7/24 bargaining update

We're gotten word on the results of the latest bargaining session, and here's the abridged version:

The bargaining team resisted an effort to set up a two-tier scale-pay system, and received a pay-raise offer of 2 percent. Two percent falls short of the Guild's goal, but it's better than the zero percent we've been facing for more than a year.

However MediaNews continues to push for the right to outsource anyone, at any time, for any reason. The team is examining potential counter proposal language that would satisfy both the company and the Guild.

The bargaining team returns to negotiations July 31. In the meantime, they'll be meeting with the Press-Telegram unit on Monday at about 2 p.m., to discuss the talks, grievances, ULP's and community outreach efforts.

Stay tuned for more details, or just come to the meeting.

The setting Sun

We took our information campaign to the desert today with a visit to the The Sun in San Bernardino. It was great to meet Sun employees, and we'd like to thank everyone we had a chance to speak with.

We'll go back soon, but in the meantime, if we missed you and you'd like to reach us, please feel free to send us an email at lbguild9400@gmail.com.

Inland Group's VP of Operations John Wartinger came outside to stand guard in the parking lot as we handed out flyers and talked with employees from the street. After 20 minutes of IE heat he moved closer, so we decided to introduce ourselves and say hello. That led to a short but interesting discussion. Everyone was polite but our conversation was at times lively, at times informative, and at the end, more than a little sad.

Mr. Wartinger said he doesn't believe The Sun needs a union because the paper is doing everything it can for its employees. Mr. Wartinger, a self-described former long-time typographical union member himself, expressed his faith in MediaNews, saying that everything the company has done by utilizing a smart business policy has been good for their newspapers and their employees. But he doesn't seem to believe that will be enough.

According to him, journalism isn't just facing a challenge — "It's dying."

We respectfully disagree. The fact that newspapers can still find an audience, much less continue to turn a profit, despite egregious cuts to both staffing and content, demonstrates just how vital quality journalism is and continues to be. There is still no replacement for the daily newspaper as a source of local community news, and people will always care deeply about the events that shape their day-to-day lives.

We're always interested in knowing what management is thinking, but our goal is to hear from the workers. We're glad to have talked with those we did. After all, we're interested in your ideas and concerns. So if you have thoughts you'd like to share, please pass them along.

Financial frustration

Since negotiations began almost 17 months ago, MediaNews negotiator Jim Janiga repeatedly insisted that they did not have the resources to offer any sort of wage increase at the Press-Telegram in the first year. The company has reluctantly proposed an across-the-board wage increase at the P-T of 1% the first year, while sticking to the proposal giving management the ability to subcontract out our work.

Economic bad times was the message delivered to the Long Beach City Council by Executive Editor Rich Archbold, who cited industry-wide problems, while deflecting criticisms over the company's decade-long practice of shrinking the number of staff through attrition and layoffs.

And Daily Breeze/Press-Telegram publisher Mark Ficarra said he planned on telling the council members individually the details of the company's fiscal position.

However, Ficarra has found the resources to provide wage increases at the non-union Daily Breeze. This is incredibly frustrating to staffers at the Press-Telegram, who view the move as insulting to their hard work.

Joe Segura,
P-T shop steward

Get well soon Roz

We've just learned from Breeze staffer Chris Ledermuller that Roz Silver is taking sick leave due to a medical emergency. In his words:

Roz has been a tremendous asset to the Press-Telegram and Daily Breeze desks. Let's pull for her and wish her a fast and healthy recovery.

Well said. Get well soon Roz, here's hoping you make a quick recovery!


...on a related note, we'd like to wish a continued speedy recovery to Jody Collins at the Press-Telegram, who's recovering from her own recent medical mishap.

Making a point

A little lighthearted news today...

A lot of people are disturbed with the direction our industry is headed. There isn't much that the average reader can do if the local daily starts cutting staff and reducing content. Most people either kvetch, or cancel their subscription in protest.

