Sunday, December 30, 2007

You come around this Big Bang universe often, sweetheart?

The new One Big Bang Web site is looking good, judging from a preview I got to see over the weekend. There's a regularly updated and expanding section with people's pics and tales, and much more. Anyway, chime in if you want to make suggestions about the Web site (or that I should never be allowed near the English language when innocent people are exposed).

For now here's a link to California Media Workers Guild President Michael Cabanatuan's recent blog post - New Year, New Guild - as food for thought (he's a super nice guy -- just thought I'd throw that in there. But, really, just read his post and you'll see what I'm talking about).

I'm gonna have to get a job as a carnaval barker soon if I don't stop.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

SF Weekly cover story on One Big BANG campaign!

What do you think of this article? The comments are starting to flow over at the SF Weekly ...

Leave a comment below for the ol' water cooler...

Ask what your union can do for you

From the SF Weekly cover story about the One Big BANG campaign:

"Veteran Hayward Daily Review reporter Karen Holzmeister became an ANG union devotee in 2002. Editors asked Holzmeister, who had worked for the newspaper since 1973, to write an increasing amount of stories, following budget cuts. In addition to her normal Hayward beat, she was asked to report on two unincorporated areas and regional elections. Finally, Holzmeister says, she collapsed in her doctor's office from work fatigue. She took two weeks of accumulated sick leave; when she returned, her editor had demoted her to the Castro Valley beat, which was typically reserved for rookie reporters.

Holzmeister, who describes herself as a "happy employee" for most of her career, was shocked. She was considering hiring a lawyer when Tribune reporters and union officers Josh Richman and Robert Gammon (the latter of whom is now with the East Bay Express) showed up at her door to offer the guild's help. "I couldn't understand why I was being treated this way after I had dedicated my professional life to the company," she says. "Frankly, had the guild not offered to help me, I would have no recourse whatsoever."

New campaign website launch...January!

Stay tuned here for the new One Big BANG website launch in just a couple weeks.

Got suggestions for features to include?

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Knowing your rights, Part 1 of 3

Here's a little quiz. Rate yourself on how much you know about your right to organize a union in your workplace.

You have the legal right to:

1. Attend meetings to discuss forming a union with co-workers. T/F?

2. Read, distribute and discuss union literature, as long as you do this in non-work areas and during non-work times—such as in the break room at lunch. T/F?

3. Wear union items on the job, such as buttons, stickers, t-shirts. T/F?

4. Sign a card asking your employer to recognize and bargain with your union. T/F?

5. Sign petitions or file grievances related to job issues. T/F?

6. Ask other employees to support the union, to sign union cards or petitions, or to file grievances. T/F?

Editor’s Note: The above info is based on a summary of your union organizing rights prepared by the St. Louis Newspaper Guild.

ANSWERS: 1-6 are all TRUE. Any retribution by your employer for the above activities are grounds for legal action.


Friday, December 14, 2007

What good is that ole' union, anyway?

Some of our management friends at The Creek seem to be spreading a little dish about the Guild - after always first acknowledging that, of course, we have a right to organize and unionize. (They most assuredly know that our growing organizing drive is bolstered by both the law and the stats: MediaNews employs more Guild-represented workers than any other U.S. publisher.)

But apparently their PR consultant's talking points encourage them to say that in all their years they haven't seen a union that did a bit of good. Then it comes - wait for it - "you know, like the old ANG union."

Uh huh. Just tell that to everyone of us who finally gained regular pay raises and grievance procedures after years under MNG, solely because of the perseverance of the ANG union.

And how many non-Guild newsworkers got the kind of package Jonathan Jones did when layoffs came? An ANG reporter with The Argus, he took a Guild-negotiated deal during the first round of post-consolidation layoffs (btw, layoffs that MNG management assured us wouldn't happen). Jonathan was finally able to take off for the foreign correspondent career he'd always wanted and was in Uganda last I heard. The ANG union cushioned the blow for a bunch of us. It would have been a lot uglier otherwise, a full hatchet job.

Look, we know firsthand you're on your own at MNG without a contract: they'll pay you what they want and fire you when they want - no if's, and's or but's.

And if we're so useless, why is management going out of their way to do all sorts of (costly) things they never bothered with before? You notice all the attention we're getting since they started feeling the heat of the union drive. Can you just imagine what it will be like once we have a BANG union in place? Holy Moly. No wonder management is fighting us.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Mythbuster #1

Word is that Guild negotiators at our MNG sister paper, The Monterey Herald, are making headway in hammering out a new contract -- one that isn't stripped down like a junkyard car.

Mythbuster #1: MediaNews can be brought to the table and held accountable by organized workers. That's "workers" - plural - as in all of us, and "organized", as in union.

