Latest News from the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild

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2011-05-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

Sometime in the near future, this blog will be moved to milwaukeenewsguild.org/blog. Please update your bookmarks accordingly.

Umhoefer picked for health and safety post

2011-01-28T06:46:00.000-08:00

Dave Umhoefer is the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s new health and safety coordinator.

The local’s Executive Board has named Umhoefer, a Politifact Wisconsin reporter, to deal with any concerns about ergonomics, air quality or other health and safety issues affecting union-represented workers in the Journal Sentinel’s downtown newsroom and Wisconsin bureaus. He fills a post that has been vacant since metro reporter Susanne Rust left the paper in 2009.

Vacation deal approved

2011-01-20T06:39:00.000-08:00

In voting Tuesday, Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members approved a package of vacation changes, 55 to 5. Guild leaders and Journal Sentinel Inc. management representatives expect to sign the agreement within the next few days, retroactive to Jan. 1.

As an immediate result, members of our bargaining unit will be able to take two key changes into account when scheduling their 2011 time off: (a) All full-timers will now have three floating holidays, a net gain of two extra days off each year, and (b) all employees will now have an extra three months to take each year of vacation, so 2011 vacation can be used as late as the first quarter of 2012.

The latter point is of particular importance this year for employees who were hired between 1995 and 2006 and who may have time remaining in their transitional vacation accounts, or TVA. Because the TVA is supposed to be scheduled before the end of 2011, the change will allow affected employees to use up TVA first and roll over some 2011 vacation to early 2012. Guild representatives have personally contacted each affected employee to be sure they know how much TVA they have and how it must be used.

Another feature of the deal will restore a fifth week of vacation, after 20 years of service, for full-time employees hired in 2006 or later. Because all employees hired before 2006 were already eligible for the fifth week, part-timers hired from 2006 on will be the only newsroom employees who wouldn't qualify for it.

The tradeoff for these improvements: Employees hired from 1995 on, who are on the "earn-as-you-go" vacation system, would have to pay back the company if they left the paper after taking more vacation than they had earned. However, management has given the Guild on-the-record assurances that this provision would not apply to those who take buyouts or are involuntarily downsized.

Guild sets vote on vacation deal

2011-01-13T06:43:00.000-08:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members will vote Tuesday on a package of vacation changes proposed by Journal Sentinel management. We'll hold our quarterly membership meeting the same day.

Most of the proposed changes are improvements -- two extra days off each year for full-timers; three more months to use our vacation; and restoration of the fifth week of vacation, after 20 years, for new full-time hires. But we would have to give up a bit of contractual protection for people leaving the company. And we were not allowed to negotiate any substantive changes to the package.

Because this would require amending our contract with a side letter, in a way that affects our benefits, our Executive Board has decided to put this question to a vote of our membership. The board is recommending members vote "yes."

Both the meeting and the balloting will begin at noon in the Abert Room. During the meeting, members will have an opportunity to discuss the agreement and hear updates on our other activities, including our preparations for bargaining. Lunch will be served. Voting will continue until 2 p.m., then resume from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Members who need to make arrangements to vote absentee should contact Karen Samelson or, in her absence, Greg Pearson.

The full text of the vacation agreement has been distributed to members and posted on the main Guild bulletin board in the newsroom. Here are the key points:

Overview: Journal Communications wants to have the same vacation policy for everyone in the corporation, both publishing and broadcast, to save the downsized payroll and human resources departments the trouble of worrying about the nuances of different contracts and policies when they calculate how much vacation everyone has coming. Ours still wouldn’t be identical to everyone else’s, but it would be a lot closer. Rather than drag everyone down to the lowest common denominator, the company is offering several improvements that we sought unsuccessfully at the bargaining table.

Floating holidays: We used to have one floating holiday for full-timers. A couple contracts ago, at the request of corporate accountants, we agreed to turn that into a vacation day. Since then, every full-timer with three weeks of vacation, for example, has had three weeks and one day. Now the company wants to turn that day back into a floating holiday and add two more, so we would have three floating holidays every year. In bargaining, we sought to add several personal days every year but wound up only with those the company was trading for a pay cut. Management has not connected these two new days to the pay cut in any way.

