My final act as local president

As many of you know, or probably don't, I am turning over the reins of the Pacific Media Workers Guild after 10 years as local president. So this column/blog post is quite likely my final act as head of our Guild local.

Since I'm on vacation, a benefit we've worked hard to protect, I'll keep it fairly brief. Unlike my tenure as head of the local.

I never planned to stay in this post for this long. When then-executive officer Doug Cuthbertson cajoled me into taking over the presidency of the local over lunch at the Tempest late in 2001, the idea was that I would serve as president for maybe two two-year terms, in keeping with the local's tradition of changing presidents every few years to keep things fresh and get more members involved.

That plan changed when the terms were extended by the CWA, our parent union, to three years. Then it changed again when the seemingly endless series of layoffs and buyouts began, and many of the Guild's potential new leaders were shown the door. While I was ready to welcome new leadership to the local, I wasn't about to abandon the Guild in a time of need.

But now, I'm glad to say, the local has new leaders ready to take over. I'm pleased to hand over the gavel (once I find it; I think I used it once) to Niesha Lofing, who was elected president at the November meeting. A Sacramento Bee reporter for nine years, and a Guild unit chair, Niesha is a graduate of the Guild's New Local Officers training seminar. Now she's moved on to become editor of the Sacramento Valley Union Labor Bulletin, so she already has experience in the worlds of both journalism and unionism. I look forward to having her as my local president. Thanks for stepping forward, Niesha.

Thanks, too, to Dan Harper, a San Francisco organizer for the Guild's AFSCME Local 3299 staff union affiliate, who will take over for George Powell as local treasurer, and Mike Ferreira, who takes over as head of the Guild's California Federation of Interpreters as first local vice president. A shout-out, too, to Karl Fischer, ace crime reporter at the West County Times, who had volunteered to step forward as president before Niesha threw her hat in the ring. He'll remain as vice president for California units.

It's been a good 10 years during a lousy 10 years. I won't dwell on the negative, which we all know too well. We've seen hundreds of our members walked out of the buildings, suffered way too many givebacks in our contracts, and suffered through the decline of the newspaper industry. But we're still here.

That, to my mind, is the Guild's biggest accomplishment during my presidency. even though we've been under attack for most of the past decade, we've maintained contracts that protect decent working conditions for our surviving members, and we've helped our former members who've been forced out the doors.

But there's much more that's been accomplished. The local has also grown into a union that's stronger than it would have been otherwise. Our biggest victory was organizing the Bay Area News Group -- East Bay, the first major newspaper union organizing victory nationally in years. And we've merged -- twice -- with other locals -- first, San Jose then Hawaii. Another big move was the formation of the Freelancers Unit, which includes many formers members of our newspaper units, and has spurred national efforts to organize freelance writers to better their working lives.

Along the way, we've changed our name a couple of times. I became president of the Northern California Media Workers Guild, which became the California Media Workers Guild with the San Jose merger then the Pacific Media Workers Guild with the Hawaii merger. In addition to having a greater reach, we have a nifty new logo -- and cool t-shirts. OK, there's my marketing plug.

Before we change names again, it's time for me to sign off. But while I'm leaving as president, I'm not abandoning the Guild. As I've done for the past three years, I will continue as Western regional vice president of The Newspaper Guild/CWA,serving on the board that runs the Guild internationally. And I'll remain as a shop steward at the Chronicle, and perhaps as a member of the bargaining committee,if the unit agrees. But I plan to spend my "extra" time -- especially those Saturday meeting days -- with my family: my wife, Adrianne, and son, Ben, who have patiently tolerated and supported my Guild activism. And I'll no longer have to worry about scheduling conflicts with Cal football games. Go Bears!

Finally, in addition to the new local leadership, I'd like to say thanks to the great local staff, headed by Executive Officer Carl Hall. All of you have made my life, and the lives of so many of our members, better, and helped us through difficult times.