If it can be done in Monterey, St. Paul and Denver, it definitely can be done by the 300 of us here in the East Bay.

That's right: we can stand up for what we believe and negotiate terms of our day-to-day work, instead of just swallowing whatever the company chooses to give us. Don't we deserve a say in our future?

Monday, December 10, 2007

CINO: consolidation in name only

An editor sent a BANG-wide e-mail asking if anyone would be willing to fill in for a reporter during an upcoming Saturday daycops shift. But don't bother to offer if you aren't a Contra Costa Times reporter. Only they can fill in for Contra Costa Times reporters.

Now that's mighty interesting...We're "consolidated" enough so that we get the e-mails soliciting volunteers, but not "consolidated" enough to volunteer... sounds like yet another case of CINO: Consolidation in Name Only.

Vacation freeze?

How difficult is it for you reporters and photogs to get vacation time? Here at the copy desk we're on a vacation freeze in Nov. and Dec. because of the holidays, but now we're also told that we can't take vacation time between January and April because management doesn't yet know when they are going to train us on the new front-end system.

They were gracious enough to tell me I may be able to get a few days at the beginning of January if I want it. But seriously, six months of vacation freeze this year? Some on the copy desk are afraid they are going to hit their vacation cap, but we don't know for sure since it's not printed on our checks (and won't be until Dec. 28).

Edit: I just learned that they can't take away vacation time from employees in California. Nice to know management always tells us they will if we don't use it, and I've also seen them take it away from some (but I think they've given it back after someone complains.) Here's the link and text of Q&A about the state regulation:

From state's Web site:
My employer’s vacation policy provides that if I do not use all of my annual vacation entitlement by the end of the year, that I lose the unused balance. Is this legal?

A. No, such a provision is not legal. In California, vacation pay is another form of wages which vests as it is earned (in this context, "vests" means you are invested or endowed with rights in the wages). Accordingly, a policy that provides for the forfeiture of vacation pay not used by a specified date ("use it or lose it") is an illegal policy under state law and will not be recognized by the Labor Commissioner.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Friday: The E-Bay Press Club's Holiday Party!

Come on down and mix it on up with our colleagues from across the E.B. this Friday night...last year the party was packed and a whole lot of fun, so free up your schedule.

The festivities start "
after work and go ‘til late", at the legendary Warehouse, 402 Webster Street at Fourth, in Oakland.

Good times, free food, cash bar. All are welcome; memberships available at the door. See you there!

On the move: We Guildies packed the place

Ah, it was a sight to see: our folks jammed around a banquet-size table for a luncheon yesterday at Francesco’s in Oakland. The place is so cool, looks like something out of The Sopranos..AND it's union.

They didn’t have a table large enough to fit everyone who came out Monday for nourishment of the body and the local – our Guild local that is. Folks turned up who I didn’t even know were behind our push to win union representation (not to mention the benefits that come with it).

One thing crystallized for me: there’s nowhere else in the Bay Area to go now. And the options are shrinking nationally of papers NOT owned by MediaNews - which is in bed with Hearst and who knows how many other media companies.

So, we either put our foot down here or Bay Area reporters – all reporters, not just union – won’t have a ground to stand on when management is done. Pfew. I’m getting carried away with the idea of us having union cards in our pockets (or, um, wherever). I can see the AJR headline now: "BANG, baby, BANG: Bay Area Guild refused to take 'no union' for an answer." Okay, I was never great at headlines but you get the idea.

Friday, November 30, 2007

MNG tops in Guild member numbers

Here’s something I just learned: MediaNews employs more Guild-represented workers than any other U.S. publisher. That tidbit was part of the recent Guild Reporter story, "Is Singleton's media empire a house of cards?"

SO, let's fight the fear and take heart as we push ahead together- 300 strong in the East Bay - to secure quality and efficiency where we work!

The empire a house of cards?

The emperor still has clothes but is perilously close to losing his shirt, according to the story, "Is Singleton's media empire a house of cards?" Jack Davis at the San Jose Newspaper Guild (our union brothers and sisters) broke the ground on that question in his piece, A look at Singleton's books. Both are just taking an old-fashioned peek at MediaNews’ SEC filings.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Do you know where your stories are going?

Judging from the most recent employee update, the company is planning to keep the reporting staff bare-boned. “We’re also looking at freezing some positions as they become open through natural attrition,” John Armstrong wrote in his regular e-mail missive. Then I read that MediaNews just signed a deal with Topix.com, that handles the online forums and comments sections people use to discuss articles they read in the papers. The bottom line, spelled out by the Topix folks, is that the deal is a way to stretch copy and reporters further.

