It took months, but Tegan’s KSDK (St. Louis) has finally ratified a new three-year agreement IBEW union.

The union says that the new deal includes raises, adds new hires into the bargaining unit, and a guarantee to hire union workers to replace retirees.

IBEW Local 4 Business Manager/Financial Secretary Mike Pendergast said the union made considerable concessions in its last contract to give the station “jurisdictional flexibility.” However, Tegna-KSDK failed to live up to its own concession not to use that flexibility to result in the shrinking of the bargaining unit.

“Going into this contract negotiation, we had a concern about the ongoing reduction of our bargaining unit we’ve experienced in the last few years that was contrary to what they had assured us when we gave them some allowances a few years ago,” Pendergast said. “The real issue for us was putting a thumb in the dam to stop that work from going away.”

One big thing in the new agreement is bonuses. The new deal eliminates discretionary bonuses to bargaining unit employees, so now, all unit employees will receive the same companywide bonuses as other employees.

“It will no longer be discretionary,” Pendergast said. “We’ll get the same as the others.”

H/T Labor Tribune