Management Road Show Redux...

This week's been filled with meetings at our many worksites with MediaNews management. Reports range from a very lively exchange in Walnut Creek to nary a mention of the Guild organizing campaign at Oakport.

How did it shake out at your worksite?

And what are the key issues you think we need to be providing more information about to address colleagues' concerns and management's talking points?

Denver Guild, MediaNews reach tentative 2-year agreement using streamlined process

Following only seven negotiating sessions, MediaNews management at The Denver Post and the Guild's negotiating team have reached agreement on a new two-year labor proposal. Guild members will vote on the the measure in the coming weeks to determine if it will take effect as a contract.

The agreement includes a 1 percent raise beginning March 16 for all Guild-covered employees and another 1 percent pay increase the next year. The pact calls for an increase in night differential to $4 per shift from the current $2.25 a shift.

The agreement includes numerous changes in contract language that reflect the extraordinary transformations in our industry. Most notably, it includes an expectation that employees will gather and process information for multiple media platforms using a variety of tools, and that Post management will provide the necessary training and learning opportunities for employees to do so.

Guild reps cited the parties' use of a process known as "interest-based bargaining" for the remarkably quick resolution of the agreement. The process makes use of a federal mediator to streamline the negotiations, and was aimed at getting a fair agreement for both sides in a difficult economic environment. The teams are finalizing language of the proposed contract and will be making drafts available for all Guild-covered employees within the next two weeks. Following a review period, Guild members will vote to approve or reject it.

Monterey Herald Guild members speak out

The Monterey County Weekly is running a piece this week on the situation at the MediaNews-owned Herald. Guild members there are in the midst of contract negotiations with the company.

On Jan. 18, MediaNews laid off eight Herald employees, including two editors and one reporter. It was the second round of layoffs since the company bought the paper and 32 others in 2006.

“The thing that worries me as a journalist: I’m really concerned about the decreasing local coverage,” said staff writer Claudia Meléndez Salinas, chair of the Monterey unit of San Jose Newspaper Guild. “When you start reducing the number of people gathering information and making sure that it is delivered accurately, the community suffers.”

The article also notes that MediaNews paid $25 million in cash dividends to shareholders in 2007.

Amazing quotes by exiting LAT editor, refusing cuts and urging investment plus journos' leadership

From NewYorkTimes.com: The editor of the L.A. Times, James E. O'Shea, left Monday after refusing to carry out another round of newsroom budget cuts sought by publisher David Hiller — 15 months after Hiller fired the paper's previous editor over the same kind of dispute. The showdown and O'Shea's parting comments made for a remarkable statement by an editor - especially one who had been seen as a Tribune loyalist, sent to Los Angeles to calm a rebellious staff.

"Even in hard times, wise investment — not retraction — is the long-term answer to the industry's troubles," O'Shea wrote, while suggesting that Tribune executives have been unable to see the logic of anything but budget cuts.

"Journalists and not accountants should seize responsibility for the financial health of our newspapers," he wrote, "so journalists can make decisions about the size of our staffs and how much news remains in our papers and Web sites."

A new voice at the Contra Costa Times

This week the One Big BANG campaign ramped up to a new level as CCT reporter Sara Steffens publicly announced that she is co-chair of the East Bay organizing campaign, along with Michael Manekin of the San Mateo County Times.  Read Sara's inspiring letter to our colleagues.

St. Paul, Denver MediaNews journos come to EBay

More than a dozen working members and Guild staff from around the country will gather in Oakland next week for a novel mobilization project spearheaded by Eric Geist, organizing director at The Newspaper Guild-CWA sector headquarters in Washington.  Geist will join John Dugan, head of organizing for the Communications Workers of America District 9, in leading a series of mobilization workshops and field projects focusing on MediaNews Group, the nation's fourth largest news chain.

Delegates from the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Denver Post will join representatives of Guild locals and field staff from Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco. The NorCal Media Workers Guild is playing host for the first-time event, being held at the union-represented Courtyard Marriott Hotel in downtown Oakland.

Much of the focus will be on the "One Big BANG: One Guild Universe" campaign being led by Sara Steffens of the Contra Costa Times and Michael Manekin of the San Mateo County Times. They are recently named co-chairs of the BANG-East Bay organizing committee, building a new bargaining unit here amongst our colleagues.

Members of the San Francisco Chronicle newsroom -- key early participants in the BANG organizing along with the San Jose Mercury News staff -- also are joining in the sessions, including two full days of seminars followed by meetings and one-on-one visits with BANG employees.

"Our members will come out to the Bay Area, learn how it's done, learn and share as much as they can about the company, and then return back to their home newsrooms to continue the mobilization work," Geist said.

Along with the daytime sessions, the agenda includes a dinner meeting Monday night with presentations by leaders of the BANG organizing committee. On Tuesday night, January 29, an informational meeting will be held in Walnut Creek where the St. Paul and Denver delegates will share their insights about achieving productive bargaining relationships with the MediaNews company.