OK, so this wasn't exactly a brief column. But it's nearly over now -- and so is my 10-year term as local president. I leave with pride in what we have survived, in what we have accomplished, and in our continued strength and solidarity. And I look forward to being a plain-old member of the greatest local in The Newspaper Guild.

Noticed the notice at the Chronicle?

Maybe you’ve seen the official-looking notices reading posted near the center elevators and a few other places around the building. Even if you have, chances are, you didn’t read them, figuring you’d better get into that elevator before it breaks down again, or discounting it as one of those routine messages businesses are required to post.

Well, the Chronicle was required to post the notice from the National Labor Relations Board, but it’s hardly routine (And we should be thankful for that). And it’s worth a read.

The notice is part of a settlement to a complaint brought by the Guild after one of our members was told by her supervisor that he couldn’t really work with her to improve her job performance because “You’ve been talking to the union.” She was fired soon after the conversation.

That sort of statement is illegal — so the Guild filed an unfair labor practice charge, and Chronicle management agreed to settle it, compensating the fired employee for dismissing her before following a proper process, and agreeing to post the notice.

In the notice, signed by Calvin Siemer, Chronicle vice president of legal affairs, management agrees that it will not:

-- Discourage employees from joining or being active in the Guild, or to penalize them for engaging in union activity, including seeking advice from the union.
-- Fire employees for union activity.
-- Interfere in any way with an employee’s right to join, form, seek representation from, or engage in protected union activity.

In other words, the Chronicle is recognizing that its employees are represented by the Guild, and that it cannot do anything to discourage that.

While the posting of a notice may seem like a small victory, it's an important one. It shows us all that the Guild, and sometimes even the National Labor Relations Board, has our backs.

We deserve better

Many of us came to work at newspapers not just to make a living but to do our part to promote truth, justice, fairness and decency in our own small way. We do that daily --and it shows in our award-winning newspaper and website.

Unfortunately, Chronicle management doesn't seem to believe in -- or practice -- the same principles. At least not when it comes to us: the people who have made huge sacrifices to keep this paper alive.

There is nothing just, fair or even close to decent in what Chronicle management has offered at the bargaining table. And as for truth, well, we'll get to that later.

Frankly, the company's offer is an insult. And we should all feel insulted.

A year and a half ago, when Hearst threatened to close the Chronicle, we made deep concessions in our contracts, and those savings have helped improve the paper's bottom line and led to the first profits since Hearst took charge. In addition to making those concessions,
we saw hundreds of our colleagues lose their jobs. It was devastating but we not only soldiered on, we worked harder to honor their legacy -- and to keep the Chronicle an outstanding paper. For this, we are told, we deserve next to nothing.

A couple of weeks ago when violence broke out in downtown Oakland, many on the news staff put their personal safety at risk to produce amazing coverage. For this, we are told, we deserve next to nothing.

Earlier this year, for the first time in eons, the Chronicle was named the best large newspaper in California by the California Newspaper Publishers Association -- an honor for the entire staff. For this, we are told, we deserve next to nothing.

But we deserve better, much better. Hell, we deserve to have all the sacrifices we've made over the past five years reinstated. With a big fat raise on top. Gratefully delivered by our bosses on a silver platter.

But your bargaining team is realistic. We know that recovery is something that comes gradually, and that while the Chronicle is doing much better (thanks to our sacrifices), it is still struggling.

So we haven't asked for much: Some more time off (Remember, we gave up two weeks of vacation), some money to keep our health benefits intact, some kind of retirement plan (New employees get zip), some more sick leave and some sort of pay raise.

So far, management has offered five more days of sick leave (what we gave up in 2005) and little else. Can't afford it, they say.

Well, as good business people, it's time they figured out how to afford it. And as good employees, it's our job to help them get that message. (we do a lot of that, don't we?)

We need to remind them -- often -- that we are the reason the Chronicle is still in business. We are the reason they still have jobs. How do we do that? We speak up --individually and collectively. If you have a good relationship with your boss, tell her or him that you deserve something back. If our anger trickles upward, maybe someone will get a clue.