Fifth week: Most of our unit members get five weeks of vacation after 20 years. In the 2004-’08 contract, we reluctantly gave up the fifth week for those hired in ‘06 and later. We tried unsuccessfully in bargaining last time to get it back. Management is now ready to give it back, but only to full-timers.

Short-term rollover: Realizing that our short-handed staff has a lot of trouble scheduling vacations, especially in December, management is now willing to let us take our vacation as late as March of the following year. So, for example, we could take our unused 2011 vacation sometime in the first quarter of 2012. The rollover would not apply to the floating holidays.

Payback: When we went to the earn-as-you-go vacation system, several members said we shouldn’t agree to anything that required people to repay the company if they left after taking more vacation than they had “earned.” We successfully negotiated language that flatly bans such paybacks. This has been a source of friction and several grievances, and management tried and failed to eliminate that language in bargaining. This change would require payback in all cases. After our board voiced concerns about docking departing employees who had not planned to leave, management gave us on-the-record assurances that they never had done this to anyone who was downsized or took a buyout, and they didn’t intend to do so in the future.

Part-timers: Although our part-timers would not get the fifth week back, they would continue to get more vacation than those in any other department. Newsroom part-timers earn vacation on the same schedule as full-timers. The rest of the company’s part-timers must work here five years before they get any vacation, and then they’re capped at 52 hours (slightly more than two weeks for those who work 24 hours a week). We would keep exactly what we have now — including no fifth week for part-timers hired in ‘06 or later.

Earn-as-you-go effective date: We use the earn-as-you-go system for full-timers hired in 1995 or later. For everyone else, it took effect for those hired in 1994 or later. We would keep our effective date. Along with the part-timer policy, that would be among the only vacation policy differences between us and the rest of the company.

The process: If we say no, everything stays as is, at least through 2011, but we can come back to the issue in bargaining this spring. If we say yes, we could still try to renegotiate the terms in regular bargaining, when everything else will be on the table as well. With a positive vote, the language would be retroactive to Jan. 1.

Content picked as steward leader

2010-11-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's Executive Board has named Tom Content as a steward leader.

Content, a Journal Sentinel business reporter, replaces Mary Louise Schumacher in overseeing stewards, contract enforcement, membership and mobilizing for the business news, features/entertainment, photo and opinions staffs. Schumacher, the newspaper's art and architecture critic, did not seek reappointment to a second term.

The board reappointed the other two steward leaders: copy editor Russ Maki, to a third term serving the copy, design, graphics and national desks and the sports staff, and metro reporter Tom Held, to a second term serving the downtown metro desk, Wisconsin news bureaus and JSOnline.

Also reappointed were page designer Zeina Makky as communications chair, feature writer Jan Uebelherr as social chair, copy editor Jen Steele as newsletter editor, online producer Craig Nickels as Webmaster, metro reporter Larry Sandler as posting and exclusions coordinator, deputy business editor Bob Helbig as wage data coordinator and assistant features/entertainment editor Stan Miller as tech coordinator. Uebelherr and Helbig are also board members.

All of those appointed will serve one-year terms, until next October. The steward leaders and Vice Presidents Meg Kissinger and Karen Samelson will now select stewards.

Guild launches wage restoration campaign

2010-10-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

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

Silverstein elected Guild president

2010-09-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members chose Tom Silverstein as our new president Tuesday.

Silverstein, a Journal Sentinel sportswriter, is a longtime steward who was a member of our most recent bargaining committee.

He succeeds Greg Pearson, who decided not to seek re-election. Pearson, a copy editor, served more than two years as president, after nearly four years as 1st vice president, the longest anyone had held our grievance chairmanship. He also has been a steward leader, board member and negotiator.

Members re-elected metro reporter Meg Kissinger to a second term as 1st vice president; copy editor Karen Samelson to a third full term as 2nd vice president; metro reporter Erin Richards to a second term as secretary; metro reporter Amy Hetzner to a fifth full term as treasurer; and feature writer Jan Uebelherr and Politifact Wisconsin reporter Tom Kertscher to a fourth full term and a third term, respectively, as at-large board members.

