to whom any particular voluntary separation package will be offered.

8. Upon resignation, an employee shall give the Publisher notice thereof in writing at least fifteen (15) days prior to leaving the employment of the Publisher unless the Publisher waives the requirement of such notice.

9. If an employee is transferred to a new position, the Publisher shall determine within ninety (90) working days after said transfer whether or not the employee is competent to fill such position. If the Publisher determines that the employee is not competent in his new position, the employee shall be so advised within said 90‑day period and he shall thereupon be returned to his former position or a position with duties and salary comparable to that formerly held.

10. New positions established within the Guild's bargaining unit or vacancies which occur in present positions, which the Publisher decides should be filled, will be prominently posted for not less than ten (10) calendar days. Any employee wishing to transfer from one department to another will be given first consideration when openings occur, qualifications being adequate in the judgment of the Publisher.

The Publisher will, prior to making the transfer decision, consult with employees who are being considered for transfer to other positions. Employees who are transferred to such positions within the jurisdiction of the Newspaper Guild shall receive written notice of such transfer not less than seven (7) calendar days prior to the specified effective date and such written notice shall include the reason why the Publisher has elected to make such transfer.

In the event that the Publisher provides such notice with less than seven (7) calendar days notice, the effective date of the transfer shall be delayed until seven (7) days have passed since receipt of notice by the employee.

11. (1) Employees in Wage Classifications B, C, D, F, and N shall be given first consideration for promotion to positions requiring minimal experience, qualifications being adequate in the judgment of the Publisher.

(2) When so promoted, they shall receive credit for experience for that time worked in the classification to which they have been promoted, if any.

(3) When so promoted, an employee shall in no case be paid less than his or her previous position.

Part‑time employees shall be given first consideration for full‑time openings that occur in the same job classification, qualifications being relatively equal to other applicants in the judgment of the Publisher.

12. No employee will be transferred to work outside the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area without his consent and payment of all transportation and other moving expenses of his family. An employee shall have the right to refuse transfer to residence outside the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area without prejudice to his employment.

ARTICLE XIV‑‑EXPENSES AND MILEAGE

1. The Publisher shall reimburse an employee for legitimate reasonable expenses incurred by him in services authorized by the Publisher. The Publisher shall continue to furnish employees with equipment with which they have been furnished in the past.

2. An employee shall be paid at the IRS per mile rate in effect as of the date that the employee accumulates the mileage for the use of his automobile for any services authorized by the Publisher.

Any employee authorized by the Publisher to have his automobile available for full‑time use during his working hours who receives less than 100 times the IRS per mile rate in mileage payments for a one‑week period shall be paid the difference between 100 times the IRS per mile rate and his actual mileage payments for such period. The minimum payment of 100 times the IRS per mile rate for each one (1) week period shall be prorated if an automobile is authorized and is available for full‑time use for a shorter period of time than one (1) week.

3. Seniority (service with the Publisher) will ordinarily determine the distribution of open parking spaces and changes in parking assignments except that, legitimate safety considerations will take precedence over seniority in making such decisions. The seniority and safety criteria will apply to all Star Tribune employees.

(a) All Guild employees who have a parking spot will pay for that spot. Photographers will pay 80 percent of the general employee rate.

(b) All parking revenue, including revenue from renting spaces to the public, will be applied only to parking expenses, including maintenance, taxes, salaries, etc. Any surpluses accrued in any year will be used to offset costs in the future years. The Publisher will provide financial information concerning parking to the Guild at least quarterly.

(d) An ongoing parking committee with Guild participation (pursuant to agreement on worker participation/employee involvement) will recommend future parking rates, consistent with the method used for determining rates; i.e., maintaining revenues sufficient to cover operating expenses and real estate taxes. The ongoing parking committee will continue to address all issues as they relate to parking.

4. The base rate for amortization of photographers’ equipment shall be governed by the Publisher’s Revised Photo Amortization Plan.

ARTICLE XV‑‑PART‑TIME AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES

This Agreement shall apply to part‑time and temporary employees as follows:

1. A temporary employee shall be one who is hired for a specific assignment, or for a specific period to time not to exceed six (6) months, and who is designated as a temporary employee at the time of hiring.

The Guild shall be notified by the Publisher of the hiring or use of temporary full or part‑time employees in excess of five (5) days.

The Guild shall also be informed of the reason for such hiring.

2. Articles I (Exceptions), XI (Standing Committee – Arbitration), XIV (Expenses and Mileage), XVI (Picket Lines), and XVII (Writers and Photographers) shall apply to all regular part‑time and temporary employees. Article III (Union Security) shall apply to all regular part‑time employees. Article IV (Wages) shall apply to all part‑time and temporary employees except that they shall be paid and advanced in their classification the same as full‑time employees but proportionate to time worked. Section 1 of Article V (Beginners and Experience Ratings) shall apply to all part‑time and temporary employees.