As a group, we need to decide what we're willing to do collectively to make our dissatisfaction felt. Many of you have already offered suggestions. We need, and want, more. But mostly what we need is for people to get directly involved. Talk to your Guild stewards and officers, wear red on bargaining days, display Guild signs, wear buttons, stop by the free coffee days, offer ideas for actions we should take, and join us in those actions.

And, no, I didn't forget about management and truth (not to mention fairness). A year and a half ago, when management forced us to make concessions, they promised to make the same sacrifices we made. They never did. They still have a company retirement plan -- and they have four or five weeks of vacation.

What about equity and fairness? We've asked at the bargaining table. What about truth and honesty? Can't afford it, they say.

I say they can't afford not to live up to the principles newspapers stand for. They can't afford to continue disrespecting their employees. And we need to let them know that.

Award-winning Guild journalism

California Media Workers Guild members dominated the 2009 NorCal Society of Professional Journalists awards at Jillian's in San Francisco Tuesday night, showing once again that the best journalism is produced by Guild members.

Eleven awards were captured by Guild members from the Chronicle, Mercury News and MediaNews papers, including one of the evening's top honors -- the Career Achievement Award, given to longtime Chronicle journalist and Guild activist Susan Sward.

Sward, who left the Chronicle this summer, was an award-winning reporter at the paper for 30 years, during which she covered nearly every beat. She is perhaps best known for her work on the investigative team and as a breaking news reporter. But Susan contributed much more to the Chronicle than her stories, and the SPJ award recognized that.

The judges praised Sward for her work mentoring young journalists, particularly women, and for her role in persuading the Chronicle to adopt policies making it easier for new mothers and fathers to continue to work as journalists while raising families. (The Hearst Corp., taking advantage of the newspaper crisis, has unraveled those family-friendly policies since taking over the Chronicle.)

Sward was gracious in accepting the award, thanking colleague David Perlman, the Chronicle's veteran science writer, and Steve Cook, the paper's former investigative editor.

Other California Media Workers Guild journalists receiving awards include:

-- Charles Piller, Sacramento Bee, economic journalism award, for reporting on who profited from the federal bailout.

-- Sean Webby, San Jose Mercury News, investigative reporting and public service awards, for a year-long series on how San Jose's public drunkenness crackdown disproportionately targeted Latinos.

-- Geoff Link, San Francisco Chronicle copy editor, Unsung Hero award, for his other job -- as editor and publisher of Central City Extra, a monthly newspaper for the often-ignored residents of San Francisco's Tenderloin, Civic Center and Sixth Street neighborhoods.

-- Oakland Tribune staff, breaking news award, for its coverage of the Oscar Grant shooting .

-- Nanette Asimov and Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, explanatory journalism, for a special report tracking the 1995-96 graduates of a kindergarten class in a lower-income neighborhood and school.

-- Meredith May, San Francisco Chronicle, feature writing award, for a story on a Bay Area woman helping to combat the Nepalese practice of bonded servitude of girls.

-- Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News, criticism award, for three theater reviews.

-- Oakland Tribune and Bay Area.com staffs, innovation and entrepreneurship award, for ther presentation of news on multiple platforms.

-- Dai Sugano, San Jose Mercury News, photojournalism, for a photo essay and multimedia project documenting the lives of people left out of most reporting on India's economic boom.

A complete list of award winners can be viewed here.

Congratulations to all the award winners, but especially members of the Media Workers Guild for demonstrating that the Bay Area's best journalism still comes from union journalists, who are better paid and get such things as health insurance, vacations,paid holidays and a say in their workplace.

New directions, new opportunities

A lot of Guild members are asking questions, which, of course is what media folks do best,about The News Project – the innovative Bay Area newsgathering collaboration funded by Warren Hellman.

They’re wondering whether the new news organization will lead to, or hasten, the demise of the San Francisco Chronicle. They’re asking whether the Bay Area needs another newsgathering outfit when the ones that are here are struggling. And some are asking why the Guild would be involved in such an effort.

Many, it should be noted, are also sending their resumes.

