Saturday, June 14, 2008

One Big BANG-up job -- We Won!

Yeah, that's right -- we won. The journalists of the Bay Area News Group voted to establish a new unit of the Northern California Media Workers Guild, TNG/CWA Local 39521. Read the details at www.onebigbang.org or www.mediaworkers.org.

Now, a message to the folks from BANG-EB:

Congratulations. Welcome (or welcome back) to The Newspaper Guild. We're glad to have you, and think you'll be glad you chose to join us.

But most of all, we'd like to say "thank you." Your incredible campaign and the election results have inspired and energized more of your fellow journalists and union activists than you'll ever know. You've reminded many of us why we became journalists and union activists in the first place. You've provided a spark of light in the darkness enveloping the newspaper industry.

Yes, there's lots of hard work ahead -- like, say, bargaining a contract -- and we hope you will all stay involved, as we said during the campaign. Really, it wasn't just campaign propaganda.

But, for now, it's time to celebrate.

Monday, June 9, 2008

One Big Week for the Guild

This is a big week for our union -- One Big WEEK, as our BANG organizing committee might say. For our local, for the San Jose local and for the international Newspaper Guild. And for journalism and journalists throughout the Bay Area.

On Friday, journalists working for the Bay Area News Group -- East Bay (BANG-EB in Singleton parlance) will vote in an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board whether or not to join the Guild.

This is not the typical union campaign. Many of the BANG journalists were members of our local, as employees of ANG Newspapers until last August, when Dean Singleton's Denver-based MediaNews withdrew recognition by merging the Oakland Tribune and other ANG papers with the Contra Costa Times and its affiliated papers.

But instead of giving up and giving in, our members joined with Times employees and formed an organizing campaign with the moniker One Big BANG. Last month they submitted cards representing a majority of eligible employees to qualify for a union election.

As expected, BANG management has hired consultants and lawyers and concocted a campaign to convince their employees to vote against the union. While we expect they've done a good job of making their case, we know that journalists are smart enough to dispassionately analyze the arguments and figure out what's true and what's not.

And, of course, we hope they'll vote YES!

This is a big deal for all of us. A victory at BANG-EB will make us all stronger. It will form a solid cluster of newspaper unions in the Bay Area and enable us to work together to keep journalism strong in the face of the seemingly endless cuts.

If you know anyone at BANG-East Bay, give them a call, drop them an e-mail, take them out to lunch, and let them know why joining the Guild makes sense. Assure them that joining the Guild doesn't create a combative newsroom and doesn't prevent you from interacting professionally or even socially with your bosses.

And if you haven't signed the online petition supporting the campaign yet, please go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/support-journalists-for-quality-and-fair-deal NOW.

One Big THANKS to Teamsters Local 853

Last week's One Big BBQ for the One Big BANG campaign was One Big SUCCESS. You can read the details on onebigbang.org or mediaworkers.org -- and probably have done that already.

While the food was great, the clown entertaining and the crowd fantastic, One Big HIGHLIGHT was the letter Teamsters Local 853 delivered from its top officer, Rome Aloise.

The letter pledges "the full support of Teamsters Local 853" in the organizing effort and in the recently announced alliance between the Northern California Media Workers Guild and the San Jose Newspaper Guild. It notes that the Teamsters have had productive relationships with Hearst and Media News, and it acknowledges common challenges, including organizing the Transcontinental printing plant being built by the Chronicle.

"Our negotiations and organizing can only be helped if we all stand together," Aloise writes. "I want you to know that Teamsters 853 will stand with your Guild units in seeking a productive future for us all."

Thanks for the support, Rome (and Chuck Davis and Dave Ellis, who showed up in the Big Green Teamstermobile to deliver the letter and some Krispy Kreme donuts). It's good to know you've got our backs. We've got yours, too. We'll support your efforts to keep (or make) the Bay Area's newspapers union papers.

We firmly believe that union papers are better papers. You have our pledge that we'll work with you to ensure that Bay Area newspapers are filled with news and advertising produced by union workers, are printed by union workers and are delivered by union workers.