Star-Ledger N.J.: buyout of 200 or bust

What's a Newhouse Christmas bonus? I and none of my co-workers have seen one in the 19 years I've been at a Newhouse shop.

 

I should've fixed it. I was recalling the past. My bad.

 

I'm at a Newhouse shop, and we got the Holiday bonus last year, although it was chopped considerably from previous years. This whole situation is just bad, no two ways around it.

 

From the Star-Ledger web site, 1:25 p.m.:

Star-Ledger warns employees of possible sale, closing
by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
Tuesday September 16, 2008, 1:25 PM

The Star-Ledger today warned employees that the paper will be sold or closed by January if the drivers' union does not ratify an agreement by Oct. 8.

In a notice to employees, publisher George Arwady said "it is most unfortunate that we have to send out this notice, but the Drivers have left us with no choice." Negotiating a new contract with the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union, which represents about 90 Star-Ledger drivers, has been one of three conditions ownership has placed on the continued operation of the paper.

Arwady, in a note to the staff, said the mailers' union has a ratification vote scheduled for September 22 and a newspaper-wide buyout program is ongoing.

The owners set a deadline of Oct. 1 for getting 200 of the newspaper's 756 non-union full-time employees to take a buyout and for achieving the union concessions. The Star-Ledger's total work force is 1,412.

The Star-Ledger is New Jersey's largest newspaper -- selling roughly 350,000 papers daily and 520,000 on Sunday -- and in recent years has won two Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other national awards. But like others in the industry, the newspaper has been buffeted by losses.

The text of Arwady's letter to employees is below:

To: All Star-Ledger Employees
From: George Arwady
Date: September 16, 2008
Re: Update

As I have previously told you, there are three conditions that must be met in order for The Star-Ledger to remain in business under its current ownership.

Although we are making progress toward meeting two of our three conditions (the Mailers have a ratification vote scheduled for September 22), we still are far from an agreement with the Drivers' union.

Accordingly, since it is doubtful that the Drivers will ratify an agreement by October 8, 2008, we will be sending formal notices to all employees this week, as required by both federal and New Jersey law, advising you that the Company will be sold, or, failing that, that it will close operations on January 5, 2009.

It is most unfortunate that we have to send out this notice, but the Drivers have left us with no choice.

 

unless the truckers settle, there goes my buyout.

 

Extremely sad situation. The Star-Ledger has no business being in this shape. I told someone that by the end of the year, a major publication was going to fold. Never did I think that publication could be the Star-Ledger.

 

I feel for ya EJoe. Is there a sentiment in your company that Newhouse would actually close SL down? I mean, the implications for employees and NJ aside, wouldn't it just make lousy business sense from ownership's greedy little perspective?

 

I work at the sister paper of the Ledger that's also being impacted by this (our buyouts are conditional on the Ledger meeting it's buyout conditions). So I don't know what the sentiment is up there, but as a life-long Jerseyian I can't believe they would shut the Ledger down or be unable to find a buyer for it.

 

The Ledger makes money. The problem is Johnny truckdriver and his cousin Ronnie aren't happy and want more dough. Hopefully, those Kearny-living clowns would realize a little something is better than nothing.

 

I think Johnny truckdriver and cousin Ronnie are content. The people Johnny & Ronnie elected to be the union heads (or whomever the union heads appointed to do the negotiating for them) are the ones that could be accused of greed. But without knowing what they're being offered we can't make that accusation.

 

I heard that.

 

It's those damned no-show jobs. Paulie Walnuts drives a tough bargain.