Hello CNI staffers,
A trusted source who has been with the Journal Sentinel for more than two decades said recently that he remembers the same tactics used when their newsroom unionized.
"Right out of the same playbook," he said.
Is this an indication of how serious they are taking us. Let's review what has happened so far.
Two weeks ago, Cristy calls a two-hour meeting with a handful of "supervisors" to show them a Power Point about unions. This was a secret meeting but some of us knew the reason beforehand.
Last week, Roger sends an e-mail notifying staffers of a "state of the newsroom" meeting with Cristy. He fails to mention the true reason for the meeting in the e-mail but succeeds in locking the doors when the meeting begins. Again Cristy bashes unions for an hour or two. This time management again fails to get the message across since not everyone was present.
Also, an interesting side note, both meetings were in the middle of the day as news was waiting to be reported. Those attended were on the clock. Interesting that the company will pay people to talk about us unionizing.
What have we learned from three and a half hours of secret, locked door meetings ... Cristy does not like unions.
So let me add this up. They lock the doors, have union bashing meetings for three hours and use a 20-year-old outdated playbook to persaude us to trust them. Doesn't sound like they are taking this too seriously. They are showing us absolutely no respect.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
INFORMATIONAL MEETING
We'll be meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 7 at Louise's restaurant, 275 Regency Court (190th and Bluemound Road) in Brookfield. The union will spring for pizzas and sodas (many thanks to them for that).
We will discuss what the union can do for us, some of the tactics JS will try to use to convince us not to unionize, debunk some of the information that the company has already put out there and a little about labor law so that we can all get through this with our jobs intact.
We will discuss what the union can do for us, some of the tactics JS will try to use to convince us not to unionize, debunk some of the information that the company has already put out there and a little about labor law so that we can all get through this with our jobs intact.
Price paid for "shinking ship"
Christy mentioned we are not making money ...
Sale price of our building: $2.65 million according to the city's tax assessment info on the property. That's a heck of a lot of money to spend on a "sinking ship." And, I don't think that even includes the cost of all the internal improvements and technology upgrades made to the building after the sale. Before JRN bought it, the building was just an empty shell with no walls, plumbing, lights or anything else inside.
Sale price of our building: $2.65 million according to the city's tax assessment info on the property. That's a heck of a lot of money to spend on a "sinking ship." And, I don't think that even includes the cost of all the internal improvements and technology upgrades made to the building after the sale. Before JRN bought it, the building was just an empty shell with no walls, plumbing, lights or anything else inside.
Union Update
HI all! Four of the 25-30 potential members of the union will be form the organizing committee and our first objective is to form a mission statement.
Brenden O'Brien, Stephanie Scott, John Neville and Denise Lockwood will be considered the interim union until the union is actually formed by a secret ballot election. Our first order of business is to start communicating with you as a group. Hopefully this will prevent management from taking our union materials. We will be holding a "Get to know about what the guild can do for you" meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 7. We're still in the process of trying to find a place so please be on the look out for that information within the next few days.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me ahead of time so that we can be prepared to answer them.Cheryl Baker, the regional organizer from the Communication Workers of America (the guild is under their umbrella) along with several local union representatives from the Journal Sentinel will be there to answer questions/concerns about what the guild can do for us, what it's been like working at JS under the union, the process of forming a union and what we can expect from our employer while we're trying to accomplish this.
We'll also be debunking several misnomers presented by Cristy Garcia-Thomas at the locked door, we will threaten the hell out of you but won't present any verifiable information so that you won't unionize, meeting held last week.
If anyone can't be at the meeting but would still like information, please e-mail me.
Just so people are aware, we've had several conversations with many of you about whether or not you would consider joining the union and there is an overwhelming majority that does support unionizing. This is awesome and I hope to see you all at the meeting.
Also.... here are some factoids the JS union and the committee have been collecting over the past few days.
On Jan. 31, 2007 the Journal purchased our building for $2.65 million. This does not include all the upgrades made to the building, the cost of printing the t-shirts, the little welcome buffet or the nice pretty red couches with those ever so pretty pillows in the meeting room.