In my humble opinion, that sucks. The way it works is that the two companies would share revenue from advertisements on the comment and forum pages. It’s a win-win for them: it creates more readers because comments posted in response to a Raiders article in The Oakland Tribune (just for example – the partnership only applies to two papers right now but the rollout would be complete in 2008) would show up on the BANG Web sites AND on forums on Topix.

What bothers me is that they are trying every way possible - except making the papers better - to hold up the teetering, debt-sustained empire.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Gas price spike leaving reimbursement in the dust?

Gas prices are going nuts again, up to more than $3.50 a gallon. Some folks have long commutes to get to work in our far-flung empire.

Any word about an increase in our mileage reimbursement with this latest spike in gas prices?

Monday, November 26, 2007

The Weekend Rotation draft

Weekend rotations have become a topic because departures are leaving already anemically staffed papers with too few people to spread around. So you get drafted -- like it or not.

With the departure of The Herald's Lothrop reporter, the understaffed paper will be down to five reporters who rotate through a Saturday shift (even though there are people from the Contra Costa Times working and covering much of the same area). Word is that currently a clerk is working Sundays as a reporter but still getting paid as a clerk (another matter for a later discussion).

The question to the masses is, how often, if at all, do you have to work a Saturday or a Sunday shift? I'd like to know how out of whack our rotation is, especially when there's staff already working at The Creek.

12/1: It's Party Time for us - FREE

Meet me at the annual holiday party for Bay Area journalists 7 to 10 p.m. this Saturday, December 1st. The Guild is co-sponsoring this year's party with BABJA, NLGJA, and AAJA. That means all Guild members, their dates AND prospective members get to attend for FREE - free food, free drinks, free fun and free love...whoops. Just kidding.

It’s a chance to shmooze with other reporters – a ritual far too infrequent in the Bay Area. And the whole shindig costs only what you spend on transporting yourself to San Francisco's LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street at Octavia. There’s also an auction for travel and other items, including a Florida vacation package that will be looking mighty good in a few months. Be there or be square!

Many Muni and bus lines run within blocks of the Center, many run within 1 block. To plan your transit door-to-door, visit SF Muni or the Bay Area Transit Trip Planner.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

11/27 event: How the Guild got it done in St. Paul

Two weeks ago, the Newspaper Guild in St. Paul and the MNG-owned Pioneer Press signed a four-year contract that was overwhelmingly ratified by Guild members, 159 to 6. The agreement addresses a host of core issues such as job security, pay, health care, training and more.

Join us Tuesday night in Walnut Creek to hear first-hand from Darren Carroll how it's possible with a strong Guild unit to negotiate good agreements with MNG. Darren is a longtime Guild journalist and was a key member of the St. Paul negotiating team.

Not sure if you are a "Guild supporter" yet? Come anyway, and find out what we're all about. All BANG-EB employees are welcome.

Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
1161 Conejo Way, Walnut Creek, near Larkey Park
Home of Chronicle reporter and shop steward Kevin Fagan


For more information on this event, contact:
chall@mediaworkers.org

Health Care: The Guild Difference

Download this new pdf today, share it around!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Merc Layoffs: Has MNG's "efficiency" gambit gone too far?

Who can argue with being more efficient? Not me. But I know when enough is enough. That would be, say, right about the time when it starts taking chunks out of the core of a news enterprise. Like now, when another round of layoffs have left people even more demoralized. What happened to the promise when MediaNews took over the Contra Costa Times and the San Jose Merc: No Layoffs. Yeah right.

"Efficiency" is just doublespeak for management's quest for the bottom line, no matter what (does anyone still believe management when they say they are losing money? The translation is that they're dropping below the outrageous profit margins of the past). That bottom line is bogus because it' the takeover of one paper after another that landed us here. It seems each time MediaNews gobbles up another paper, people get laid off.

Efficiency is fine -- but not when management starts slashing with little regard for the quality of the reporting. You have to wonder at what point the cuts are too damaging to the core...and when management is being "pennywise and pound foolish."

It's hard to see our colleagues being laid off. And it's tough knowing those who are left behind will likely be expected to do more - or at least the same - with less.

Unfortunately, no union can stop ownership from making layoffs. But at least folks are not hanging out in the cold.

You can see for yourselves in the Guild FAQ's, "with Guild representation staffers have been able to negotiate contract language to lessen the blow of layoffs." You all remember the first round after the takeover, right? And that was before we really got rolling.

We can't bring them back but we won't let them just go without pressing on for quality AND efficiency.

Friday, November 9, 2007

So, about that health care program...

Well, this week we finally got to see the new, consolidated MediaNews benefits package for 2008 - and most folks aren't very pleased. This is yet another item we’d have tried to bargain over had the company not illegally withdrawn recognition of our bargaining unit this summer.
It's not just that premiums are up. Though the increases are significant for many of us, we all know this is a national trend.

