May 1, 2017

BULLETIN – CAMPAIGN PAY EQUITY

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The Pacific Media Workers Guild, Local 39521 of TNG-CWA, has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Hearst Corp. for its refusal to provide information relevant to pay equity at the San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.

We filed the charge on Friday after being denied information related to alleged discrimination in the pay system at the newspaper. Work by a committee of Guild employees showed wide disparities in overscale (pay above contractual minimums), which could be attributed to factors including sex, race and age.

The Guild contract at the Chronicle includes a non-discrimination clause. The Guild has also cited state legal standards, including the new California Fair Pay Act, which also bar discriminatory pay systems.

Hearst attorneys told committee members during a meeting in December that our statistics didn’t take into account factors such as education levels, awards and special skills. Hearst also claimed it had already reviewed pay at the Chronicle and was convinced there was no discrimination.

The Guild then followed up by requesting that information, only to be denied by Hearst. The company’s representatives said the material wasn’t relevant, among other objections to our information request.

The NLRB’s San Francisco-based regional office is now expected to investigate whether the information the Guild seeks is, in fact, relevant to a legitimate issue. If the board decides the Guild’s charge has merit, the NLRB may issue a complaint.

Contact the Guild at 415-421-6833 if you have questions about this bulletin.

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