Modesto Bee Guild votes to accept management proposal of 11 layoffs in Guild, plus pay cuts

As anticipated, the Modesto Bee Guild voted to accept management's proposal of 11 layoffs in the bargaining unit, wage cuts and other reductions.

Newspaper Guild members at The Modesto Bee have voted to take pay cuts of up to 7.5 percent to save jobs at the central California paper.

Wendy Mejia, who heads the Guild's local at The Modesto Bee, said a majority of members voted to accept the deal Monday.

She said Bee managers still plan to cut 11 of the 50 full-time Guild-covered positions in the editorial department. Another 10 jobs would have been in jeopardy if the union had rejected the wage cuts.

Guild-covered employees earning at least $65,000 a year would have their pay cut 7.5 percent while employees making between $50,000 and $64,999 would lose 5 percent.

The agreement also allows the newspaper's management to require employees to take a week of unpaid leave.

The report doesn't list the vote breakdown. I'll post the info when I get it.

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