Returning to the Executive Board, after an absence of more than four years, is former president Bob Helbig. He's also been our vice president, our longest-serving treasurer, a board member, steward leader, bargainer and most recently our wage data coordinator.

Helbig, a deputy business editor, succeeds two at-large board members who did not seek re-election: metro reporter Mark Johnson, who served more than four years, and editorial writer James Causey, who served one year. A bylaws amendment adopted last year reduced the size of the board from 10 members to eight, effective with this election, and one seat had been vacant.

All of those elected will serve one-year terms, starting Friday. Their first task will be to fill appointed posts, including steward leaders and committee chairs and members. The vice presidents and steward leaders then will choose stewards.

Also at Tuesday's annual meeting:

Members elected Silverstein and Kertscher as delegates to the international Guild's sector conference, with Samelson and Helbig as alternates. Silverstein was also elected as our delegate to the international convention of the Guild's parent union, the Communications Workers of America, with Kertscher, Samelson and Helbig as alternates.
The membership renewed the "universal rebate" that keeps our dues at 1% of pay, for another year. An annual vote is required to maintain the discount.

Final layoff grievances resolved

2010-08-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has completed settlements for Journal Sentinel newsroom employees who were laid off in August 2009. The last three settlements were signed in late July and early August.

We had filed grievances on behalf of 19 employees who were laid off last year despite ranking higher in seniority than others who were retained.

One of those employees, online producer Emmett Prosser, was offered his job back. He returned to work in March. The other 18 reached financial settlements with Journal Sentinel Inc.

Guild board OK’s bonus, pushes to restore pay

2010-08-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s leadership recently cleared the way for Journal Sentinel newsroom employees to receive a 2% bonus, but not without a reminder that we still expect management to restore our wages to what they were before last year’s 6.6% cut.

On July 21, Journal Communications CEO Steve Smith announced a lump-sum bonus for everyone who had taken pay cuts, with the payout amounting to 2% of one year’s wages at our current (i.e., reduced) level. Although that bonus took effect automatically for non-represented employees, union consent was required to pay it to anyone covered by a union contract. We needed to agree by noon the next day in order for the bonus to appear on the July 29 paycheck; otherwise, it would show up on the next check after an agreement was signed.

Our Executive Board met that deadline, authorizing Guild President Greg Pearson to sign an agreement that specified the bonus would not count toward wage restoration. However, board members also sent management a letter urging swift restoration of our previous wage levels.

When we originally agreed to the pay cut, the deal called for wages to be restored for our bargaining-unit members at the same time as for non-union employees, and in proportion to the non-represented group’s 6% cut. That language was subsequently incorporated into our contract, which also requires that our wages would be restored across the board even if non-union employees get their money back on a “merit” basis. Smith had previously hinted that wage restoration might be under consideration for the second half of this year, but his most recent letter suggested 2011 as a more likely target.

Also, although the bonus is calculated as a percentage of our current pay, the contract specifies that wage restoration would be based on our old pay. For example, if non-union employees get back 2% of their former pay, we would get back 2.2% of our previous wage rate, and so on until the full 6.6% is restored.

Here’s the complete text of the bonus agreement:

"This confirms the agreement between the company and the union that the company shall make a cash bonus payment to eligible bargaining-unit employees. The eligibility for and terms of the cash bonus are as set forth in Steve Smith's letter of July 21, 2010. This cash bonus shall not be considered a partial restoration of the negotiated wage reduction by which the company is required to restore partially or wholly under certain conditions."

And here’s the complete text of the Guild’s letter to management:

"The board of Newspaper Guild Local 51 is pleased that management has chosen to provide a bonus to Guild members. However, we would like to make clear that since the pay cuts were intended to be temporary, it is our fervent hope that the company will move quickly to restore salaries. Bonuses, while better than no increase, do not offer employees the security they deserve."

Contract signed

2010-06-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. representatives signed a new contract last week, covering our bargaining unit through 2011.

