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U.S. Supreme Court Backs Workers, Unions on Merit Pay Issue
Following is a statement by Linda Foley, president of The Newspaper Guild-CWA, on the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of an employer's petition seeking support for one-sided discretionary pay plans:
In a so-called "merit pay" proposal, the publishing chain had proposed that all or virtually all wage increases would be totally at the discretion of management. This would again allow publishers to play favorites and pick and choose among employees. Even more critical, it would give employers the ability to reward or punish employees, with pay increases based not on standards and criteria but an employer's possibly discriminatory rationale.
By refusing to hear the case, the Supreme Court sustained the position of the National Labor Relations Board-and TNG-CWA-which held that the company's proposal for a totally discretionary pay system could not be implemented without negotiation with TNG-CWA or another union, even when the parties are at impasse.
For nearly a decade, some publishers have been trying to make an end run around the collective bargaining process by seeking to implement these one-sided merit pay plans. This strikes directly at the heart of the collective bargaining process, and was rightly rejected not only by the Supreme Court, but appellate courts as well.
We are very pleased that the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the role of unions as workers' bargaining representatives over pay and other issues, not only in the newspaper industry, but in broadcasting and other industries as well where some employers are attempting to undercut collective bargaining.
- In a huge victory for millions of workers, the U.S. Supreme Court has come down squarely on their side by refusing to allow employers to arbitrarily set wages without bargaining with workers' elected union representatives. The Supreme Court has reinforced a key principle of fairness-and the trade union movement-in denying the employer's petition in the McClatchy's Sacramento Bee newspaper case and voiding arbitrary discretionary pay plans where workers have voted for union representation.
In a so-called "merit pay" proposal, the publishing chain had proposed that all or virtually all wage increases would be totally at the discretion of management. This would again allow publishers to play favorites and pick and choose among employees. Even more critical, it would give employers the ability to reward or punish employees, with pay increases based not on standards and criteria but an employer's possibly discriminatory rationale.
By refusing to hear the case, the Supreme Court sustained the position of the National Labor Relations Board-and TNG-CWA-which held that the company's proposal for a totally discretionary pay system could not be implemented without negotiation with TNG-CWA or another union, even when the parties are at impasse.
For nearly a decade, some publishers have been trying to make an end run around the collective bargaining process by seeking to implement these one-sided merit pay plans. This strikes directly at the heart of the collective bargaining process, and was rightly rejected not only by the Supreme Court, but appellate courts as well.
We are very pleased that the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the role of unions as workers' bargaining representatives over pay and other issues, not only in the newspaper industry, but in broadcasting and other industries as well where some employers are attempting to undercut collective bargaining.