Like almost everyone else during the holidays, I had great plans to do all kinds of things the past month or so, but ran out of time or energy or both. Turns out I was too busy cramming in shopping during my spare time to write that blog post about tips on buying union gifts for the holidays. As they say, it's the thought that counts.
Maybe I'm just feeling all warm and gushy because of the season -- or is it the egg nog? -- but I think things are looking good for the Guild. After an ugly summer that started (and continued for months) with dozens of layoffs at the Chronicle, and ended with the ANG unit having their union representation stolen from them, we've enjoyed a good couple of months. And we've got momentum on our side as we roll into 2008.
At the aforementioned Chronicle, members decided not to wallow in the post-buyout depression and instead use the opportunity to build a better unit. An enthusiastic group of new leaders has stepped forward and is hard at work recruiting and training new stewards, filling committees, rescuscitating the Chronicle Insider newsletter and coming up with lots of new ideas.
The disenfranchised ANG members have rallied, too. Despite having their union membership taken away (illegally, we believe), they've never given up. Dozens of them still pay union dues -- voluntarily and without payroll deduction -- and they've been active in trying to convince their new brethren and sistren at the Contra Costa Times that joining the Guild is the smart thing to do. As they say in their weekly newsletter: "We're still here. Don't believe the hype."
The effort to organize the Contra Costa Times is taking off. An organizing committee has formed and we hope to start collecting signed union cards in the months to come. In addition to the efforts of the ANG unit, a slew of Chronicle reporters offered their time and in some cases their homes to help with the organizing drive.
The McClatchy units -- at the Sacramento, Fresno and Modesto Bee newspapers -- are also getting stronger with new leadership, a new contract in Fresno, and more members signing up. With McClatchy no longer a smallish chain with a California focus, the Guild's role is crucial in the valley.
There's no question we've got a lot of challenges, and a lot of work, ahead of us. But we're not moping about the sad state of the newspaper industry and the the union movement (Well, maybe occasionally, over beers after work). Instead, we're building a better union. A new Guild for the new year.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Out of control
A couple of recent, little publicized events at the San Francisco Chronicle got me thinking about outsourcing and why it's such a bad idea. It's not just the loss of jobs, it's the loss of control.
Here's what got me thinking (Hey, something has to):
First, the Chronicle informed employees of its finance department that their work will be outsourced: transfered to Houston and/or North Carolina next spring. Many of the 30-40 people affected do have some Guild protections against being laid off. But they will face tough decisions about whether to move with their jobs, take buyouts or find work in other departments at the Chronicle. And the bottom line is that those are jobs that are being lost in San Francisco.
The second event was the subject of a tiny article in the newspaper but a much more expansive report on a local TV station, KGO, Channel 7. Apparently, an independent contractor who handles newspaper deliveries in Contra Costa County tossed into a dumpster paper records of vacationing subscribers who wanted their papers stopped. Some shrewd criminally minded types figured that out (Hmmmmmmmmmm...) and started dumpster diving, grabbing the records and breaking into houses while Chronicle readers were on vacation.
Clearly, the blame here belongs to the criminals and the sloppy habits of the independent contractor. But it's also the Chronicle's fault for outsourcing the work. When a company outsources work, it not only sheds costs, it loses control; it loses direct supervision; and it loses employees who have pride in their work and loyalty to their employer.
Yet, the outsourcing continues. How long will it take before employers begin to realize what it's really costing them?
Here's what got me thinking (Hey, something has to):
First, the Chronicle informed employees of its finance department that their work will be outsourced: transfered to Houston and/or North Carolina next spring. Many of the 30-40 people affected do have some Guild protections against being laid off. But they will face tough decisions about whether to move with their jobs, take buyouts or find work in other departments at the Chronicle. And the bottom line is that those are jobs that are being lost in San Francisco.
The second event was the subject of a tiny article in the newspaper but a much more expansive report on a local TV station, KGO, Channel 7. Apparently, an independent contractor who handles newspaper deliveries in Contra Costa County tossed into a dumpster paper records of vacationing subscribers who wanted their papers stopped. Some shrewd criminally minded types figured that out (Hmmmmmmmmmm...) and started dumpster diving, grabbing the records and breaking into houses while Chronicle readers were on vacation.
Clearly, the blame here belongs to the criminals and the sloppy habits of the independent contractor. But it's also the Chronicle's fault for outsourcing the work. When a company outsources work, it not only sheds costs, it loses control; it loses direct supervision; and it loses employees who have pride in their work and loyalty to their employer.
Yet, the outsourcing continues. How long will it take before employers begin to realize what it's really costing them?
Monday, November 12, 2007
Dean: Lean or mean?
Unlike my mother, I'm not that much of a worrier. But the more I learn about Dean Singleton, the more I worry about the future of both the people who work for him and for the quality of journalism at his newspapers.
Singleton has earned the nickname “Lean Dean” from fellow publishers and owners, many of whom seem to admire his penny-pinching ways. But his actions over the past couple of weeks make “Mean Dean” seem like a more appropriate moniker. “Out of Control Dean” might work, too, but it doesn’t have that rhyming thing going for it.