A small number of newsroom workers will receive raises as a result of the contract. That’s the group who were due to move up on the pay scale, but who were frozen at their previous wage level while negotiations were going on.

Because of the 6.6% wage cut, those individuals will move up to 93.4% of the minimum rate for their new pay steps. The same principle will apply to anyone who moves up the pay scale in the future, until and unless our wages are restored to their previous level. If you are in this group and you have any questions about how this applies to you, please see a Guild representative.

Contract ratified, 54-10

2010-05-28T00:48:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members ratified a new contract with Journal Sentinel Inc. by a vote of 54-10 on Thursday.

The pact, which runs through 2011, preserves several key protections from previous contracts, including our severance and notice pay in case of downsizings and our cap on the percentage of health care costs we must pay, although the company gains more control over who to lay off and over how our benefits are structured. The contract also keeps much of our current wage and differential structure in place, and outlines how — but not exactly when — our wages would be restored to where they were before last year’s 6.6% pay cut.

In short, it’s a contract that falls short of what many of us had hoped for, but that is nonetheless the best our bargaining committee believed we could get, and in some ways better than some of the others we’re seeing at other Guild locals across the country.

Guild and management representatives will now proceed with signing and implementing the contract.

Layoff grievance settlements reach 16

2010-05-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has now reached settlements for all but three of the 19 employees who filed grievances over last year's downsizing.

In late March, JSOnline producer Emmett Prosser returned to the newsroom, the only one of the group to date who has won back his job. Earlier this week, another employee reached a financial settlement, the 15th member of the group to do so.

The remaining three are scheduled to go to arbitration in June. All of them have lifetime job guarantees from their prior service in the composing room, but the company has refused to recognize the validity of those guarantees.

In all, 35 newsroom employees lost their jobs in the layoffs. Among the 16 employees whose layoffs were not challenged — either because they were low in seniority or because they asked us not to grieve for them — the company has canceled the layoffs of two part-time scoretakers and has rehired a full-time online producer in a different part of the company. Three other part-timers were hired as temps.

Guild sets membership meeting, contract vote

2010-05-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has set Thursday as the date to vote on a tentative agreement for our 2009-2011 contract with Journal Sentinel Inc.

But first, we will hold our regular quarterly membership meeting at noon Wednesday at Turner Hall. International Representative Darren Carroll and Bargaining Committee members will be present to answer any questions that Guild members may have on the contract. Lunch will be served.

The next day, voting will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. in the Journal Sentinel's Grant Library. Members who need an absentee ballot should contact 2nd Vice President Karen Samelson as soon as possible. Mail ballots must be returned to our post office box by Thursday.

Only dues-paying Guild members are allowed to vote on the contract. Non-members who wish to join can contact any Guild representative.

All Guild members have been provided with the complete language of the tentative agreement, along with summaries of all changes from the prior contract and related unwritten understandings between the company and the Guild. Anyone who has questions before the membership meeting can contact any member of our Bargaining Committee.

The Bargaining Committee has unanimously recommended a "yes" vote on the contract. The Executive Board has decided to offer no recommendation.

More contract discussions set

2010-03-03T23:52:00.000-08:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has scheduled two more meetings for members to discuss the tentative agreement reached on our next contract with Journal Sentinel Inc.

Those sessions have been set from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, and again from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. the same day. Both will be in the Journal Sentinel's Abert Room, and members can bring their lunch or dinner.

International Representative Darren Carroll, who helped negotiate the deal, will join us for the noon session, and members of our bargaining committee will be available at both sessions to answer any questions Guild members may have about the tentative agreement.

No date has been set yet for a ratification vote. Watch for more information soon.

Among related matters:

In addition to the key provisions outlined in a previous post, the tentative agreement means that the company will not be allowed to compensate interns in academic credit alone, nor can it require departing employees to pay back the company for taking more vacation than they had earned. The deal also maintains the “evergreen clause” that keeps an old contract in force while a new one is being negotiated.
The Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. have agreed to settle our grievance over the company’s suspension of the tuition reimbursement program. The settlement provides a cash payout to any newsroom staffer who was turned down for tuition reimbursement, starting last fall.
We are now up to 14 settlements on grievances stemming from last year's layoffs, leaving five individuals’ cases unresolved. While further settlements remain possible, arbitration hearings have been set on the remaining cases, starting later this month.

