Bargaining bulletin, Sept. 30: Guild representatives met today with company officials to further discuss the proposed Oct. 12 and January pay cuts. We received some new information and responses to some of the ideas we presented during our initial discussions last Friday.

We have reached no agreements. Under the terms of our contract, the Company had to delay any pay cuts until October, and provide at least a two-week period to discuss alternatives, even though pay cuts were implemented in June for some non-union employees. If we do not reach an agreement in two weeks, the company can implement pay cuts on the same terms announced for non-union employees.

The talks are set to resume Wed., Oct. 7 in Oakland.

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Update, Feb. 26: Our bargaining bulletins are usually brief, but Tuesday’s contained some pretty big news: Company representatives are proposing that we explore merging our new BANG-EB Guild unit with the established Guild unit at the Mercury News.

What does this mean exactly? In a consolidated Guild unit, we would share the same contract with our coworkers at the Mercury News, and managers likely would have more leeway to coordinate operations across our newsrooms.

We’ve always used the term “One Big BANG,” and we think the idea of formally creating a seamless Bay Area News Group deserves a serious look amid our current financial crisis. So our bargaining team and its counterpart from Merc have agreed to talk about the idea. With the help of federal mediator David Weinberg, we’ll enter talks with the company in early March to begin discussing what a merged unit could look like, and how employees might be affected.

This is by no means a done deal: A merger would be a complex undertaking, requiring support from members of all the affected units, and involving separate votes of our members and Guild members at the Mercury News. It won’t happen unless all sides see evidence that it’s in the best interest of our company and its workers.

So we want to hear from you: How would you feel about sharing a union contract with our colleagues in San Jose? What concerns or questions do you have?

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Update, Feb. 19: As we reported earlier this month, the National Labor Relations Board denied our appeal in the case of the July layoffs, saying the company showed sufficient business reasons for its decisions.

Ironically or not, I got the news in Washington D.C., where I was speaking about the need to revamp our labor laws.

Last week our lawyer sent a letter to the NLRB, alerting them that she intends to file “a request to reconsider,” which is just what it sounds like: we’re asking them to take a second look at the decision.

This step isn’t a common part of the appeals process. Still, we feel there are good reasons for it. Our Local and the Guild as a whole place great importance on protecting workers from illegal retaliation for their union activity.

Meanwhile, two NLRB charges remain pending locally, both documenting the company’s behavior during and after the union organizing campaign.

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Update, Feb. 5: I regret to inform you that the National Labor Relations Board has denied our appeal in the case of the June layoffs, ruling with finality that the company acted within the boundaries of law when it dismissed several of our union activists.

We disagree, of course, particularly in the case of our unit chair, Sara Steffens. Your unit leadership will meet shortly to discuss our immediate next steps.

I would like to say, personally, that I believe the intent of some of those layoffs was to intimidate our union, derail its early progress and cause the average newsroom worker at BANG-EB to lose faith that collective action can make a difference, both in improving our lot and in healing what ails our papers.

If I’m right, and that was the point, I can only conclude that the gesture failed. Utterly.

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Update, Feb. 1: Hoping to help avoid further layoffs, Guild representatives on Friday agreed to allow the company to implement a one-week, unpaid furlough for union-represented employees at BANG-EB, the Monterey County Herald and the San Jose Mercury News.

Below, you’ll find answers to common questions about the upcoming furlough. If you have other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. As always, talk to any shop steward, or simply leave a comment here.

Thanks,

Sara Steffens
Chair, BANG-EB unit
California Media Workers Guild

Can I donate extra unpaid time to others?

Yes. At the bargaining table, the company agreed to allow employees to volunteer to take extra unpaid days, so that others who truly can’t afford this furlough can take less time off or none at all.

The easiest way to swap unpaid time is to make a deal with another bargaining unit member in your own department. You should work this out directly with the person, then go to your manager to get the OK. All time trades are subject to company approval, and will include consideration of whether the swap meets the company’s economic goals.

If you want to swap time, but can’t find someone to trade with, contact the Guild.

And let us know if this furlough presents dire financial difficulties in your household — we may be able to help.

