Guild launches wage restoration campaign

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has launched a campaign to urge Journal Sentinel Inc. management to restore our bargaining-unit members' wages to the point they were at before last year's 6.6% pay cut.

"Our sacrifice has been great," newly elected Guild President Tom Silverstein wrote in one of two recent letters to members. "We lost a lot of good co-workers and friends and accepted a pay cut greater than management did. Today, thanks in large part to us, the company is on firmer footing. That is why now is the time for the company to follow the example of many companies in this area and restore workers’ wages and benefits in full."

Here's the complete text of both letters:

October 18, 2010

Dear co-worker,

Over the past year and a half, we’ve seen a lot of changes in our workplace and few of them have been good. Layoffs left us all shaken and unsure of our job security and the future of the newsroom. To our credit, we made it through the worst of the recent economic downturn and managed to produce a terrific product.

As the newly elected president of Local 51 of the Newspaper Guild, I’d like to take this opportunity to reach out to everyone in the newsroom and beyond to help us work toward restoring the things we lost when the company cut an uncompromising swath through our wages and then through our workforce.

Our sacrifice has been great. We lost a lot of good co-workers and friends and accepted a pay cut greater than management did. Today, thanks in large part to us, the company is on firmer footing. That is why now is the time for the company to follow the example of many companies in this area and restore workers’ wages and benefits in full.

The first step in formulating a campaign is to remind management of just that.

With that in mind, Local 51 wants to know how the 6.6% pay cut has affected you. We ask that you visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/2KDC3C3 and take a brief survey. We want to know where the cut has hurt you the most and what challenges you and your family faced as a result. The survey is open to everybody in the newsroom, not just Guild members.

Please express yourself freely and urge your co-workers to participate, too. We need to know how our membership has been affected. We hope to use these anecdotes to press our case with the company for full wage restoration. We’d prefer that you include your name, but if you would like to remain anonymous, that is fine.

If you have other concerns that you feel are more or equally important, we want to hear them also.

As we press forward in the coming weeks, the information you provide will be vital in showing management the sacrifice each and every one of us has made to keep this company profitable. The survey won’t take much time to complete and it will be of great benefit to the Guild.

You can expect to hear more from us about upcoming union activities that will show management we are united in the belief now is the time to make things right.

Thank you for your participation.

Tom Silverstein
President
Local 51 of the Newspaper Guild

October 21, 2010

Dear co-worker,

For months, Journal Sentinel workers have shared in the sacrifices to reduce company expenses. Wednesday’s third-quarter earnings report from Journal Communications is a sign that the company’s fortunes are improving.

It signals that the time is now to discuss how to reward employees who have seen their incomes slashed even as their workloads have grown. As the company recovers, so should workers.

Among the highlights in the third-quarter earnings report:

• Revenue was up 1.7% from a year ago. That was largely attributed to gains in the broadcast division based on political ads and auto ads.
• Operating earnings nearly tripled, to $11 million from $4.1 million for the same period a year ago.
• Net earnings rose to $6.3 million, compared with $1.8 million a year ago.

The report pointed out that revenue for publishing operations continues to fall, because of weakness in retail and classified advertising, and going forward, it sees that weakness continuing.

But it’s important to know that despite the weak economy, the company has been able to reduce its debt by more than 25% so far this year. This means it was able to reinvest in itself at a time when many companies can’t.

Perhaps the most puzzling part of the report was CEO Steve Smith’s comments that the company would be “selectively investing in our people” going forward. It’s hard to know what that means, but those of us who have been around a long time cringe at the thought the company will once again be selectively “investing” in its people.

Journal Sentinel workers accepted a 6.6% pay cut -- a rate higher than management’s reduction -- in hopes of saving people’s jobs, and then watched the company slash the workforce dramatically. Our commitment to producing an outstanding newspaper and website never wavered during that trying period and remains today as the company gets back on solid footing.

As a group, we deserve to be rewarded.

If not now, when?

Tom Silverstein
President
Local 51 of The Newspaper Guild