Also yesterday, one of our staff was just offered a pay raise (I won't say who).
And... did I fail to mention that Community Newspapers and "the shoppers" (which totals 75) per their annual report, had a net operating earnings in 2006 of $7.1 million. That was up from $2.2 million in 2005. Operating earnings of the daily newspaper were $30.7 million in 2006, down from $41.7 million in 2005.
Advertising revenue for all the websites -- JSOnline, MKEOnline,
MilwaukeeMarketplace, Milwaukeemoms and the 25 MyCommunityNOW sites, increased 34.3% in 2006 over 2005. (The websites are all under JCPG, our budget).
Brenden O'Brien, Stephanie Scott, John Neville and Denise Lockwood will be considered the interim union until the union is actually formed by a secret ballot election. Our first order of business is to start communicating with you as a group. Hopefully this will prevent management from taking our union materials. We will be holding a "Get to know about what the guild can do for you" meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 7. We're still in the process of trying to find a place so please be on the look out for that information within the next few days.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me ahead of time so that we can be prepared to answer them.Cheryl Baker, the regional organizer from the Communication Workers of America (the guild is under their umbrella) along with several local union representatives from the Journal Sentinel will be there to answer questions/concerns about what the guild can do for us, what it's been like working at JS under the union, the process of forming a union and what we can expect from our employer while we're trying to accomplish this.
We'll also be debunking several misnomers presented by Cristy Garcia-Thomas at the locked door, we will threaten the hell out of you but won't present any verifiable information so that you won't unionize, meeting held last week.
If anyone can't be at the meeting but would still like information, please e-mail me.
Just so people are aware, we've had several conversations with many of you about whether or not you would consider joining the union and there is an overwhelming majority that does support unionizing. This is awesome and I hope to see you all at the meeting.
Also.... here are some factoids the JS union and the committee have been collecting over the past few days.
On Jan. 31, 2007 the Journal purchased our building for $2.65 million. This does not include all the upgrades made to the building, the cost of printing the t-shirts, the little welcome buffet or the nice pretty red couches with those ever so pretty pillows in the meeting room.
Also yesterday, one of our staff was just offered a pay raise (I won't say who).
And... did I fail to mention that Community Newspapers and "the shoppers" (which totals 75) per their annual report, had a net operating earnings in 2006 of $7.1 million. That was up from $2.2 million in 2005. Operating earnings of the daily newspaper were $30.7 million in 2006, down from $41.7 million in 2005.
Advertising revenue for all the websites -- JSOnline, MKEOnline,
MilwaukeeMarketplace, Milwaukeemoms and the 25 MyCommunityNOW sites, increased 34.3% in 2006 over 2005. (The websites are all under JCPG, our budget).
By the Numbers
By the numbers
$42,640
Average reporter starting salary for Journal Sentinel
$33,436
Average editorial assistant starting salary for Journal Sentinel
2006
Last time CNI had layoffs
1995
Last time JS union had layoffs
8
hour standard work day. Time worked over 8 hours is time-and-one-half.
4
Hours minimum pay if an employee works on a scheduled day off, unless the employee reaches an agreement to work less than four hours.
1
Week salary for each year worked is paid as severance
.80
An hour differential for working on Saturday or Sunday for the entire shift
.75
An hour night differential for the entire shift paid to employees who work at least half their shift between 5 p.m. and 9:30 a.m.
.65
An hour differential for copy editors, page designers or picture editors who work night or weekends
$42,640
Average reporter starting salary for Journal Sentinel
$33,436
Average editorial assistant starting salary for Journal Sentinel
2006
Last time CNI had layoffs
1995
Last time JS union had layoffs
8
hour standard work day. Time worked over 8 hours is time-and-one-half.
4
Hours minimum pay if an employee works on a scheduled day off, unless the employee reaches an agreement to work less than four hours.
