Stewards to meet Wednesday
March 25th, 2009
Archive
Archive for March, 2009
Note from the negotiating team
March 25th, 2009
Guild members:
The Guild’s negotiations team met with company officials Monday afternoon. We were presented with a proposal similar to what was offered in December which outline the approximately $1.9 million in savings the company hopes to achieve from the Guild.
The company again seeks to arbitrarily cut overscale, eliminate overtime for team leaders, as well as night and shift differentials newsroom wide, reduce vacation time through a PTO plan, permanently freeze the pension and eliminate contributions to the cash balance plan.
Among the new and surprising demands were “layoffs based on business needs, without regard to seniority,” elimination of minimum severance if layoffs occur and the unlimited use of freelance work. These items and many others, including conversion to a PTO system, were not quantified with the amount of savings sought by the company. Read more…
Unit meeting Thursday
March 17th, 2009
When: 4 p.m. Thursday
Where: Upstairs, assembly rooms
What: An update on what we know and what we don’t know. Questions welcomed.
Pressmen and company reach tentative deal
March 13th, 2009
According to the Star Tribune, the company and the Pressmen union reached a deal early this morning. It has yet to be voted on by union membership:
NEW YORK — The Star Tribune management reached a cost-cutting deal with the pressmen about 6 a.m. CDT today, following an all-night negotiating session in New York City. The two sides were under threat of having their management-labor dispute resolved by a U.S. Bankruptcy court as early as this afternoon.
Union president George Osgood declined to reveal any details of the agreement, which involves layoffs, wage cuts and staffing changes, before explaining the deal to his membership and putting it to a vote. Read more here.
Hearing Day 2: Pressmen to resume negotiations
March 12th, 2009
March 12 (Bloomberg) – The Minneapolis Star Tribune and members of its pressman union were told by a bankruptcy judge to reach a deal soon if they want to avoid a liquidation forced by the newspaper’s lenders.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in New York today urged the parties to agree by tomorrow or March 17 at the latest, or secured lenders may force the company to liquidate.
Hearing Day 1: coverage of Pressmen court proceedings
March 12th, 2009
March 11 (Bloomberg) — The bankrupt Minneapolis Star Tribune’s chief financial officer said the newspaper’s revenue was down 30 percent in January and February compared with a year ago, making its need to reject a union contract more urgent. Read more here.
Making sense of this week’s hearing
March 10th, 2009
From Guild member Liz Fedor:
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain is scheduled to hear arguments this week on the Star Tribune’s motion to abrogate the labor contract of the Pressmen, Local 1M, who are represented by the Teamsters. The hearing is set to begin Wednesday in New York and both sides are able to call witnesses. Attorneys for each side have the opportunity to question all witnesses.
At this time, the Star Tribune has not indicated it plans to file similar motions against the Guild or any other unions.
The company’s current financial condition, the Star Tribune’s business plan for future years and the financial sacrifices being asked of all stakeholders in the bankruptcy case are topics likely to be discussed. Read more…
Get your computer tents here
March 9th, 2009
Late last week, we passed out green computer tents that read, “I’m for strong unions at the Star Tribune.” If you didn’t get one, grab one from Chris Serres or Randy Furst. Or, feel free to comment on this post with your name, and we’ll get one to you.
Here’s the message behind the tents:
Today you’re being given computer tents with the slogan I’M FOR STRONG UNIONS AT THE STAR TRIBUNE. Please display them prominently. As you know, all of the unions at the Star Tribune are being asked to make difficult decisions. And our unions are being conveniently blamed for the Star Tribune’s current financial difficulties. But our problems - as a newspaper, and as an industry - are more complex than the company’s labor costs. Without going into the issues each of our unions face, we feel it is a good time to offer a simple expression of labor solidarity. Thanks.
Graydon Royce and David Chanen, unit co-chairs