Keith Hempstead isn't most people.

Hempstead, a subscriber to the North Carolina-based News & Observer, is suing the paper for "breach of contract," alleging that the newsroom layoffs at that paper violated the terms of his subscription.

"I hate to see what companies that run newspapers are doing to the product," Hempstead said. "The idea that taking the most important product and reducing the amount of news and getting rid of staff to me seems pointless to how you should run a newspaper business."

Of course, the odds of Hempstead winning the suit are slim to none (and slim is on his way out of town as we speak), but one wonders what would happen if enough subscribers took the same stand and brought a class-action suit?

The ugly truth is that even if every single N&O subscriber joined a class action suit, it probably wouldn't be enough to force the paper to change their ways - but you have to admit, it would be fun to watch a story like that unfold.

The biggest fallout is publicity, and there's little to suggest that the N&O - or any other paper for that matter - is willing to surrender profits in pursuit of public opinion. N&O executive editor John Drescher understands that the suit is essentially an empty gesture, and has taken a decidedly tongue-in-cheek approach to the situation.

"We've had some really good papers recently, and they're worth more than the 36 cents a day that Mr. Hempstead is paying us," Drescher said.

"In fact, he owes me money," Drescher continued. "So when he gets a lawyer, he can work with my lawyer and figure out how much he's going to pay me for the excellent coverage he's been getting recently."

Go Guild, go forward

A few of our union people went over to Torrance today to introduce themselves to people there and hand out some contact information. Why not? There's been a lot of chatter here (and on other blogs) about the organizing win at BANG-EB and what it could mean for us here:

"Great news! We should try something like that down here. Let's have a LANG-wide guild...and soon."

Another anonymous poster wrote

"Ok so what is the plan? Sounds like the combination of leadership and members made the difference up there. I think they had a plan to start with. MediaNews has been in SoCal for more than a decade. I think its about time we moved forward and the guild leadership hopefully give 9400 members the confidence that there is a plan. Cause the days of separate contracts are over and the time for " One Big LANG " is here."

Responding, another reader wrote, "Why not? Let's do it!"

Under another post on the Bay Area campaign, these comments:

1. What is to keep all the Southern California LANG papers from unionizing? 2. Why on earth are we not doing it?

And this:

"The rallying cry at every single LANG newspaper should be WHAT DO WE WANT? UNION! WHEN DO WE WANT IT! NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

To be fair, there are a number of anti-union views expressed here, though perhaps not so much anti-union as frustrated or resigned thinking that the union can't do anything, as if it is some third-party entity.

Fact is, we understand there IS interest in the Guild out there. We're really glad about that, because we know that the more there are of us, the better our chances are of ensuring better jobs for us and better journalism for Southern California. We can only do that if we come from a position of strength. Unified, we can use our seat at the table to make a difference; to work with management to find the creative solutions to the huge challenges our company faces without sacrificing our fair wages, decent working conditions, more of our jobs and future opportunities.

We're not interested in bad-mouthing our company in a disrespectful, public way. But its no secret that the company's problems are indeed our problems because its demands for what we think are short-sighted concessions won't make our products better – or our work lives better.

The only way we can join in the decision-making processes that affect our lives is if we stand together as one. The Guild is only as strong as its members. We can be better. We can do this.

Are you ready?

Celebrating ‘Jamie’

Yesterday family, friends, coworkers and a few who never had the pleasure of knowing James personally, came together in celebration of James Melroy's life and time. They shared in the laughter and tears of the often funny, at times very emotional, tributes to the man James was and the great inspiration his memory will forever be to those whose lives he touched.

In closing, long-time family friend Steve Everett suggested that James would have wanted us to remember these four important things: Put God first, never let a day go by without telling family and friends how much they are loved, put others before yourself and finally, be sure to laugh. Often.

Amen. Rest in peace James. (Chris Ledermuller photo)

Melroy memorial fund established

Andres Cardenas tells us a James Melroy memorial fund has been established.