But first, a little background. The News Project, and the Guild's involvement, started with a threat. On Feb.24, Chronicle publisher Frank Vega stood in front of employees and announced that unless the unions bargained significant concessions, the paper would be sold – or closed. And even if they did their part (again) to help save the Chronicle, it still might be sold.

That threat sent the Guild to the bargaining table. But it angered a lot of
people. When some of our members asked how they could help, we assigned a couple of them to contact community leaders and ask for support if the paper were shuttered. We also asked if any of those leaders might be interested in buying the Chronicle if it were put on the block.

Those contacts led to meetings, which led to studies, which led to plans, many of which were abandoned or modified, and eventually led to Thursday’s announcement of the new non-profit news organization, which will produce news for multiple platforms, possibly including a regional edition of the New York Times.

The Guild got involved for a lot of reasons. We didn’t want San Francisco to be left without a journalistically strong newsgathering operation. We didn’t want even more of our members to have to give up their professional careers. And we wanted somebody to try something bold, truly new, and journalistically strong.

The News Project promises that, though many, many details are still forthcoming.

Now for those other questions. Will the new organization accelerate The Chronicle’s demise? Well, that’s up to the Chronicle, and the Hearst Corp. My hope -- as both a Chronicle staffer and a Guild official –- is that it will actually do the opposite, that it will prompt the Chronicle to improve its journalism just as it recently improved its printing – or at least stop gutting its news staff.

I’d like to think that Hearst has some fight in it, and will step up to the challenge.

Will competition renew public interest in journalism? It’s possible. More competition will lead to better news coverage, and better products, be they online, on the air, or in print, that could lure more advertising and the kinds of demographics that attract advertisers. As less gets covered, there’s less reason to read,subscribe to, or advertise in, newspapers.

The News Project will also create more journalism jobs, allowing some of the incredibly talented folks who have been pushed out of Bay Area newsrooms to get back in the business. It may not be a lot of jobs, but it will be a significant number, and it's likely to grow.

Finally, some folks have asked why the Guild would support the creation of a competitor. Well, we’ve always represented (and supported) competitors to the Chronicle: the (Hearst) Examiner, the Oakland Tribune, the San Jose Mercury News, the former ANG papers.

As new models for journalism are developed, we want to make sure they involve quality journalism – and decent wages and benefits. Many of the new journalism experiments count on people giving away their work for free or for very little compensation. We think journalists and other mediaworkers, not to mention our readers, deserve better.

We want the news industry to thrive – not surrender -- and we want it to be union.

Tough times in Guild land

The mood here at the 74th annual convention of The Newspaper Guild in Washington, D.C., is, as you might imagine, rather stressed and somewhat somber. I'm here with local rep Carl T. Hall and local vice president Silvia Barden, and 107 other union activists from 38 Guild locals across the country.

Everyone seems tired and frustrated -- of bargaining pay cuts, furloughs and saying goodbye to the endless stream of talented newspaper workers our employers are shoving out the door. We're sharing our experiences in hopes of helping each other survive this firestorm. And were all hoping, of course, to find some glimmer of hope amid the gloom.

I spent about four hours Friday afternoon on two panels recounting and, unfortunately, reliving, the events that started with Frank Vega's Feb. 24 threat to close the newspaper, and will end, well, sometime at the end of the summer, when the last of the people laid off in this most recent brutal round of job cuts walk out the doors of 901 Mission Street.

As painful as it was to recount those agonizing days at the bargaining table, and waiting for the layoff axe to fall, it made me realize that it was time to blog again. Frankly, I'd been avoiding it since February because I was burnt out, bummed out and couldn't think of much worth writing.

The panel was called "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Concessionary Bargaining," and I realized that there were indeed good things that came out of our lousy agreement to amend the contract.
-- We saved the San Francisco Chronicle from being shut down or sold.
-- We reduced the number of job losses.
-- We ensured that everyone who left the paper, voluntarily or involuntarily, got some severance pay and health coverage.
-- We preserved hundreds of newspaper jobs with decent pay and benefits.

