“On-call” proposal dropped

Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators have withdrawn a contract proposal to schedule reporters or photographers to be “on call.”

As originally submitted, the plan would have allowed the company to pay some staffers a $40 premium to be available for 12 hours on weekends or holidays, without being in the newsroom. But anyone who was called in would have been compensated in time off, not cash, for hours worked. After Guild bargainers questioned whether the comp-time-only provision would violate federal overtime laws, the management team said it had decided the idea was unworkable in light of the legal issues.

Also during bargaining Monday and Tuesday, Guild negotiators rejected a company proposal to let up to 12 interns work for academic credit instead of wages. Our members have told us they would not accept college students working for free in a newsroom that has laid off 34 of our colleagues from paying jobs.

Guild and management representatives held off-the-record discussions about potential grievances stemming from the layoffs. We are consulting with our attorney, the international Guild and the laid-off employees to determine how to proceed.

In other business, the two sides agreed to keep current contract language on discipline, and to make minor changes in several vacation provisions. Other vacation issues remain open, including Guild proposals to provide the fifth week of vacation after 15 years, rather than 20, and to restore the fifth week for employees hired after 2005, as well as a management proposal to require departing employees to repay the company for taking more vacation than they have earned under the “earn-as-you-go” system.

We also discussed contract provisions dealing with health care, sick leave, pensions, 401(k) plans and tuition reimbursement. During a previous session July 29, we discussed provisions dealing with vacation, holidays, family leave and personal days.

Meanwhile, the lineup of bargainers has changed. At its Aug. 5 meeting, our local’s Executive Board named sportswriter Tom Silverstein to the bargaining committee. Silverstein, a longtime steward, replaces editorial assistant Janine Ghelfi, who departed in the buyout. Ghelfi helped negotiate the last three contracts, in addition to serving a record 12.5 years as a steward leader and about 10 years on our board.

The next negotiating sessions are set for Sept. 2-3.

Journal Sentinel lays off 34 in newsroom

On Tuesday, Journal Sentinel Inc. announced it had cut its staff by 92. This reduction included the permanent layoffs of 34 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom employees represented by the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild, as well as the voluntary buyouts taken by 32 members of our bargaining unit and five managers.

It was the largest layoff and second-largest buyout in our newsroom's history. By comparison, when The Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel merged in 1995, 70 to 80 newsroom staffers took buyouts and 21 members of our unit were laid off.

This is a very difficult day for all of us in the newsroom, not only for those who are losing their jobs, but also for those who remain. As we deal with the loss of our colleagues, we face the task of putting out the best newspaper and online product we can with about one-third less staff than we started the year with, and about half the staff we had a few years ago.

We did everything we could to avoid this day. Just three months ago, our members voted to cut our own pay by 6.6%, after a previous buyout attracted only nine staffers. We took that pay cut in exchange for a no-layoff guarantee through Sept. 30. While the 60-day layoff notices issued Tuesday meet the letter of that deal, many of our members had hoped our sacrifice would buy more time for our colleagues.

We are also concerned that many veteran employees were laid off without regard to seniority. Guild leaders and attorneys will be carefully reviewing each case to determine whether grievances, discrimination complaints or other litigation would be warranted.

Furthermore, we objected to management's refusal to allow employees to bring Guild representatives into the meetings where they were notified of their terminations. While we recognize that the company was legally within its rights to do so, we believe it was wrong to deny the workers the support they needed at this stressful time.

The Guild stands with all those we represent. In the days ahead, we will continue to fight for justice for both those who lost their jobs and those who remain.