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.