On the last night, Thursday January 31, members of the Chronicle Guild Unit are hosting a party to thank the out-of-towners and toast their East Bay colleagues. That event will take place at the House of Shields on New Montgomery Street in San Francisco, from 6-9 p.m., with free food and beverages. A very special musical treat is in the works.

Check back here for more details on the upcoming events. For further information, call local representative Carl Hall at the Media Workers Guild at 415-421-6833.

Shake Up, Pt. 2: Another MediaNews Exec Steps In

What's going on here?  Close on the heels of last week's replacement of Merc editor Carole Leigh Hutton, the Bay Area shakeup continued today with George Riggs suddenly stepping down from his post as executive of the California Newspapers Partnership. Both he and Hutton have been replaced by high-ranking MediaNews execs from Dean Singleton's inner circle (both are V.P's, one is the Chief Operating Officer of the entire company).

From E&P's Joe Strupp: 

"Asked about speculation that his departure had something to do with the surprise resignation earlier this month of Mercury News Editor Carole Leigh Hutton, whom he hired last year, Riggs said only, 'she is an outstanding journalist and editor, so I was sorry to see her leave.'  Reached by E&P today, Hutton declined comment.

The departure of Riggs came on the heels of Hutton's exit.  The San Jose Mercury News pointed out today, 'Hutton had been appointed by Riggs and had proposed a sweeping transformation of the Silicon Valley newspaper into a three-section publication.'

MediaNews named one if its executives as editor to replace Hutton. It's not completely clear that the Hutton move led, in turn, to Riggs' departure."

It's true, not much is clear. But one thing is for certain: the concentration of high-ranking MediaNews execs has increased significantly in the region in just this first month of 2008 - a year in which we're already seeing an escalating organizing drive in the East Bay and in which contract negotiations are upcoming in the South Bay.

Hold onto your hats, friends, it's going to be a lively year...

Contract talks progress in Monterey...

Guild reps and Monterey Herald negotiators reached a tentative agreement Tuesday on a matching contribution by the company to the 401(k) plan.  Under the agreement, the company will match 50 cents for each dollar contributed by employees, up to a maximum contribution by the company of 3 percent of an employee's salary.  

In Tuesday's talks, the Guild also put forward two amended proposals:

1) The first proposal would link mileage reimbursement to 90 percent of the IRS rate, which now stands at 50.5 cents per mile.  Under the proposal, any employee required by the company to have a car available for work would receive the greater of $25 per week or the actual value of mileage reimbursement.

2) The second proposal would require the company to pay two weeks of severance for each year of employment to any employee laid off by The Herald, with a minimum of four weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks. Severance would be paid for service from August 24, 1997, when Knight-Ridder acquired The Herald.

Herald Guild reps and the rest of our negotiating team are continuing to press for reasonable gains in the ongoing talks.

Thank you Daren!

Pleasanton copy-desker Daren Darrow, a key player in our organizing drive over the past year, has accepted a job at CNET. His last day at BANG-EB will be January 28.

"I'll be giving up design work, which I love doing, but everything else about the job looks so good, I just couldn't pass it up," he said.

Daren has spent untold hours helping us organize the copy desk, producing many of our best fliers, and serving as a delegate to national gatherings of the Guild's MediaNews industry council. He came to Bay Area journalism after college at Oklahoma State, working 11 months for the Fremont Argus before moving to Pleasanton in the consolidation.

Stay tuned, plans are under way for a suitable sendoff for Daren. Meanwhile, we all thank him for his big efforts to help get us to this point, and we wish him well in his next gig!

Merc’s top editor replaced by MediaNews VP Butler

By now you've likely heard the news:  Carole Leigh Hutton, the editor of the Mercury News, was replaced in a top-level shake up yesterday. Our newsroom colleagues and management alike were stunned...and few we spoke with were thrilled that she was being replaced by David Butler, a well-traveled MediaNews corporate exec based in Denver.

What's really going on here? Hutton told E&P she resigned on her own, but there's lots of speculation the Denver brass want more control of the Hutton-supported "Rethinking the Mercury News" project.

What do you think this means for the Merc? Will there be a new year trend of Denver-based execs taking control of MNG's Bay Area papers? 

Happy 2008! Hope and Change are in the Air...

A happy new year to all and Guild wishes for a healthy, productive '08!  Hopefulness and a spirit of change are definitely in the air, and not just in Iowa...

The One Big BANG campaign is gathering momentum in worksites across the East Bay, as hunger grows for a real voice in the changes we're all facing day-to-day.  This week's shake up at The Merc is just one example of the seemingly daily news of changes from papers across the region and the country. (For some especially good pro-labor news see the recent Santa Barbara News-Press ruling.)

Be sure to take a moment and read New Year, New Guild by local Guild President Michael Cabantuan, for his take on Bay Area prospects for 2008.  Chime in below with a new year's resolution for your workplace...

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.