AP staffers to protest over contract dispute

The New York Times and Reuters have been waging protracted battles with in-house union representatives over pending labor contracts. And now the Associated Press, one of the nation's leading wire services, is also in the throes of a contract dispute that's turning more confrontational.

Associated Press staffers who belong to the News Media Guild are expected to rally outside the Newseum in Washington D.C. on Saturday, and pickets are planned next week at AP bureaus around the United States.

Guild members at the AP are protesting what they describe as "the company's attempts to cut their income and take away their retirement security," according to a press release circulated Thursday. Contract negotiations have been under way since last October.

"AP insists on huge increases in our health care premiums, a tiny raise that won't keep pace with inflation and a freeze of our pensions," the union's statement reads. "The combined effect would immediately cut income for most of the staff and erase our retirement income, potentially driving out many experienced journalists."

A spokesman for the AP declined to comment, citing the ongoing negotiations.