Guild reaches tentative contract deal with Journal Sentinel

2010-02-18T22:52:00.000-08:00

Negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. reached tentative agreement Thursday on a new contract that would last through 2011.

Reflecting our membership’s priorities, the deal would keep our current two weeks of severance pay per year of service in layoffs; require the company to offer buyouts before layoffs; call for the eventual rollback of our 6.6% wage cut to be distributed equally across-the-board; avoid cuts in differentials; and maintain the current cap on health care premiums. At the same time, the agreement would reduce the role of seniority in determining who is laid off and would increase the company’s control over our benefits.

Against the backdrop of the worst economy in which we have ever bargained, and in comparison to the settlements being reached by other Guild locals nationwide, our bargaining committee considers this the best deal we could reach. Committee members will discuss the tentative agreement at our previously scheduled membership meeting at noon Tuesday at Turner Hall. All dues-paying members are welcome and encouraged to attend. Lunch will be served. We will not be taking a ratification vote at this meeting; that will be scheduled later.

Here are the key details of the three-year agreement, which would run from Jan. 1, 2009 (retroactively), to Dec. 31, 2011:

Job security: No change in the two-weeks-per-year severance pay or the required 60-day notice for layoffs. At least two weeks before issuing that notice, the company would be required to announce a layoff target and offer a buyout on terms at least as favorable as the contractually required severance; each person accepted for the buyout would reduce by one the number to be laid off. Instead of the current requirement to lay people off primarily in order of reverse seniority, with some exceptions, the company would base layoff decisions on a combination of factors — such as skills and diversity — but seniority would be the deciding factor if everything else is equal.

Wages: If wage cuts are partly rolled back for any other group of Journal Sentinel employees, we would get a proportional wage restoration across the board. No change in wage structure, differentials, overtime, turnaround or mileage reimbursement.

Benefits: Our health care, sick leave, pensions, 401(k)s and tuition reimbursement would all be the same as what the company offers its other employees, with no contractual prohibition against changing or even eliminating benefits. However, the company’s share of health care premiums could not drop below the current minimum: 65% of the cost of the benchmark plan for a family that does not qualify for the non-smoking discount, with higher company shares for everyone else.

Time off: We would get five personal days this year; the company would decide whether we get any personal days next year. No changes in vacations, holidays, family leave, funeral leave or jury duty leave.

The Bargaining Committee has voted unanimously to recommend the membership ratify this contract. The Executive Board and the international Guild will also review the deal prior to a membership vote.

Newsroom avoids latest downsizing; arbitration sought on previous cuts

2009-12-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

None of the 39 Journal Sentinel Inc. employees laid off Monday came from the newsroom staff represented by the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild.

In a letter to employees, Publisher Betsy Brenner said the affected workers were taken from circulation, advertising and other business departments. She characterized the layoffs as the final staff cuts of 2009, a year in which the newsroom previously lost 84 jobs to a combination of involuntary downsizing, buyouts and attrition. All but six of those jobs came from our bargaining unit.

As for the newsroom downsizing earlier this year, grievances have been resolved, one way or another, for most of the 35 staffers involved, but the rest are headed to arbitration.

The Guild filed a grievance challenging all of the layoffs, questioning whether the company had followed our contract's seniority provisions. Since then:

The company has canceled layoff notices for two employees and allowed a third to transfer to a different job outside the newsroom.
The Guild agreed not to pursue its grievance for 16 staffers, including the three who kept jobs. Most were low-seniority workers who were laid off in accordance with our contract, while some asked us not to move forward.
Twelve employees have reached settlements with the company, and other settlements remain possible.
For the remaining employees -- a maximum of seven -- the Guild board has voted to move to arbitration, a legal process in which both sides choose a neutral individual to decide the case. That can take several months. This group includes three workers who have lifetime job guarantees that the company does not consider valid. The Guild has filed a separate grievance over that issue, and that grievance is also headed to arbitration.