Those accomplishments, of course, came at a steep price, including the loss of seniority protections, something that cost many talented Chronicle staffers their jobs. And the concessions will make it tougher for those of us who remain.

But we did what union members do best. We made a difficult decision in the best interest of the majority of our Guild colleagues. I'm proud of that decision, and proud of our members at the Chronicle, as well as those at the Sacramento and Modesto Bees, who made similar sacrifices.

The Guild convention continues Saturday, and much of the focus will be on discussing ways we can move forward. The emphasis is on preserving -- or creating -- decent jobs for journalists, regardless of whether the stories appear in print, online or on cell phones or other gadgets.

As Guild President Bernie Lunzer said during his opening speech: "The future of news is in the frontline worker."

Fighting for the future

Twenty-eight hours is a long time to spend sitting on your butt in a cool hotel meeting room with bad acoustics.

But it was worth it. Leaders from The Newspaper Guild and the broadcasting and printing sectors of the Communications Workers of America met in wintry Baltimore for three long days of meetings to come up with ways to protect jobs and help save the news industry.

"It's really tough right now, and there's a lot of despair," said Guild President Bernie Lunzer. But we think if we work together, we can kill the despair with hope."

No, we didn't come up with a magical solution -- I wish we did-- but we did take several forward-looking steps. They include:

-- Establishing a task force to develop skills training programs for members.
-- Exploring non-traditional ownership arrangements -- including non-profit arrangements, employee stock option plans, public financial support, startups and hybrid models that combine traditional ownership and alternative approaches.
-- Launching community campaigns promoting the importance of journalism and newspapers.
-- Bargaining contract language that protects jobs.
-- Establishing cooperative relationships with management to find mutually beneficial solutions to make newspapers work.

Our new, merged California Media Workers Guild was well-represented with Media News mobilizers Carl Hall and Sara Steffens joining me, along with soon-departing Luther Jackson, former administrative officer of the San Jose Newspaper Guild, and Gloria LaRiva, head of our typographical sector. We were among 150 leaders from media unions in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada.

I can only speak for myself, of course, but I left feeling tired and a bit hopeful. There's a lot of work ahead if we're going to try to save newspapers from themselves (And we'll need your help). But it feels good to be doing something other than whining, moping and cursing our owners -- and something more innovative than laying people off.

Now, it's time for me to get some sleep.

Full of thanks

Thanksgiving and the holiday season it kicks off are a time to give thanks and appreciate friends and family. I'm in sunny Goleta, spending time with my family, and I'm thankful for that. But I wanted to take a couple of moments to say thanks to my union family.

And I really do consider it a family of sorts, though sometimes a dysfunctional one, like most families. We care about each other, we help each other, we fight for what's best for us. And we support each other, especially when times are tough, which they've certainly been lately.

There are endless numbers of examples, so I won't single anyone out. But thanks to all the Guild staff, officers and activists. Enjoy the turkey and, especially, the pie.

Twisted logic from Forbes

Even journalists, well-known for our mathematical inabilities, can figure out this word problem. Let's say you have $1,000 you're saving for a new laptop. It gets stolen, leaving you with nothing. So you work a lot of overtime -- putting it down on your timecard (hint-hint). Your long hours and hard work pays off, and you earn $2,000. So, the question is: How much did you earn? The answer, of course, is $2,000.

But a writer from Forbes would disagree. In a recent article about The Newspaper Guild (check it out via the Media Workers website), James Erik Abels downplays the magnitude of the Bay Area News Group -- East Bay organizing campaign. In an interview, I laid out the history of the BANG campaign, starting with the Singleton purchase of the Contra Costa Newspapers and the subsequent decision to form BANG East Bay and withdraw its recognition of the Guild contract.

To Abels, that somehow means that the accomplishment of organizing BANG's 208 members wasn't as significant as it seems. To me, that doesn't make sense mathematically: We gained 208 members where we had zero.

But it also ignores that the Contra Costa Times was a long-time non-union (and anti-union) paper that unions had eyed for years. And that the organizing campaign was driven in large part by a desire to maintain journalistic quality. And that nobody in the newspaper industry (and especially at Media News) ever expected it to succeed.