Here's the details:

Anyone wishing to make a donation can send a check payable to "The James Melroy Memorial Fund" and mail it to:

James Melroy Memorial Fund
c/o The Press-Telegram
300 Oceangate
Long Beach, CA 90844

Andres has been working nonstop in honor of James, and we'd like to take a moment to thank him for his unflagging loyalty and tireless service. Efforts like this make us more than just coworkers and associates. It makes us a family.

A few things ...

Negotiations for our new deal at the Press-Telegram continue Monday, July 7.

The San Jose Newspaper Guild has announced that a new 3-year pact with the Monterey Herald was tentatively agreed upon Tuesday. Details here.

Len will be out of town for the holiday and the rest of us have assignments needing our full attention, so light posting here ‘til Monday afternoon.

Have an enjoyable and safe holiday.

Melroy memorial date set

We've just gotten word from Andres Cardenas on the details of James Melroy's memorial service. It will be held 11 a.m. this Monday, July 11th 7th, at Jordan High School in Long Beach. If you have the time, please stop by and pay your respects.

Looking for help

Andres Cardenas is looking for your help. I'll let him explain:

Hey everyone,
I'm trying to figure out ways to pay tribute to James and thought about all the stories we have. I'd like to put those stories in a publication and have it ready in time for his memorial. So if you can e-mail me the stories at adcardena@gmail.com, that would be great.
Please forward this to other people that are not on this list that know James - like Pam, Sarah Ciston, Minal, Stephen Carr to name a few - to see if they have stories they would like to share.
I also need some copy editors to help clean these up as needed. Please let me know if you want to help there.

Thanks,
Andres

Farewell James

James Melroy passed away this morning. It's a tragic loss for everyone that knew him, and for the Press-Telegram. He will be missed tremendously.

He was an "extraordinary person," as one of his friends put it. We all suffer the loss of a hardworking, kind, and loyal friend and co-worker. Please keep James and his family in your thoughts.

I'm not the right person to say goodbye to James. I didn't know him well enough to do justice to a guy that was universally loved by everyone in the newsroom. Some of you can. If you have a memory of James you'd like to share, we would love to hear them.

Thanks to Stephen Carr for the photos of James and his friends in the Sports dept.

* According to Stephen, night city editor Jody Collins took the newsroom photo, and the other pic is a staff mug.

A Monster-ous idea

Monster.com announced Monday that the company has launched a new local-media partnership with several daily newspapers, creating localized recruitment sites.

Through the alliances, audiences reached by these respective outlets will get a comprehensive online career search and management solution, with a local focus and industry-leading search and match technology. In addition, an array of award-winning expert career advice will be available to consumers, regardless of whether they are currently looking for a new job or not. A resume builder, a salary information center, and a portfolio of other tools will also be accessible.

Employers will benefit from the easy availability of a more comprehensive recruitment solution that utilizes print and online advertising components as well as access Monster's resume database.

Huffington aims for local news

For a while now, many experts have been urging newspapers to focus on their communities and return to a local-oriented format. Even the Newspaper Association of America tried to promote the idea. But opportunity, as they say, is a matter of timing - and so far most daily newspapers have failed to capitalize on the underserved local news market. The bad news? In the Internet era, fertile markets don't remain untapped for long.

That's right. Online vendors are now viewing that space and making plans. ReadWriteWeb has a report from the folks behind The Huffington Post (a self-described "online newspaper"), who have announced plans to bring their aggregate service to the local news sphere.

We've written about the rise of hyperlocal information on ReadWriteWeb before -- Huffington and company are seeking to take advantage of this trend. They want to turn the Huffington Post into a national, virtual newspaper group -- think Gannett or McClatchy but completely online.

The shrinking newshole

Sources inside LANG have confirmed that the page cuts implemented at the L.A. Daily News will indeed affect the Press-Telegram too. "The same thing is happening at our paper. When it happens to one it happens to all."