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Jan. 28, 2009

California Media Workers Guild
San Jose Unit
Monterey County Herald Unit
Bay Area News Group-East Bay Unit

Management representatives of MediaNews Group issued statements today concerning a one-week unpaid furlough for all employees of the California Newspapers Partnership, including members of our bargaining units at the Monterey Herald, Mercury News and Bay Area News Group-East Bay by March 31. The timing and other details of any such unpaid furlough are subject
to negotiations.

We have previously scheduled bargaining sessions with the company for both the BANG-EB and San Jose units on Friday, Jan. 30. Based on today’s developments, we expect the furlough matter will be discussed at that time.

All of us are aware of the difficult economic climate affecting the newspaper industry in general and MediaNews in particular. We are committed to working cooperatively with any management committed to working with us.

As always, our primary goal is to minimize the impact of any cost-cutting on our memberships, and to enhancing job security in these difficult times.

Please contact your shop steward or unit officers if you have any questions or comments.

Jan. 28: An e-mail went out in our newsrooms today, announcing plans for an one-week, unpaid furlough for all workers at the Bay Area News Group-East Bay.

For members of our bargaining unit, such a move must be negotiated. We are scheduled to meet with the company Friday, when we expect to hear more details, including the financial reasons for the proposal.

In the meantime, please share your ideas, questions and concerns. Talk to any shop steward, leave comments after this post or e-mail me directly at modernsara@gmail.com.

The text of the e-mail is posted after the jump.

–Sara Steffens

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Update, Jan. 21: Many of us worried that the New Year would ring in a new round of staff cuts at the Bay Area News Group-East Bay. But several weeks into 2009, we have yet to see a layoff in our bargaining unit.

Lately, we’ve been hearing from credible sources that newsroom layoffs aren’t coming any time soon. Our best reports say our managers have found other ways to trim the budgets, including a plan to shift deadlines and change workflow on the copy desk. (There’s a meeting on that one later this afternoon). We’ll send specifics as we get them; as always please share any details you hear or concerns you may have.

No one likes to see cuts that change deadlines or make the newspaper smaller, and there’s still a chance that more of our colleagues outside the newsroom will lose their jobs.

Still, we’re relieved to hear that our company has been looking beyond newsroom layoffs to balance the budget, at least for the immediate future. Saving jobs is a top priority for guild leaders, and everything we’ve heard tells us that the rest of you agree.

So take a deep breath. In a volatile business climate, there are no guarantees. But if you’ve been yearning to settle in and focus on doing your job, maybe even tackle a special project, now seems like a good time.

 After the jump:  A new contract in Long Beach, Broun awards deadline nears; plus bargaining road-show, big-picture stuff and depressing industry news (as if you needed any more)…

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Update, Dec. 24: We continue to pursue legal remedies to the company’s anti-union tactics.On Tuesday we authorized our law firm to file an appeal to Washington DC of our case protesting the targeting of union organizers during the July 2008 layoffs. The NLRB’s Oakland region found insufficient evidence last month to issue a complaint. We hope a fresh set of eyes will see the evidence as clearly as we do.

In support of this charge, we have filed evidence and in some cases separate charges involving things that happened our newsrooms before and directly after the union vote. One charge alleges that managers violated federal law during the organizing drive by using surveillance and interrogation to find out which employees were sympathetic to the union. Another documents changes in annual reviews and raises throughout the unit.

Our contention is that the layoffs were part of a pattern in which supporters of the management were rewarded and supporters of the Guild were punished.
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Update, Dec. 10: With the dreary financial state of the print media, only one thing is certain: Bay Area newsrooms are going to keep getting smaller.

So it makes sense for all of us to start imagining what we might do with our lives if we were no longer employed by a newspaper.

Whether you’ve been thinking about this for a long time, or are just starting to wonder, please join our discussion:

Life After Newspapers
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday Dec. 17
in Annex A of Civic Arts Education,
111 N. Wiget Lane in Walnut Creek.

The workshop will focus on how to begin planning a new career, including a panel of former BANG-EB employees who can answer questions about how they found their new jobs and how journalism skills translate into other fields of employment. We’ll also offer tips on what to do immediately following a layoff.
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