1
Week salary for each year worked is paid as severance
.80
An hour differential for working on Saturday or Sunday for the entire shift
.75
An hour night differential for the entire shift paid to employees who work at least half their shift between 5 p.m. and 9:30 a.m.
.65
An hour differential for copy editors, page designers or picture editors who work night or weekends
Original E-Mail
Dear fellow CNI employee,
We have talked with all of you during the past two weeks regarding the possibility of forming a union. Many of you found the prospect quite intriguing. However many of you wanted more information and had questions about the process.
Below are some of the issues that have been raised:
1) job security:
We, as a group, have none currently. Evident by the last six months, management proved their ability to arbitrarily fire us. The fear of losing our jobs has been exasperated by the lack direction and foresight on the part of the management. How many e-mail addresses have you had in the last two years? How many times has your job duties, responsibilities changed during the last two years? Do you remember the day that management told you that you had to "reapply" for your job? Or how about the day that you were informed of their decision?
Also, the question of whether management can threaten you with your job if you are for the union. Under federal law, employers are prohibited from job action against employees attempting to form a union.
Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) you have the legal right to form a union in your workplace. The NLRA says:
Section 7: "Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representation of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining . . . ."
Section 8(a): "It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer . . . to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7. . . ."
If we unionize, we would be protected by the collective bargaining agreement. Management would have to deal with CNI employees as one unit instead of 30 individuals. Strength is in the numbers.
2) pay:
We, as a group, are not nearly paid what our fellow journalists in the same company are paid. Let's say Mary, a reporter with CNI, makes $13 an hour. Mary, before taxes and benefits are taken out of her pay check, makes $1,040 every two weeks. Mary clears about $27,000 a year. Mary has a friend she went to journalism school that got lucky and landed a job with the Journal Sentinel. According to the current union contract, her friend makes $23 an hour, $1,840 every two weeks or $47,840 before taxes and benefits. Also Mary does not get paid overtime if she works more than 8 hours a day. Her friend gets time and a half for those long days. Her friend also gets paid a lot more for working weekends and holidays. Mary actually gets paid a little more than a rookie clerk, someone that opens the mail and retrieves the faxes.
Current Journal Sentinel contract can be found here. http://my.execpc.com/~guild51/contract/contract.html
Although nothing has been discussed or negotiated, pay will be most likely at the top of our agenda if we unionize.
According to the International Union of Operating Engineers Web site: Union workers earned significantly more wages than non-union workers did. For instance, the average union worker earned $750 per week, compared to only $617 for non-union workers. That’s a difference of $133 per week. For Latinos, other minorities and women, the wage differences for union members versus non-union workers are even greater. For the year 2000, the earnings difference between union and non-union workers was 28%, and average of $154.00 extra per week.
Full article can be found here: http://www.iuoe.org/organizing/rights.htm
3) process:
There are four steps to forming a union.
1. Contact. This is the stage we are completing at the moment. The stage involves talking with coworkers and determining the interest to move forward. It seems after talking with many of you, that this is something that we are interested in pursuing.
2. Committee. This stage involves the forming of a leadership committee. This committee starts to act as the union. We will write a mission statement. The committee should provide leadership, communicate with fellow employees, collect information and assessment support for the union.
3. Campaign. During this stage, assessment of support continues. The major part of this stage is the signing of a public petition supporting the union. After the petition is signed by everyone who wants to, it is sent to the National Labor Relations Board, which will oversee a secret ballot vote. If approved by 50 percent plus one, the union is certified by the NLRB. At this point, the employer, Journal Communications in this case, is legally required to negotiate with the union.
4. Contract. A bargaining committee will be formed to negotiate a contract with our employer.
This process is outlined in more detail at
http://www.cwa-union.org/organize/
4) Objections
The most intriguing that I have heard during the past two weeks is that Journal Communications can not afford to pay us more. Let's say that all of, after this all shakes out, that each of us makes $12,000 more a year. To be conservative, that would be $600,000 that the company would have to find a year. During the last 12 months the company has made $55 million.
