Monday, March 30, 2009

NLRB issues preliminary ruling on charges*

Officials at the regional National Labor Relations Board have filed a Motion for Default Judgment against the Press-Telegram over our charges that the newspaper violated federal labor laws in March 2008 by moving P-T Guild members to the non-union Daily Breeze and laying off others.

In filing the motion, the Region 21 counsel calls for the NLRB to find in favor of the Guild on all counts.

The counsel said in the motion that because the P-T did not "file an answer within the time and in the manner prescribed by the [National Labor Relations] Board's Rules and Regulations, all allegations in the complaint shall be deemed to be true and have been so found by the Board."

If the Region 21 motion goes forward, the decision includes a list of possible remedies, including (but not limited to) back pay and benefits, plus interest, for the employees laid off by the company. Transferred employees could receive compensation for any wages and/or other benefits lost to them as a result of their transfer.

Responding to the Board's decision, the company filed a request to extend the deadline. According to the company's request, their failure to respond was the Guild's fault, and the company should not suffer any consequences for ignoring the numerous notices and letters issued by the board over the last several months.

In January of this year, the P-T received an order that consolidated the Guild’s cases and a copy of the consolidated complaint along with the hearing date notice. Then in February the NLRB sent yet another copy of the complaint to the P-T. When the company continued to ignore NLRB requests, the board informed the P-T on Feb. 24 that "it had 7 days to file an answer, and failure to do so would result in a filing for default judgment."

The P-T repeatedly failed to answer the "consolidated complaints" as required by the NLRB’s Rules and Regulations, even when notified of the legal necessity for filing a timely answer. (The company was served notice of the Guild's first NLRB charges in August 2008 and again in September 2008. It also received copies of amended charges, first in October of last year and then again in November.)

On March 26, the company filed a request for a deadline extension. In the filing, the company argues to the NLRB that both parties had reached an "agreement in principle" on all charges and that is why, it alleges, it did not respond to the NLRB complaints. (Late February was the final deadline for the company to respond however, so the company would have already received the notice of an imminent decision by the Board.)

P-T management and Guild officials had a brief conversation earlier this year in which they discussed that all affected persons should be "made whole" - but details had not been worked out. The Guild conducted a survey of the workers impacted by the March 2008 layoffs and transfers to help it determine what a reasonable settlement should look like.

The Guild has not received a written settlement offer from the P-T.

The five-member panel at the NLRB in Washington, D.C. will now have to vote on the Region 21 motion, however the board currently has only two sitting members, one a recent Obama Administration appointee and the other a Republican holdover from the previous administration. This fails to meet the board's required three-member quorum to hold a vote. Like many federal boards, the NLRB panel is required to be made of no more than three members of the majority party. Due to the quorum rule, a vote on the Region 21 motion will have to wait until President Obama appoints at least one more member.



*UPDATE: 04/04/09* - The Employer has agreed to provide a written proposal for a settlement to the Guild.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok so what your saying is MediaNews is blaming the union for MediaNews not responding?

Stalling is a classic MediaNews specialty.

The Ignore it and it will go away attitude I don't think will work this time.

That is a big HR/management blunder. Who's responsible for that mistake.

Anonymous said...

Just one more example of how MediaNews thinks they're above the law. That those "pesky little" labor laws aren't their problem.
I hope the Labor Board takes them to task for scoffing the board's authority.

curious journalist said...

If I'm deciphering this legalese correctly, it appears the company is in hot water. And if that's the case, I have two questions:
1. Given that former PT copy desk folks likely earn more now than they did in LB, what financial remedy can the Guild push for (ie, mileage reimbursement perhaps)?
2. Did the Labor Board offer any specific remedy for those who were transferred in the move (versus those laid off)?

Len Cutler said...


If I'm deciphering this legalese correctly, it appears the company is in hot water. And if that's the case, I have two questions:

1. Given that former PT copy desk folks likely earn more now than they did in LB, what financial remedy can the Guild push for (ie, mileage reimbursement perhaps)?

2. Did the Labor Board offer any specific remedy for those who were transferred in the move (versus those laid off)?


Those are good questions. The quick answer is that the Board decision lists several possible remedies - including and not limited to back pay and benefits plus interest to those unit members laid off, and compensation for all transferred bargaining unit employees for any wages and/or other benefits lost to them as a result of their transfer.

The Board decision illustrates why the survey that was sent to transferred and laid off members is so important - your answers will shape the negotiations over remedy, and have a big impact on the final resolution of the case.

And speaking of those surveys...your last chance to submit a survey is nearly here. Providing your information is the best way to ensure that everyone's concerns are addressed, and that the final remedy is both accurate and fair. Contact the Guild if you have any questions about the survey.

For more information, some of our previous posts might have additional details you're looking for.

http://lbguild9400.blogspot.com/2009/02/labor-board-hearing-date-set.html

http://lbguild9400.blogspot.com/2009/01/labor-board-approves-charges-against.html

http://lbguild9400.blogspot.com/2008/11/board-action-on-guild-charges-expected.html

curious journalist said...

Hmmm...another vague, confusing missive, followed by a non-answer to a question.

Guess if I want the "straight dope," I'll have to check with Gary Scott or LA Observed.

Anonymous said...

ugghh... Great, the PT will have to pay back pay and this will probably cause the closing of the paper..
Thanks Union (sarcastic)

Anonymous said...

if you think this ruling is to blame for I know you need to vent your frustrations at someone, then by all means let loose.

I think you should take the furlough as a protest.

Anonymous said...

"Great, the PT will have to pay back pay and this will probably cause the closing of the paper… "

If the paper goes out of business it'll be because of MediaNews' (Singleton's) lousy money management. They suck the life out of every paper they assimilate. The PT was no exception; they’ve never reinvested anything back into that paper and now it’s practically a ghost town.
Then of course there's the practice of buying papers they can't afford, neglecting to invest in the Internet, pay attention to what their readers want or even bother to listen to their staff.
MediaNews considers staff members a liability, not an asset, and that’s their greatest folly. Without the people all you have is a room full of computers and some office furniture.
Let's see: He has a private jet, a mansion and last August sponsored a $1.5 million media party in Denver for the DNC. He finds money for the things HE THINKS are important.
That's an awful lot of money to spend on a party when you're in debt up to your eyeballs.

Anonymous said...

ugghh... Great, the PT will have to pay back pay and this will probably cause the closing of the paper..
Thanks Union (sarcastic)



Let me get this straight: They've cut god knows how much from the expenses, sold the building out from under us for almost $20 million that went straight to Denver, and taken away the 401(k), but you think a few thousand dollars to repay employees after the company BROKE THE LAW will push us over the edge?

Are you stupid, or insane?

Anonymous said...

Stupid or insane?

That's the question I'm asking my self about you guys who continue to work for that company.

You guys spend so much energy complaining. If you spent half that energy job searching you might have a better job..

I don't blame the economy, you guys have been ranting on this site since before Bush destroyed the economy.