I've heard more concern about the way the news was delivered, and that it's a unilateral decision in which we had no voice.

Though not all rosy, at papers where there are Guild units and contracts, results have been different (check back soon for a summary). At the Chronicle, the Guild even administers the health care program!

What are your top concerns around the health care situation?

Let’s have a blog dialogue in the comments section...

Monday, November 5, 2007

Singelton goes anti-union on front page...

So much for the firewall! Word's getting around - Romenesko and beyond - about Lean Dean's "embarrassing" tirade in yesterday's Denver Post.

The rare front-page editorial for the Sunday edition of the Denver Post refers to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter as "a toady for labor bosses", "a bag man for unions" and "Jimmy Hoffa." The piece is consistent with Singleton's longstanding antipathy towards organized labor.

"You can be opposed to what the governor does," said one staffer who asked to remain anonymous. "But this name-calling stuff is embarrassing." The language in the editorial was so raw that the staffer predicted some distress among people in the newsroom.

The governor's spokesman, Evan Dreyer agreed that the language was not as professional as an editorial that opposed the governor's order in the Post's rival, the Rocky Mountain News.
"It's fair to criticize the plan and the governor," Dreyer said. But, he added, there are ways to disagree without getting personal.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Management getting union-busting training?

Looks like everyone in management got an e-mail about mandatory training on union-busting. Anyone else heard about this?

I've heard editors are being schooled in how to detect the slightest trace of unionizing activity at the Costra Costa Times.

What IS up with this anti-Guild crusade they're on? Wouldn't it be just a little more productive to invest their time in, say, training us on the new front end system, Jazbox (are we supposed to play it like a sax or what?) -- BEFORE it's installed? Or how about using their time to figure out how to make a better paper? Or how to keep the company going without laying off (okay, let's just say it: firing) more people?

Chime in, folks: what do you think management could be doing with the time they're using to keep us from having a union?

The Wire's David Simon speaks on new Guild Web site

A great news business lie: 'We're going to do more with less'Exclusive Interview with The Wire creator David Simon on the sexy as all get-out, spanking new NoCal Guild Web site:http://mediaworkers.org/

Be sure to check the post about our One Big BANG campaign in the comments...

Monday, October 29, 2007

First rounds' on us, so come on down

Join us a week from tonight, Friday, Nov. 2, from 7-10 p.m. (or beyond!) at Pacific Coast Brewing Co., 906 Washington St. between 9th and 10th streets in downtown Oakland. No arm-twisting, just a chance to blow off the week’s steam over a beer or three. AND THE FIRST ROUND IS ON US!!!

No more messing around

Members of the St. Paul Guild voted 159 to 6 to ratify a new contract with the MediaNews-brethren Pioneer Press in balloting that began Wednesday and concluded Thursday. The new four-year agreement runs through July 31, 2011.There were some wins and some concessions, but overall the deal is a winner -- because, and only because, we stood up together and said no more messing around.To see the whole deal, visit http://medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=4209.

Saving MediaNews' bacon

Here is a response to MediaNews President Jody Lodovic's comment in Bloomberg about the cost-saving measure of consolidating copy desk editors -- the last line of defense in journalism: "Perhaps Mr. Lodovic was thinking primarily of the Bay Area in California, where MediaNews owns a handful of papers. Surely there, centralizing the copy desk would be a prudent economy."Perhaps not...What it comes down to is an unstated but pervasive belief that quality can be sacrificed without any serious penalty...These papers have to be edited, which is time-consuming and expensive; otherwise, the accumulation of little errors and great ones over time will erode the reliability of the product."That comes from John McIntyre, The Baltimore Sun's assistant managing editor for the copy desk and a past president of the American Copy Editors Society.In other words, copy editors are the ones who "save our bacon" when they're allowed to do their job well.Read the rest of McIntyre’s piece at: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/mcintyre/blog/2007/10/just_sack_all_the_editors.html

This just takes the cake...out of our mouths

To quote an esteemed colleague from a competing newspaper: BusinessWeek's profile of Singleton, our MediaNews maestro, as the savior of newspapers "takes the cake."Newspapers' Unlikely Hero "Ruthless head of a print news empire, William Dean Singleton has become a crusader for efficiency and collaboration as a way to save the industry....denounced within the newspaper industry as a rapacious bottom feeder who buys troubled papers, slashes costs, and foists lousy products on defenseless subscribers...This black sheep is an emerging leader in the fight to save newspapering."Oh, is that why MediaNews President Jody Lodovic told Bloomberg News last week. “Why does every newspaper need copy editors? In this day and age, I think copy-editing can be done centrally for several newspapers.” Right. That comment just speaks for itself. But if you want an answer, read this tale. Then read about how hard they are fighting for newspapering -- profits, that is.