Abels does quote me as saying that we're receiving a lot of organizing inquiries, though he doesn't mention my statement that it's because journalists are getting fed up with the steady decline in staffing and quality, and the failures of newspaper management to try any strategy other than slashing jobs. (Now there's a story for a good business magazine).

The gist of the article is that the Guild is struggling to survive. Being in a union has always meant struggling, and that's never been more true than in the past decade of a hostile National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor. (Fortunately, that should change soon).

But we're not struggling to survive as a union (Cue the Gloria Gaynor music here). Sure, times are tough, and yes, we're losing members to layoffs. But we're organizing, we're adapting to changing times and techologies, we're exploring (and getting involved in) alternative ownership models, we're planning for our future.
Don't write The Newspaper Guild off just yet.

It's time to vote...

...but I'm not talking about the Presidential race.

By now, most of you have probably received ballots in the mail for the proposed merger of the Northern California Media Workers Guild (that's us) and the San Jose Newspaper Guild.

A lot of people have asked me today how they should vote on the proposal. I'm recommending a "yes" vote, and so has our Representative Assembly, the local's leadership. The San Jose local approved the merger on Friday. So, it's up to us.

Why vote "yes?" Put simply, there's strength in numbers and strength in unity. This merger will give us both. If it passes, all of the Bay Area's best newspapers will become part of the California Media Guild (our proposed new name) along with California's court interpreters (already part of our local). It will also make it easier for the Bay Area News Group--East Bay and the Mercury News to work together to get fair deals from Dean Singleton's MediaNews.

Please join me in voting YES on the Guild merger proposal.

(Questions? A merger agreement was included with the ballot, but more information is available on the local Web site. More questions? Shoot me an e-mail at CTUAN@aol.com or call me at 510-612-1027.)

In solidarity,
Michael Cabanatuan
President
Northern California Media Workers Guild

We're ba-ack...and so is Kathleen: with an important message

After a longer than planned summer break (Well, hey, it still feels like summer), it's time to knuckle down and get back to posting.

Our first post is a guest post (Yeah, we're easing our way back into this blogging thing) from esteemed Chronicle ex-unit chair and researcher extraordinaire Kathleen Rhodes. We miss you, Kathleen.

A Short Note from Kathleen Rhodes

Please vote NO on Proposition 8. Sometimes the political is personal. Proposition 8is an assault on my civil rights; it will eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. The California Supreme Court this year pointed out that separate is not equal. Prop 8 is about fear, not about fact.

I have always believed in fairness and even if I were straight I would still be against Prop 8 – it is an attempt to write discriminatory language into the state constitution.

In my opinion, the people pushing Prop 8 are doing so out of both hate and fear. They are asking the voters of California to change the constitution to take away the right to marry from one group.

This proposition is not about the church-sanctioned marriage; it is about changing the state constitution to discriminate against gays and lesbian in committed relationships who want to marry. The proponents are trying to convince the people of California that they know what is best for everyone. These are the folks who want all of us to look, feel, and think like they do or else.

They are spending lots of money to impose their particular views on the rest of society.

Voting no on Proposition 8 continues California’s tradition of inclusion. We celebrate our diversity, proposition 8 is trying to destroy that.

This is supposed to be a short note, so I will stop now. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions on Prop 8. This hurtful and hateful initiative needs to be defeated. I am voting no on proposition 8. Please join me.

Thank you,
Kathleen Rhodes
rhodeskat@sbcglobal.net

Local makes big BANG at CWA convention

Our local, the Northern California Media Workers Guild, is a small piece of the 700,000-member Communications Workers of America. But Local 39521 (that's us) played a big role in last week's 70th annual CWA convention in Las Vegas -- from start to finish (literally).

Local vice president Silvia Barden (president of our court interpreters unit)opened the convention by singing the national anthem. And, yes, she hit all the high notes and remembered all the words).

