Pressured by a small group of colleagues inclined to take the buy-out offer presently on the table, Guild employees at the Star Tribune are expected to accept company terms in a 4 p.m. meeting/vote today. A similar vote yesterday fizzled when Guild members had too many unanswered questions to vote.
The offer from Avista Capital Partners offers an additional three months pay to the maximum, plus six extra months of COBRA coverage on health insurance. The Guild had asked for a year on the latter, along with several other small concessions, like staggering pay-offs to diminish tax implications, but the paper rejected those requests.
If the buy-out is accepted today, Guild employees will have two weeks, starting tomorrow if accepted, to make their decision to leave or stay, and another 45 days after that to rescind a decision to leave.
The company is looking to cut 50 positions out of the present newsroom. Best guess-timates at the moment believe the buy-out offer will get something less than 20 takers, leaving the company and union poised to battle over the remainder.
If laid-off, a Strib Guild member would get essentially the same compensation package as 24 former colleagues took in early March.
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