First rounds' on us, so come on down

Join us a week from tonight, Friday, Nov. 2, from 7-10 p.m. (or beyond!) at Pacific Coast Brewing Co., 906 Washington St. between 9th and 10th streets in downtown Oakland. No arm-twisting, just a chance to blow off the week’s steam over a beer or three. AND THE FIRST ROUND IS ON US!!!

Saving MediaNews' bacon

Here is a response to MediaNews President Jody Lodovic's comment in Bloomberg about the cost-saving measure of consolidating copy desk editors -- the last line of defense in journalism: "Perhaps Mr. Lodovic was thinking primarily of the Bay Area in California, where MediaNews owns a handful of papers. Surely there, centralizing the copy desk would be a prudent economy."Perhaps not...What it comes down to is an unstated but pervasive belief that quality can be sacrificed without any serious penalty...These papers have to be edited, which is time-consuming and expensive; otherwise, the accumulation of little errors and great ones over time will erode the reliability of the product."That comes from John McIntyre, The Baltimore Sun's assistant managing editor for the copy desk and a past president of the American Copy Editors Society.In other words, copy editors are the ones who "save our bacon" when they're allowed to do their job well.Read the rest of McIntyre’s piece at: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/mcintyre/blog/2007/10/just_sack_all_the_editors.html

This just takes the cake...out of our mouths

This just takes the cake...out of our mouths
To quote an esteemed colleague from a competing newspaper: BusinessWeek's profile of Singleton, our MediaNews maestro, as the savior of newspapers "takes the cake."Newspapers' Unlikely Hero "Ruthless head of a print news empire, William Dean Singleton has become a crusader for efficiency and collaboration as a way to save the industry....denounced within the newspaper industry as a rapacious bottom feeder who buys troubled papers, slashes costs, and foists lousy products on defenseless subscribers...This black sheep is an emerging leader in the fight to save newspapering."Oh, is that why MediaNews President Jody Lodovic told Bloomberg News last week. “Why does every newspaper need copy editors? In this day and age, I think copy-editing can be done centrally for several newspapers.” Right. That comment just speaks for itself. But if you want an answer, read this tale. Then read about how hard they are fighting for newspapering -- profits, that is.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Keep on knockin’ but you can’t come in…

Management must be sweating it, judging from the latest move to squelch the union campaign. So, John Armstrong announced in an e-mail two weeks ago that management would be coming around to the different BANG-EB newsrooms to talk about our (Guild) outreach efforts. We asked all polite in a letter if we could include a member in these meetings to "discuss the Guild's campaign." It's manaagement talking about our campaign so you'd think they'd invite us. Their response: No. Yo! Big red flag alert... For goodness sake, Armstrong has had his feathers all puffed up about the recent case that forced the disclosure of police records. Is this so different? Or did management come up with a separate set of rules for themselves without telling us simple reporters who are the ones always pushing for more transparency? That just kills me. We usually jump all over someone when they deny us access to information. I don’t know anything else that raises my hackles and suspicions more. Can we hear both sides when it comes to our business? What are they bloody afraid of? That we might actually disagree with them or present a different perspective…like the truth? I totally think they are feeling the heat in our Guild kitchen. I already said it in a recent entry (i.e. rant).But, basically, they started all this hush-hush planning AND management sugar daddy smooching shortly after we launched the One Big BANG: One Guild Universe” campaign, which, I might add, is being led by us BANG’ers and has the support of colleagues at the SJ Merc, Chronicle, Wall St. Journal and other Guild-represented media outlets. (Okay, I just love that reporters are bucking the isolation thing we usually do because we work for competing news outlets.)

Friday, October 19, 2007

Lean, Mean Merc Fighting Machine

Pretty good stuff, the American Journalism Review story about "changing the architecture" of newsrooms -- http://ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4402. It's a pretty serious piece of journalism so a lot of juicy stuff inside, including circulation-to-news staff ratios. Turns out, the Merc is the leanest in terms of circulation vs. news room staff of the ones looked at (the ones making radical changes -- translation: slashing staffing levels and going digital in a serious way), and according to rumors is going to get leaner.Atlanta Journal Constitution: 360,000 circulation vs. 435 News StaffMercury News: 230,000 circulation vs. 200 News StaffTampa Tribune: 218,000 circulation vs. 270 News StaffDeMoines Register: 150,000 circulation vs. 195 News StaffWilmington News Journal: 115,000 circulation vs. 138 News StaffDoes anyone remember an AJR story about the optimal ratio of circulation vs. news staff?