Stock information can be found here: http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/hilite.asp?symbol=US:JRN
If they can't afford it, they are lying or they don't know how to handle their money.
We have talked with all of you during the past two weeks regarding the possibility of forming a union. Many of you found the prospect quite intriguing. However many of you wanted more information and had questions about the process.
Below are some of the issues that have been raised:
1) job security:
We, as a group, have none currently. Evident by the last six months, management proved their ability to arbitrarily fire us. The fear of losing our jobs has been exasperated by the lack direction and foresight on the part of the management. How many e-mail addresses have you had in the last two years? How many times has your job duties, responsibilities changed during the last two years? Do you remember the day that management told you that you had to "reapply" for your job? Or how about the day that you were informed of their decision?
Also, the question of whether management can threaten you with your job if you are for the union. Under federal law, employers are prohibited from job action against employees attempting to form a union.
Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) you have the legal right to form a union in your workplace. The NLRA says:
Section 7: "Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representation of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining . . . ."
Section 8(a): "It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer . . . to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7. . . ."
If we unionize, we would be protected by the collective bargaining agreement. Management would have to deal with CNI employees as one unit instead of 30 individuals. Strength is in the numbers.
2) pay:
We, as a group, are not nearly paid what our fellow journalists in the same company are paid. Let's say Mary, a reporter with CNI, makes $13 an hour. Mary, before taxes and benefits are taken out of her pay check, makes $1,040 every two weeks. Mary clears about $27,000 a year. Mary has a friend she went to journalism school that got lucky and landed a job with the Journal Sentinel. According to the current union contract, her friend makes $23 an hour, $1,840 every two weeks or $47,840 before taxes and benefits. Also Mary does not get paid overtime if she works more than 8 hours a day. Her friend gets time and a half for those long days. Her friend also gets paid a lot more for working weekends and holidays. Mary actually gets paid a little more than a rookie clerk, someone that opens the mail and retrieves the faxes.
Current Journal Sentinel contract can be found here. http://my.execpc.com/~guild51/contract/contract.html
Although nothing has been discussed or negotiated, pay will be most likely at the top of our agenda if we unionize.
According to the International Union of Operating Engineers Web site: Union workers earned significantly more wages than non-union workers did. For instance, the average union worker earned $750 per week, compared to only $617 for non-union workers. That’s a difference of $133 per week. For Latinos, other minorities and women, the wage differences for union members versus non-union workers are even greater. For the year 2000, the earnings difference between union and non-union workers was 28%, and average of $154.00 extra per week.
Full article can be found here: http://www.iuoe.org/organizing/rights.htm
3) process:
There are four steps to forming a union.
1. Contact. This is the stage we are completing at the moment. The stage involves talking with coworkers and determining the interest to move forward. It seems after talking with many of you, that this is something that we are interested in pursuing.
2. Committee. This stage involves the forming of a leadership committee. This committee starts to act as the union. We will write a mission statement. The committee should provide leadership, communicate with fellow employees, collect information and assessment support for the union.
3. Campaign. During this stage, assessment of support continues. The major part of this stage is the signing of a public petition supporting the union. After the petition is signed by everyone who wants to, it is sent to the National Labor Relations Board, which will oversee a secret ballot vote. If approved by 50 percent plus one, the union is certified by the NLRB. At this point, the employer, Journal Communications in this case, is legally required to negotiate with the union.
4. Contract. A bargaining committee will be formed to negotiate a contract with our employer.
This process is outlined in more detail at
http://www.cwa-union.org/organize/
4) Objections
The most intriguing that I have heard during the past two weeks is that Journal Communications can not afford to pay us more. Let's say that all of, after this all shakes out, that each of us makes $12,000 more a year. To be conservative, that would be $600,000 that the company would have to find a year. During the last 12 months the company has made $55 million.
Stock information can be found here: http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/hilite.asp?symbol=US:JRN
If they can't afford it, they are lying or they don't know how to handle their money.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)