The unofficial consensus is that the loss will equal about 12 pages, and will likely be implemented for the next fiscal quarter, sometime this July.

A comment from Reporter-G's blog sums it up:

Pretty soon the DN won't have to have the Times deliver them, it will be cheaper to mail it.

And so it begins

People have made jokes about it, but it appears that outsourcing newspapers to India is moving one step closer to reality.

Freedom Communications, owner of the Orange County Register and other local publications, is purportedly launching a pilot program that sends copy-editing duties for some of its weekly publications to India.

This, hot on the heels of an Elegy for Copy Editors in the New York Times.

A hard look

Rick Edmonds has been listening to the reasons for MediaNews' ever-growing layoffs and cutbacks, and he's not buying it.

Yes, times are tough. But the latest draconian cuts they are imposing on employees and readers are going largely to service the ridiculous levels of debt they had the bad judgment to take on.

The Poynter media business analyst argues that public statements simply blaming the changing face of journalism are part of refusal to acknowledge their own culpbility for the economic woes facing giants like MediaNews and the Tribune Co.

Still, I think operators like Zell and Singleton are squishy where others are forthright on the concurrent need to keep heft and quality in the print product and invest aggressively in new digital operations. Frankly, I don't think they have the money to do it -- because the banker has to be paid first.

Comparing, for example the Washington Post Co., Edmonds finds that the Post generated more than three times the revenue of MediaNews, yet their debt payments were less than one-sixth of the $80 million paid out by MediaNews in 2007.

Clearly, there's no easy way out of this mess. But it would be refreshing, if not encouraging, for the powers-that-be to take an honest look at the situation, instead of constantly blaming the rank and file workers.

BANG party

Thanks to CWA 9400 president Micheal Hartigan for sending a link to this video from the BANG folks, celebrating their victory and discussing just what they think it means for the future or journalism in Northern California.



It just goes to show what can be done when we unite for a common goal.

Taking stock

Comments, bring on the comments! We love it when we get a conversation going here. Maybe we don't love all the comments, but we're happy you're checking in because when you leave a comment, we get a better sense of what you're thinking about and what you're looking for, right? And there's a couple we want to highlight and give you our two cents.

In response to our post "... and then there was one" a reader said, "Great, now the union can finally focus its energy on Southern California." We are really excited about the BANG-EB organizing win. We're not alone: take a look at some of these comments from journos from across the country. The MN organizers up north worked really, really hard to bring their colleagues along to the realization that they really can stand up together and exercise their right to have a say in their newsrooms and about their wages and working conditions — take back control of their future. They did it. They decided to be union. No one came in from the outside and did it for them. Another one of our readers got it: "We should try something down here. Let's have a LANG-wide guild ... and soon."

"Ok, so what's the plan?" asked another reader. Well, if you're already a guild member you already know how this works, right? But if you're not yet Guild, give us a call because we can help. You know where we work. You know how to reach us.

So think about this: can we afford to do nothing while our newsrooms are downsized out of existence by a corporate parent who requires on-going cuts to resources and staff so it can squeeze out enough cash to meet it's debt payments? Can we afford to do nothing while our papers shrink to nothingness and our readers go elsewhere for news and information we know they want and need? Do we remain silent when we know that what we really should be doing is consolidating ourselves so we can together meet the challenges inherent in the consolidated news desks and universal copy desks that are already in place and most probably, are here to stay? Dean says we're whiners, barking at the dark to "make the night go away." He believes we "remember the past as if it will suddenly re-appear and the staffing in newsrooms will suddenly begin to grow again." Let's prove him wrong.

Under his headline "BANG papers choose the union", Kevin Roderick on LAObserved wrote yesterday "The Bay Area vote to unionize Dean Singleton's newspapers could have pretty big ramifications down here in LANG land."

Let's prove him right.