And one more BANG thing...

Now that we are all one big family, it's time to talk about sharing custody.
We want to find out if our colleagues in the new "Bay Area News Group" are interested in creating a bargaining unit to encompass the entire BANG-EB – including ANG as well as the CCT/Hills. We want to make sure the union we've had all these years continues and that all our colleagues have the choice to have a say in our workplace.
In my humble opinion, a progressive company wouldn't interfere in their employees decision about whether we want a voice on the job and a legal right to bargain with the company. No one asked me, or anyone else for that matter, if I wanted to get rid of the union. I like my union, which thankfully hasn't disappeared like an ostrich with its head in the sand.
We're still as plucky as ever and working to ensure management respects its employees' rights, helps make us better journalists and, basically, just talks to us straight. It doesn't have to be contentious and it doesn't have to be MediaNews vs. The Union. We can share the love, people.
Exhibit A: Just in the last two weeks, in both Denver and St.Paul, our union has negotiated multi-year agreements with MediaNews for the right to bargain and numerous other benefits, including securing health care and pension guarantees. (http://www.onebigbang.org for the details of the St. Paul and Denver deals)
Why can't we have protections like these in the East Bay?
At ANG we worked with a hostile MediaNews management pleading poverty for 20 years. Despite all kinds of obstacles, we made progress, including a fair grievance procedure, guaranteed pay increases plus a chance to earn merit raises and many benefits spelled out in the most recent labor agreement.
Anyway, see for yourself the details of the campaign, "One Big BANG: One Guild Universe": http://onebigbang.org or e-mail campaign@onebigbang.org.

Armstrong Feeling the Heat?

Notice all the "positive" management feedback lately?

They never paid our staff so much attention before this union drive kicked into gear. Now they're showering us with attention: some modest and long overdue investments in equipment, the sudden increase in their communication with us...and now meetings about the union campaign at every work site.

What gives, you ask? (OK, I ask...) Clearly the company is feeling the heat of our outreach, even though we're just getting started.

Meanwhile, we're asking for renewed negotiations on a contract to protect our rights to bargain with the company and give us a voice in the future of the expanded BANG-EB. But so far, MediaNews management is refusing to meet and bargain, other than to discuss effects of the consolidation. And, speaking of consolidation, now that we are all one big MNG family, we're looking out for the future -- for all of us -- and looking to have a say in how it turns out. That's what family does, right?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes as the Mercury News

A "Grade the News" blog entry from Oct. 17 about changes at the San Jose Mercury News since it was absorbed along with the Contra Costa Times by MediaNews:"Those of us who are daily readers of the San Jose Mercury News have had a little more than a year to observe the newspaper since Dean Singleton and his company MediaNews bought the northern California newspapers formerly owned by Knight Ridder. "It is obvious a great deal has changed. Some of the changes have been mostly benign. "Other changes are more harmful. There have been layoffs and resignations. Well-known bylines have disappeared..." http://www.gradethenews.org/blogs/?p=54

BANG BANG Baby

The Guild -- that's us, baby -- gets it done at MediaNews: Denver, St.Paul and, next up, BANG!It's not sign-on-the-dotted line official yet, but after hashing it out for three days the Guild and the Saint Paul Pioneer Press reached agreement late Wednesday on afour-year contract covering 340 employees -- right on the heels of winning the contract in Denver a couple weeks ago.That means raises (guaranteed not just promised) and a bar on layoffs through December 31, 2008. More details to follow, but for now, a membership vote on the tentative agreement will be scheduled for the middle part of next week. More details about the agreement will be provided beginning Friday, Oct. 19. A unit meeting will be scheduledon Wednesday, Oct. 24 to present the agreement and answer questions.Will keep you up to date, but for now, think of this: we are rockin' the MediaNews world.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

A Tale of Two Newspapers, or Don't Fool Yourself

The York Dispatch and York Daily Record/Sunday News are two newspapers in a small town in Central Pennsylvania. The papers had been under a joint operating agreement, but when it expired a few years back, Singleton saw to it that the Dispatch (an afternoon paper) was gutted of its reporters, even the librarian. The order came one day that the majority of the newsrooom from the Dispatch would report the next day to work at the Record, going -- with one day notice -- to work for their long-time competitor that had a very different style.The order also was issued that the Dispatch would lose the Sunday News to the Record. The Dispatch was left with eight metro reporters, three copy editors and four upper managerial editors to put out the same paper. All papers are part of Local 38218 although there are three units -- the Record, the Dispatch and the reassigned dispatchers. Negotiations had been done in good faith for years until Singleton took the helm to bust the union first at the Record, and we assume next at the Dispatch. The Record has been without a contract for nearly three years, and members are without an evergreen clause. Thus, the Local has no real method to collect its dues, the members are afraid they'll lose their jobs and the paper is slowing on replacements (as all are these days). It's been difficult to garner support of the members as all have tired of the ongoing battle for a contract and "just want it to be over." As for our brothers and sisters in California, the non members in particular, while still riding the Knight Ridder wave, believe me that the Singleton Tsunami will hit and hit hard. Unless reporters are willing to stick together, recall days when you first started reporting for next to nothing, you will find a deluge of work, the meaningless kind, fewer colleagues to complete work and fewer benefits -- including mileage reimbursement -- to offset all of the expenses (physical, emotional, mechanical).