3. Article VI (Hours) shall apply to part‑time and temporary employees except that any employee working less than forty (40) hours a week shall not be entitled to overtime or callback pay for unscheduled work performed with the employee's consent or at his request, provided that part‑time and temporary employees shall be paid time and one‑half for all time worked in excess of eight (8) hours per day and forty (40) straight‑time hours per week.

4. Part‑time and temporary employees shall be paid time and one‑half for all worked performed on Holidays recognized in this Agreement.

Part‑time and temporary employees who work 20 or more hours a week and whose regular day off falls on a holiday shall be given a compensating day off. Part‑time and temporary employees who work 20 or more hours a week and who are required to work on a holiday shall, in addition to being paid one and one‑half times his or her regular day's pay, be given a compensating day off.

Article VII (Holidays) shall apply to any full‑time temporary employee who is employed for thirteen (13) or more consecutive weeks.

5. Article IX (Vacations and Leaves) shall apply to all part‑time employees as described therein. Temporary employees are not eligible for vacation or sick pay..

6. Part‑time employees who immediately preceding dismissal have served continuously one (1) year or more on regular schedules of twenty (20) hours or more a week shall be entitled to dismissal pay benefits as provided herein but in proportion to time worked.

7. Article X (Military and Government Service) shall apply to all part‑time employees.

8. Section 1 of Article XIII (Dismissals, Promotions and Transfers) shall apply to all part‑time and temporary employees. Article XIII shall apply to any regular part‑time employee who has been employed at a work week normally consisting of twenty (20) or more hours for thirteen (13) or more consecutive weeks.

ARTICLE XVI‑‑PICKET LINES

1. An employee shall not be required to go through picket lines established by a union on strike sanctioned by its international union, when such sanction is required, provided recognition of such picket line has been ordered by the Guild's Representative Assembly after consultation or request for consultation with the Publisher. The request for consultation shall be granted within 24 hours. The Publisher shall not be required to compensate an employee for time lost through failure to pass a picket line.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions above, the Publisher hereby agrees that in the event the Guild elects to honor or respect a picket line of another union engaged in a strike against the Publisher, employees covered by the Guild contract may, during the period of any such strike, engage in any activities except the following:

(a) For the first 45 days after the strike begins, they may not work for any daily newspaper published or printed within Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Dakota and Washington counties. A daily newspaper shall be any newspaper which is published five or more days each week.

(b) After the 45th day, no more than thirty (30) employees of the Publisher covered by the agreement between the Publisher and the Guild shall work for any daily newspaper published and printed within the limits of the counties designated above.

(c) Neither of the foregoing limitations shall apply to work for any newspaper or publication which commences publication as a result of and during the strike and which is entirely owned and published by one or more unions representing employees employed by the Publisher.

ARTICLE XVII‑‑WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS

The Publisher may assign reporters to take pictures, make audio recordings and shoot video and may assign photographers to make audio recordings, shoot video and gather information for photo cutlines. Photographers are expected to obtain the correct names of persons in pictures for use in cutlines, when a reporter is present; and, when a reporter is not present, to bring back information for cutlines. In addition, other Newsroom employees may be assigned multimedia reporting and editing responsibilities.

The Publisher will strive to provide Guild-represented employees the necessary training and equipment to perform such multimedia work.

A reporter’s competence shall be judged by his or her writing and reporting skills; likewise, a photographer’s work shall be judged by his or her photo skills. However, the performance of any Newsroom employee may be judged in part by the employee’s participation in training to develop new multimedia skills, with the understanding that the employer will make time available for such training.

ARTICLE XVIII‑‑OUTSIDE WORK

1. (a) An employee shall be free to engage in any activities or services during such time as he is not required to work for the Publisher, provided such activities or services (i) do not interfere with or are not inconsistent with the performance of his duties as an employee of the Publisher; or (ii) are not performed for other newspapers or magazines published on a daily, semi‑weekly, weekly or bi‑weekly basis in Minnesota, or for radio stations or cable or broadcast television stations originating in Minnesota, or for the World Wide Web sites associated with such publications or stations, or for other commercial news- and/or sports oriented Web sites with a majority of their content originating in or related to Minnesota.

(b) It is recognized that an employee may engage in some activities or work restricted by (ii) above, provided the employee has informed the Publisher and the Publisher has approved of the proposed activity or service in advance. Such notification shall be in writing and shall include the name of the prospective employer or party for whom such services or outside activities will be performed and an accurate description of the duties to be performed in such outside activities or services.

(c) If, with the approval of the Publisher, an employee enters into an agreement to appear on any broadcast or cable television station or radio station based in Minnesota, as part of such agreement the employee shall request that he be introduced during such appearances as an employee of the Publisher (i.e., Star Tribune staff writer or Star Tribune sports columnist.)

(d) No employee shall exploit his affiliation with the Publisher without permission from the Publisher.

(e) If an employee refuses to comply with this section, the Guild shall be so notified. Continued refusal by the employee to comply shall constitute grounds for dismissal, and in the event of such dismissal, the Publisher shall be relieved of all obligations to such employee under this Agreement as they relate to dismissal pay.

