Commission advertising sales
What the company proposes:
- Eliminate Letter 8 of the contract (page 54-57), which sets commission rates, training pay and benefit eligibility for advertising salespeople and sets a ratio of salaried and commission staff
- Allow sales representatives to be disciplined for not meeting sales goals.
Concerns with company proposal:
- Sales goals have been arbitrary and unrealistic in the past; for example, automotive sector salespeople have been given goals that do not reflect the national downward trends in that sector
- All sales positions could become commission-only, with no established minimum commission rate, weekly pay, or benefits
- Letter 8 provisions regarding average earnings – which are used to set the rate for a salesperson’s vacation and sick time and are already a point of dispute with the company – would be eliminated
What the Guild proposes:
- A revised procedure for setting advertising sales goals so they are realistic and reflect economic reality of various sales sectors
- An improved commission agreement
- The integration of digital and print ad sales, now kept separate by the company