Just Don't Get Sick

Now that the cold weather is moving in fast, bringing cold and flu season with it, the time seems right to talk health care, or lack of it. MediaNews bosses are. Word is they are considering some big changes in our health coverage _ without giving anyone details ahead of time. Typical: the ones most affected find out last. So far, from what is known, looks like the soon-to-be unveiled plan will be Kaiser, a basic other option, and some kind of extra-plush option. Costs to the employees and families are sure to be increasing substantially. The company is expected to provide a buffer -- a subsidy for those who wind up having to pay increases above a certain threshold for one year. But after this one-year management-designed “get-used-to-it” deal, the subsidy will most likely stop.Oh, but I forgot. Footing the bill for our health coverage won't be so bad with those raises were supposed to be getting -- in a few years. Right. The MediaNews track record on that score speaks for itself. The Guild is insisting on having details of the proposed changes in health coverage and the chance to at least look at options.In the meantime, the Guild has suggested a moratorium on any increased costs or cost-shifting, or cuts in benefit levels and provider options.At least let folks know ahead of time what's coming down the line. That would be a first.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Crying Wolf

I wrote that MediaNews execs were like wolves in sheeps' clothing. Now it appears they have been crying wolf over money matters. If profits are so bad, why did chief executive and vice chairman Dean Singleton pay himself $1.83 million, including a salary of $1,061,250 and a stock award of $484,000?He's not the only one cashing in. See the details on the Media News Monitor Web sitewww.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=4153Here's a hint: Reveue for the MediaNews Group, the Bay Area's largest newspaper publisher, increased 59 percent, to $1.33 billion, from $835.9 million.

Naked Newspapers and How-To Guides

How the MediaNews Group Destroys Journalism, Jobs, and Democracyhttp://www.araw.org/antiunionnetwork/dean_singleton.cfm:An "American Rights at Work" account of how MediaNews head Dean Singleton has been buying and restructuring (fancy talk for stripping bare in order to turn a buck) local newspapers. Includes a handy, dandy step-by-step Singleton guide for how to bust a union.

Burying the Lede

From a Sept. 11 MediaNews employee update:"And Finally. . .As most of you know, the Newspaper Guild is challenging our decision to withdraw recognition of the Guild as the bargaining representative of the consolidated BANG-East Bay Editorial Division."The Guild filed complaints alleging unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board and is waging a campaign of misinformation in an attempt to block our efforts to move the company in a positive direction in a very challenging economic environment."The Guild claims that our decision to withdraw recognition of the union is illegal. The truth is that we had no choice but to withdraw recognition since it is illegal to extend recognition to a union that represents a minority of employees in a group such as the BANG-East Bay Editorial Division.We have acted fairly and professionally in every respect."We gave union representatives advance word of our intention to consolidate. We are answering in a timely fashion all questions from the union. We are fully cooperating with the NLRB. We remain confident that our decision to withdraw recognition is in full compliance with all applicable law. As always, your comments and questions are welcome."John ArmstrongPresident and PublisherBay Area News Group-East Bay----What he forgot to mention is that months before the union-busting measure, a decertification letter was being circulated by an ANG employee in order to force the issue. It fizzled once the instigator was confronted and word went out about what was up the management sleeve. It wasn't the only behind-the-back tactic. Armstrong also omitted the strategy behind the merging of union ANG and nonunion Contra Costa Times employees. So, right, they are "fully cooperating." Like wolves in sheeps' clothing.

