Reuters Reporters Win Skirmish, Take Battle Back To Streets

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Reuters reporters will be back out in the street today at noon after winning a key ruling Tuesday in their fight for a new contract (Reuters Reporters Make News, 3/1/2010 Union City). A federal judge ruled on March 2 that Thomson Reuters, which had unilaterally declared an impasse in negotiations, must arbitrate disputes with the Guild. The previous week, Reuters released its 2009 corporate results, showing that the company is profitable, "yet they still want to make cuts in overtime eligibility, differential payments, retirement contributions and healthcare that amount to an effective decrease in pay for many of our members of 10 percent or more," reports Debby Zabarenko, Reuters unit chair for the Washington/Baltimore Newspaper Guild members. - photo: members and staff of the New York and Washington/Baltimore Newspaper Guilds rally outside Reuters in January; photo by Chris Garlock