Bay Area bloodbath

Oh come on, you could say "this week" and be right at least one out of three times.

 

Watch for more physical consolidation of Bay Area papers. For example, there has been talk of the San Mateo Times moving into the Mercury News building. (Sure, it makes no sense geographically, but it does in terms of saving $$$)

 

Update:

http://www.kcbs.com/CoCo-Times-Reporters-Try-To-Unionise/2118297

Posted: Friday, 02 May 2008 3:23PM

CoCo Times Reporters Try To Unionise


CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. (KCBS) -- Reporters at the Contra Costa Times said Friday they've sent a petition to the National Labor Relations Board to start the unionisation process following a recent round of job cuts.
Both the Times and the Oakland Tribune would fall under a newspaper guild.

The reporters believe a union may prevent further cutbacks at the papers.

"Given the condition of the industry and the condition of our company as of late, we think this is the best way to make sure that journalists want to stay at our newspapers and that a quality product is put out to the public," said Times reporter Karl Fischer.

Times Vice President Kevin Keane said the company is hoping employees will do the right thing and reject a union if the NLRB certifies the petition to organize.

 

Either that or they'll all get fired. Desperate times yada yada yada ...

 

A noble and overdue gesture... and one that -- given Singleton's MO with unions (see oft-quoted example of Press-Telegram, Long Beach) -- is noble and full of fail.

Hope their deck chairs get arranged properly and the band's in key.

(All together now) This will not end well. :'(

 

Indeed, Birdscribe.

They should have tried to unionize when they had some semblance of power. After the downsizing, they're just grasping at straws in an attempt to save themelves. Better for them to find an escape hatch far from Singleton.

 

Going get them, CCT ...

 

Word from Bay Area News Gulag - East Bay is guild has gathered enough signatures to trigger NLRB-authorized union vote and Singleton doesn't like it.
Comedian/Bay Area News Group Publisher John Armstrong sent mass e-mail Monday warning that ``each of you do your homework'' and claiming that ``some employees have said they signed a card, changed their minds and asked that the cards be returned; the union refused.''
Interesting part is Armstrong and key underlings Kevin Keane and Pete Wevurski aren't Singleton henchmen in the traditional sense - like thug HR Dir. Jim Janiga. One can only imagine the heat coming down on them from an already livid Singleton, who's fresh off a visit to SoCal where his crumbling LANG chain is in disarray after embarrassingly underpowered servers crashed, rendering unysis platform useless.
Here's Armstrong, unfiltered:



Dear Colleagues:
The guild last week filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election on the union’s effort to be the exclusive bargaining agent for non-supervisory employees in the newsrooms of Bay Area News Group-East Bay.
Over the next several days we will deal with the NLRB over issues relating to the definition of the proposed bargaining unit and who is eligible to vote. We anticipate that the election most likely will be held in June.
You can expect to hear a lot from us before the election because this represents a potential turning point in the history of our newsrooms. The outcome will impact all of you, whether you vote or not, whether you favor or oppose the union, whether you feel strongly or not about the issue.
In the meantime, here are some things to keep in mind:
The outcome of the election will be determined by how a majority of those who vote cast their ballots – “yes” for union representation, “no” for a union-free environment.
It is important that each of you do your homework so you can make a studied decision. For example, we encourage you to examine closely what has happened in recent negotiations at union-organized newspaper companies in the Bay Area and across the country. It is important to know what the union actually has delivered for its members.
If you signed a union authorization card, that does not mean you are in any way obligated to vote for the union. (Some employees have said they signed a card, changed their minds and asked that the cards be returned; the union refused.)
The election will be by secret ballot. No one will ever find out how you voted.
Kevin Keane and I are opposed to unionization of our newsrooms. For good and ample reasons, we believe unionization would not be in your best interests or the best interests of our organization and our audience. We will explore those reasons in the weeks ahead.
Kevin and I are confident that on the day of the election a majority of you will agree with us, that our organization is poised to do great things and we can best tackle the challenging issues we face in a union-free environment.
John Armstrong, Publisher

 

So, Kevin and John, is your organization prepared to stop laying off people?

 

I don't get the part of a union not being good for the chain's audience. I've always thought of the Bay Area as a pretty strong union area.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think the public cares much about the plight of journos - union or otherwise. That's a big part of how El Dino slipped under the radar and amassed this massive newspaper empire.
Let's not kid ourselves. Armstrong, Keane & Wevurski (isn't that a law firm) don't really believe a ``nonunion environment'' will help them ``tackle'' anything other than staff reductions.

 

Let the games begin...

E-mail sent to Bay Area News Gulag editorial staff by publisher/Singtleton lapdog John Armstrong earlier this week:

Colleagues:

Based on an oral agreement between representatives of the company and the guild, the National Labor Relations Board will schedule a secret ballot election on Friday, June 13th, on the union’s petition to become the exclusive bargaining agent for pay, benefits and working conditions for nonsupervisory news employees of Bay Area News Group-East Bay. Yes, you read correctly: Friday the 13th.

The agreement, which we expect will be formalized and signed tomorrow, will include election locations, which will be on company premises, and the hours for voting.

The following employees will be eligible to cast a ballot: All full-time and regular part-time nonsupervisory news division employees at our Alameda, Antioch, Hayward, Fremont, Tracy, Pleasanton, Oakland, Richmond, San Mateo and Walnut Creek locations.

John Armstrong
President and Publisher


Below are links to guild press release, and SF Chron story about guild drive:

http://www.medianewsmonitor.org/news.php?ID=5066

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/16/BU3H10N4DP.DTL&hw=medianews&sn=001&sc=1000