During the convention, our local received awards for best local Web site (the judges liked the RSS feeds and blogs as well as the clean, crisp design)and an organizing award for the One Big BANG campaign. The YouTube video of the victory party was shown on two big video screens to kick off the awards.

But the best part of the convention came near the end, when I had the opportunity to bring the BANG-East Bay organizing committee co-chairs Sara Steffens, Karl Fischer and Michael Manekin onto the convention floor and introduce them. They were greeted with a standing ovation and raucous applause.

After the convention, they met with local leaders from throughout The Newspaper Guild to share the details of their campaign. The heroes' welcome continued through the evening with people welcoming them to the union and, rumor has it, buying them a few congratulatory beverages.

The bad news of the BANG layoffs came two days later, but I hope the warm embrace from the Guild and CWA will provide comfort and support, and remind the BANG-EB folks that they're part of the union family now.

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.

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.

Eat a burger, help build the Guild

A lot of you have been asking how you can get more involved in the Guild. A lot of you have been wondering how you can help with the organizing campaign at the Bay Area News Group -- East Bay. The time is now.

An election has been scheduled for June 13 for BANG-EB employees to decide whether they want to join the Guild. Better than a majority have told us they do. But we need your help in combating the anti-union campaign Dean Singleton and his MediaNews managers, attorneys and consultants are spreading.

Your task won't be too tough -- We want you to attend a picnic/BBQ, eat some burgers and chat about the Guild, and why you care about the union. The picnic is May 31 from noon to 4 p.m. at Live Oak Park in Berkeley. Bring the spouse, the kids, the in-laws and any Guild supporters you can round up. A side dish would be nice, too. (But no booze in the park; it's against city ordinance). The Guild will provide the burgers, the drinks and the entertainmment.

In addition to talking up the Guild at the picnic/BBQ, if you know anyone at the Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune or other MediaNews papers in the East Bay, give them a call, drop an e-mail or buy them a cup of coffee or a beer and tell them why it's a good idea to form a union in the newsroom.

Our strength as a union comes from our committed membership. So c'mon out, have a burger or two, and help the folks at BANG win a union election. Their success will make us all stronger.

It's your turn -- vote!

Your chance to affect the future of The Newspaper Guild is here. By now, your ballots have probably arrived in the mail, and you have until April 29 to cast your votes. As one of the only labor unions to allow its members to directly elect its top officers, the Guild is among the most democratic unions in the nation. So take advantage of it.

The Guild international's top three posts are being contested. Incumbent president Linda Foley is being challenged by Secretary-Treasurer Bernie Lunzer. International chairwoman Carol Rothman is running against regional VP Scott Stephens for secretary-treasurer. And Connie Knox, regional VP, is running against Lois Kirkup, regional VP, for international chairwoman.

Regardless of who you choose, I hope you'll vote. Need more information? You can read up on the candidates and campaigns at the following websites -- www.teamguild.org and www.astrongerguild.org -- or in the Guild Reporter.

Cash for college

You know the usual benefits of union membership -- a voice in your workplace, the opportunity to bargain your wages working conditions and benefits, representation when your boss is picking on you.

But there are other benefits as well, including college scholarships for members and their families. The deadline for the Communications Workers of America Joe Beirne Foundation scholarships is coming up at the end of this month.

The Beirne Foundation offers 30 scholarships of up to $3,000 each to members of the Guild and other CWA members and their families. Anyone who receives the scholarship, will receive the money for a second year as well, given satisfactory academic achievement.

Those eligible include spouses, children and grandchildren, including dependents of retired, laid-off, or deceased members. Applicants must be high school graduates or high school students who will graduate during the year in which they apply. Undergraduate and graduate students returning to school are also eligible.

Applications must be filled out online at the Foundation's website: http://www.cwa-union.org/members/beirne/ by April 30. More information is also available at that site.

The scholarship program is funded by donations from CWA locals.

Members of the Northern California Media Workers Guild have been recipients of the scholarships in the recent past. So, yes, it really is worth giving it a shot.

No excuses...