By now we’ve all heard of Singleton’s commitment to strong local journalism, and how he’s saved so many local newspapers. That commitment was missing a week or so ago in Connecticut, where, shortly after assuming control of the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time (He didn’t actually buy them; Hearst purchased the papers and gave them to Dean to manage. But that’s a topic for another item), he fired seven top editors plus three reporters, three copy editors and a paginator. Many had been long-time employees, credited with making the small papers two of the best in the country.
So much for loyalty, institutional memory, knowledge of local history and traditions. So much for strong local journalism.
Then Dean seemingly went off the deep end, ordering up an anti-labor editorial and placing it on the front page of his flagship paper, the Denver Post. In it, he ripped the Colorado governor for signing an executive order that allows state workers to join unions. And he did so in a particularly nasty fashion, likening the governor to Jimmy Hoffa and accusing him of being “a toady to labor bosses.”
Now, we always knew that Dean didn’t particularly like unions, but it always seemed like more of a business thing. But the editorial makes it seem that Singleton harbors a deep hatred for organized labor.
So, what exactly does that mean for his promise of letting the journalists of ANG Newspapers and the Contra Costa Times decide — without undue influence or misinformation from MediaNews management — whether or not they want to be members of The Newspaper Guild?
As I said at the start, I’m worried.
Singleton has earned the nickname “Lean Dean” from fellow publishers and owners, many of whom seem to admire his penny-pinching ways. But his actions over the past couple of weeks make “Mean Dean” seem like a more appropriate moniker. “Out of Control Dean” might work, too, but it doesn’t have that rhyming thing going for it.
By now we’ve all heard of Singleton’s commitment to strong local journalism, and how he’s saved so many local newspapers. That commitment was missing a week or so ago in Connecticut, where, shortly after assuming control of the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time (He didn’t actually buy them; Hearst purchased the papers and gave them to Dean to manage. But that’s a topic for another item), he fired seven top editors plus three reporters, three copy editors and a paginator. Many had been long-time employees, credited with making the small papers two of the best in the country.
So much for loyalty, institutional memory, knowledge of local history and traditions. So much for strong local journalism.
Then Dean seemingly went off the deep end, ordering up an anti-labor editorial and placing it on the front page of his flagship paper, the Denver Post. In it, he ripped the Colorado governor for signing an executive order that allows state workers to join unions. And he did so in a particularly nasty fashion, likening the governor to Jimmy Hoffa and accusing him of being “a toady to labor bosses.”
Now, we always knew that Dean didn’t particularly like unions, but it always seemed like more of a business thing. But the editorial makes it seem that Singleton harbors a deep hatred for organized labor.
So, what exactly does that mean for his promise of letting the journalists of ANG Newspapers and the Contra Costa Times decide — without undue influence or misinformation from MediaNews management — whether or not they want to be members of The Newspaper Guild?
As I said at the start, I’m worried.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Welcome to the Media Guild Blog
Welcome, at long last, to the new Northern California Media Workers Guild website — and this blog. Yes, it’s a long time in coming, but, hey, we’ve been busy.
The site, designed by Mindy Pines, an at-large member of our local and Russ Cain, of the San Jose Guild, with the endless advice and “help” of many Guild officers, has a crisper, cleaner look and some new features – like this blog. Please browse the site, and let us know what you think about our new look.
The website is just part of an effort to move the Northern California Media Workers Guild forward – even as we face tough challenges. We’re beefing up and modernizing our communications, training new shop stewards and activists, and organizing.
As for this blog, it’s my job to fill this space, and provide timely entries. I’ll do my best to let you know what’s going on. Like the rest of the site, it will probably evolve.
As I said above, we’ve been busy here in Guild Land. After spending the summer averting layoffs but helping our members through the long and painful buyout process at the Chronicle, we’re working hard to rebuild the local, and our power.
You can read the details elsewhere on the site, but here’s a brief account of some of what’s going on around the local:
— Our court interpreters unit just concluded a six-week strike – and managed to get the attention of not only the courts but state legislators and officials who will be able to make a difference.
— Our brothers and sisters in the ANG unit are standing strong – stronger than ever, in fact – even after the company reorganized and tried to use that “as an excuse,” as Editor & Publisher called it, to withdraw recognition from the unit. We disagree, of course, and we’re fighting back, while continuing to advocate for our members.
— At the same time, workers in virtually every newsroom in the Bay Area – including San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Walnut Creek – are coming together to forge a powerful new bargaining unit at the Bay Area News Group-East Bay. The MediaNews Group promises to make this a showcase of efficiency – and it could be a showcase of quality journalism, too, if the journalists have a say. If you’d like to join the campaign -- we call it “One Big BANG: One Guild Universe” -- let us know.
Even though we’re facing a lot of challenges, I’m feeling positive about the direction of the Guild. We’re meeting the challenges head on, and I know we can prevail.
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