(f) The Guild and the Publisher jointly recognize their responsibility to maintain the integrity of their product. The right of the Publisher to question the propriety of any present or proposed outside activities or services is recognized by the Guild. The Publisher may require a statement of present or proposed services by an employee for anyone other than the Publisher.

(g) Any matter produced by an employee for one other than the Publisher shall be submitted to the Managing Editor for approval before publication in any newspaper of the Publisher.

(h) All feature matter or pictures produced on the Publisher's assignment and time, or with the Publisher's equipment or material, shall become the sole property of the Publisher.

(i) All orders for any such feature matter or pictures received by any employee shall be referred to either the Editor, Managing Editor or Editorial Page Editor, who shall determine the price and arrange for delivery if sale thereof is approved.

ARTICLE XIX‑‑NON‑DISCRIMINATION

1. The Publisher prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, marital or parental status, disability, status with regard to public assistance, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation or age. The Guild or the Publisher shall not discriminate against any employee because of membership or nonmembership in the Guild or activity therein, or because of any of the other categories set forth in this paragraph.

2. All phases of employment are covered by this policy, including but not limited to: recruiting and recruiting advertising; testing and hiring; promotion; demotion and transfer; training; termination; layoff and recall; and compensation.

ARTICLE XX‑‑HEALTH, DENTAL, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE

1. Medical Insurance

Guild employees shall be eligible to participate in the Star Tribune-sponsored hospital-medical-surgical insurance program on the same basis as non-union employees. The Publisher may change the terms and conditions of coverage, including but not limited to plan design, premium and cost sharing arrangements, applicable to bargaining unit members without bargaining with the Guild as long as any such change is equally applicable to non-union employees, with these exceptions: (a) for plan year 2009, the Publisher agrees to pay 68 percent of the total projected costs (which include premiums plus deductibles, co-insurance payments and other out-of-pocket costs), and (b) for plan year 2010, Guild employees shall pay no more than 25 percent of health insurance premium costs in the Star Tribune-sponsored plan. This cap shall expire as of December 31, 2010. The Publisher will be responsible for overseeing the administration of the plan.

Guild members shall be eligible to participate in the Star Tribune’s wellness program on the same basis as non-union employees.

2. Group Disability Insurance

Guild employees shall be eligible to participate in the Star Tribune long-term disability insurance program through Liberty Mutual, which provides 30 percent coverage paid in full by the Publisher and an option for employees to purchase an additional 30 percent coverage at their own cost. The plan benefit provisions will be the standard Liberty Mutual provisions offered to Star Tribune non-union employees, except the Guild elimination period shall remain 26 weeks. The Publisher may change the provider of the long-term disability insurance plan as long as benefit levels are not substantially changed. Any change in coverage for non-union employees shall automatically apply to Guild represented employees.

3. Retiree Health Insurance

Any employee who is eligible for early retirement in accordance with the provisions of Star Tribune Retirement Plan G and who retires under that plan prior to April 1, 2009, and prior to age 65, and who is a participant in the Star Tribune-sponsored hospital‑medical‑surgical group insurance plan offered to Guild employees on the day prior to retirement shall remain eligible to participate in that hospital‑medical‑surgical plan with the same medical coverage as active employees, and subject to any changes in the hospital-medical-surgical plan provided to active employees. The coverage shall continue until said former employee reaches age 65, or becomes covered by Medicare or becomes covered by another group health plan or policy, or dies, whichever occurs first. The Publisher will make the same insurance premium payment for employees who retire in accordance with this paragraph as the Publisher would make if the employee had remained actively at work, if such employee is age 60 or more. If such employee is under age 60, (s)he will be required to pay the entire insurance premium in order to continue participation in the medical plan. Should the employee/retiree fail to make any insurance premium payments for which (s)he is obligated, (s)he will no longer be eligible for coverage and will be terminated from the plan.

This retiree health insurance provision shall not apply to any employee who retires on or after April 1, 2009.

4. Dental Coverage

Guild employees shall be eligible to participate in the Star Tribune dental program on the same basis as non-union employees. Any changes in coverage for non-union employees shall automatically apply to Guild represented employees.

5. Domestic Partner Coverage

Star Tribune-sponsored medical and dental family-plan insurance coverage shall be available to qualified and eligible same sex domestic partners of employees, and their children. The said employee must pay the premiums for such coverage on a post-tax basis. The employee will also be subject to any additional imputed income incurred. The additional imputed income is the difference between the Company contribution to the plan for single and family coverage. The additional imputed income shall be added to the employee’s taxable compensation for the appropriate year. Additional information concerning the tax consequences of exercising this option will be available in Human Resources. Employees must either register their relationship with the city of Minneapolis, or file an affidavit (with any required supporting documentation) internally with the Human Resources department at the Star Tribune. Affidavits are available in the Human Resources Department. COBRA-like coverage shall be offered to eligible same sex domestic partners on a similar basis as available to spouses/families of employees but not to exceed eighteen months following a qualifying event.

ARTICLE XXI‑‑LIFE INSURANCE

1. The Publisher shall provide $5,000 life insurance through Liberty Mutual f