Just an apology for the delay in posting. As promised, here's my report from the Guild Sector Conference (essentially the Guild convention) in Providence, R.I.:


I went to The Newspaper Guild's sector conference in Providence, and, instead of a lousy T-shirt, I ended up getting elected the western regional vice president of the Guild.

Granted, I was elected by acclamation, which is a polite way of saying there was no opposition, that nobody else wanted the job. But I was encouraged to run for the post by some of the people I respect most in the Guild, including both of the candidates for president.


Along with no opposition, there's also no pay. But this is an important position at a critical time for newspapers and for The Newspaper Guild. The West, and particularly the Bay Area, are on the leading edge of change in the media industry, and part of my role will be to present that perspective to the rest of the Guild's leadership.

While changes such as the loss of classified advertising to Craig's List and readers to a variety of online sources slammed us first, I think we'll also be where the answers to those challenges are developed. We're not only the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, we're the prospectors.


But enough about me. Plenty of other things happened at the convention -- and almost all of them involved politics. The race for president between incumbent Linda Foley and challenger and secretary treasurer Bernie Lunzer colored just about everything.

Supporters of Lunzer and his slate hung their convention badges on yellow "A Stronger Guild" lanyards. Backers of Foley sported blue "Team Guild" buttons. Leaflets, stickers and various other campaign items were distributed. Lunzer held a fundraiser in a local restaurant. Foley held a lunch in a downtown hotel. Many clandestine meetings were held in hallways, hotel rooms and restaurants as people plotted.

And while there were a few confrontations and arguments, and a lot of discomfort among convention attendees who like both candidates or are striving to stay neutral, most of the disagreement was tempered with respect. Or maybe it was the beer and cocktails. After all, we're all Guild members first.

Not all the politics were Guild-related. For more than 30 years, the Providence Newspaper Guild has put on the annual Follies -- an event where they mock local politicians and events a la Saturday Night Live. It's a big deal -- attended by most of the state's politicos and power-brokers and filling a cheesy banquet hall with 1,200 people. Humor's never captured well in rewritten accounts, so I won't even try. Let's just say it was funny. And there were two political celebrity sightings:

-- Sen. John Kerry, who did a long standup routine that ended when his endorsement of Obama went on too long, and Clinton supporters started chanting: Hill-a-ry, Hill-a-ry.

-- Chelsea Clinton, who showed up before the show to work the crowd days before the Rhode Island primary. Chelsea was also spotted at the conference hotel, where she stayed, but did not attend the convention.

Another highlight of the convention was the reception given master organizer/mobilizer Carl Hall's presentation on the One Big Bang drive in the East Bay. Fellow delegates were so moved that, without solicitation, they pledged to give about $3,200 to help support the campaign.

Off to a good start

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been a long time since my last post. But that's not because of a lack of anything to write about; it's that I've been too busy to blog. Well, that's my excuse anyway.

I spent the last week of January at a district meeting of the West Coast locals of the Communications Workers of America then filled the better part of the first week of this month with The Newspaper Guild's Media News Project.

While it added up to way too much time spent in chilly windowless meeting rooms, it left me feeling upbeat about organized labor and my fellow union members. It also left me with a nasty cold, but that's not the point of this entry.

At the CWA District 9 meeting, the message was that unions need to change, and are changing: to a scenario where members are more involved and where locals determine the needs, priorities and approaches.

The Media News Project was all about putting that theory into practice: training employees in the Singleton empire to mobilize their co-workers, and in the case of our local, to organize employees at the Bay Area News Group.

A common sentiment ran through both of the meetings: Workers are sick and tired of sitting by and watching their professions deteriorate, and are ready to do something about it.

Nowhere is that more clear than at the Contra Costa Times, where the organizing drive has moved into high gear. If you haven't done it yet, browse the Guild's BANG organizing site , www.onebigbang.org , and read the inspirational messages from the brave employees who are heading the organizing effort.

While the year is young, and the BANG organizing effort has a long way to go, things are definitely off to a good start. It's not too late to join the fun. Contact your unit officers to see how you can get involved.