A Sordid MediaNews Tale

http://www.gradethenews.org/2007/bowman.htm"Inside the Inside the Bay Area's newspaper giant" -- a sordid tale on the Grade the News Web site. "The average reader of the Oakland Tribune or Daily Review, or Tri-Valley Herald or Fremont Argus or San Mateo County Times would be appalled or even a little frightened if they knew how we put out those newspapers," said John Bowman, a 31-year veteran journalist who resigned over working conditions under the MediaNews banner, according to the article. A few items mentioned in the story: At the San Meteo County Times building, the heating and air conditioning went without repair for months. Thieves had sawed out the copper hot water pipes and stripped some of the building's wires. Rats had been a problem and maggots were discovered in the women's bathroom. OSHA has been by to inspect.In Bowman's view, the story continues, "the condition of the building is a metaphor for journalism under Dean Singleton, the self-made Denver entrepreneur who now owns almost every paid daily newspaper surrounding San Francisco, San Pablo and Monterey bays."Budget and staffing cuts that are comprimising the ability of copy editors -- the last line of defense in preventing errors in a newspaper -- to do a good job, Bowman said.MediaNews execs Kevin Keane and Pete Wevurski flatly denied Bowman's comments."Wrong on all counts!" Keane declared.For more read:http://penpressclub.org/2007/06/ex-editor-john-bowman-rips-medianewshttp://penpressclub.org/2007/09/former-editor-colleagues-were-told-to

Bay Area News Blues

"We have bought the crown jewels of Knight Ridder" -- MediaNews head Dean Singleton quoted in Paul Farhi's October/November 2007 American Journalism Review article "San Francisco News Blues." http://ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4404Singleton was referring to the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times, which he had just bought (via the McClatchy company).He called the two excellent papers, which MediaNews execs expected to make better.Or perhaps he meant smaller, Farhi writes in the article that looks at the blows Bay Area journalism recently has taken -- many of them below the belt.Consider this: Less than a year after MediaNews exec Kevin Keane, who is in charge of most of the group's Bay Area papers, promised no layoffs (''addition by addition, not by subtraction" he repeatedly said and wrote in a slew of announcements), the Merc's staff had shrunk by 22 percent.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Read All About It!

John Armstrong, president and publisher of Bay Area News Group-East Bay, was at it again this week.He told Editor & Publisher: "I feel that the combined company can best reach its full potential journalistically by encouraging direct relationships between staff members and supervising editors without outside interference."
To quote an esteemed colleague:
“'Outside interference?' Bull. We’re insiders, baby -- the people who put the papers out every day. In fact, you might note that some of your Guild unit leaders have been here longer than much of the current management…"
The story is online at http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003655923.

Performance Reviews and Pay

Here's what The Guild Update of Oct. 12, 2007 had to say about performance reviews and what they are supposed to usher in: raises.It's like looking for the end of a rainbow.The management’s proposed approach to adjusting pay issues failed to address the issue of ANG employees who are overdue for annual reviews and associated pay raises. We request a summary, for each employee in the bargaining unit, of his or her most recent performance appraisal and recommended merit increase, if any. We understand local managers have told some employees that they were being recommended for raises, or that a manager had “put in for a raise” for some individuals, but that no raise was implemented when the consolidation was announced. We insist that the so-called “consolidation” not be allowed to derail the negotiated process for annual reviews and merit increases. Employees who were due increases are entitled to retroactive adjustments.

From the Questionable Department

"I think the best decision is for the employees to follow the Contra Costa Newspapers model," said John Armstrong, president and publisher of Bay Area News Group-East Bay, in a Friday, Oct. 12, 2007, article by Contra Costa Times reporter George Avalos. http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_7157804Armstrong was referring to why he thought East Bay news workers would be better off remaining nonunion since our mothership, MediaNews, withdrew its recognition of the Media Guild as the bargaining agent for six of the company's Bay Area newspapers."That model," he continued, "relies on a strong relationship, a direct relationship, between the staff membes and their supervising editors."Putting my natural cynicism and snarky remarks aside, Armstrong doesn't bother to mention why it would better to not have a union or what right the company had to pull the union rug out from under members without asking us what we wanted.But his biggest fallacy (defined as a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc.) is that the model assumes those editors we would be working so closely with are competent.What if they're not, and who gets to decide?

Addition by Addition

Here's a scoop: raises could be on the horizon for employees of the Bay Area News Group-East Bay (rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?).At least that's what Pete Wevurski said in an e-mail sent Friday to BANG-EB workers.Management is supposed to be rolling out a new performance review process, which is supposed to lead to raises.That move is supposed to be a step in leveling out the pay levels between Contra Costa Times employees and former Alameda News Group workers. But don't hold your breath: "...former ANG employees will recognize an accelerated program intended to close the pay gap over the next two to three years," wrote Pete Wevurski in the e-mail.Now, I hate to quibble, but one of the elemental rules of journalism is that over means above, not more than.Secondly, the wording and promises Wevurski made about the pay and reviews remind me of a promise Kevin Keane made when Dean Singleton absorbed the Contra Costa Times and San Jose Mercury News.More advertising, more newshole, more profits and more reporters, Keane promised. "This is going to be addition by addition, not addition by subtraction," to use his phrase.Right.