We have reached a resolution on a third grievance, which sought compensation for employees who tried but failed to take all of their 10 personal days (provided as part of the agreement to cut our wages earlier this year) before they were laid off. In that case, we agreed to drop the grievance on behalf of the employees who were sent home during the contractually required 60-day notice period, in exchange for assurances that the employees still working during the notice period — about eight — would be allowed to take their remaining personal days before leaving the payroll.

A separate grievance over the company's suspension of the tuition reimbursement program is on hold until we can discuss the issue in bargaining.

Meanwhile, the company has moved 10 formerly excluded editors into the bargaining unit. Guild and company representatives have discussed this move in terms of its relationship to the layoffs, the ratio between excluded managers and bargaining-unit personnel, whether some of the jobs should have been posted and whether some of the new unit members are now eligible for substitution pay for filling in for managers. We have agreed in principle on how to deal with those issues and expect to resolve them when we return to the bargaining table.

The next bargaining sessions are set for Dec. 16-17.

Held, Schumacher named steward leaders

2009-11-15T23:09:00.000-08:00

Tom Held and Mary Louise Schumacher are the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's newest steward leaders.

Our local's Executive Board named Held, a Journal Sentinel metro reporter, and Schumacher, the newspaper's art and architecture critic, to the posts for terms that started in October. Both had been stewards.

Held now oversees contract enforcement, membership, mobilizing and stewards for the downtown metro desk, Wisconsin news bureaus and JSOnline. He replaces metro reporter Mark Johnson, who did not seek reappointment as a steward leader but remains a board member.

Schumacher's jurisdiction includes the features/entertainment, business news, photo and opinions staffs. She replaces editorial assistant Janine Ghelfi, who left in the buyout after a record 12.5 years as a steward leader.

They join copy editor Russ Maki, who was named to a second term as steward leader for the copy, design, graphics and national desks and the sports staff. Under a bylaws amendment approved by the membership in September, the number of steward leaders was reduced from four to a maximum of three, to reflect the downsized staff. The fourth position had been held by sports copy editor Vince Butler, who departed in the downsizing, and most of his former jurisidiction was combined with Maki's.

Also during its October and November meetings, the board appointed page designer Zeina Makky as communications chair, replacing sports designer Ana Menendez, who left in the downsizing; business writer Joel Dresang, a board member, as health and safety chair, replacing metro reporter Susanne Rust, who took the buyout; deputy business editor Bob Helbig, a former local president, as wage data coordinator, replacing Maki, who did not seek reappointment; assistant features/entertainment editor Stan Miller, as tech coordinator, replacing photo tech Dave Kirner, another former local president, who left the paper.

The board also reappointed metro reporter Erin Richards, the local's secretary, as human rights chair; feature writer Jan Uebelherr, a board member, as social chair; copy editor Jen Steele as newsletter editor, online producer Craig Nickels as Webmaster and metro reporter Larry Sandler as posting and exclusions coordinator.

All of those appointed will serve one-year terms, ending next October. The steward leaders are working with the top officers to appoint stewards.

Local 51 President Greg Pearson, a copy editor, was named to replace Kirner on our bargaining committee. Unlike the other positions, bargaining committee members do not serve a fixed term and remain in office until the contract is settled.

Kissinger elected Guild's 1st VP

2009-10-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members have selected Meg Kissinger as our local's second-in-command.

Kissinger, a Journal Sentinel metro reporter, was elected 1st vice president, in charge of contract enforcement. She fills a position that had been vacant since letters editor Sonya Jongsma Knauss left the paper to become editor and general manager of MilwaukeeMoms.com. Over the years, Kissinger has previously served as a board member, interim steward leader, committee chair and steward.

Guild members also chose metro reporter Erin Richards as secretary. She succeeds feature writer Jan Uebelherr, who was elected to the at-large Executive Board seat that Richards previously held.

Also joining the board as at-large members are business reporter Joel Dresang and editorial writer James Causey. Dresang is a former board member and former steward.

Members re-elected copy editor Greg Pearson, to his second full term as president; copy editor Karen Samelson, to her second full term as 2nd vice president, in charge of membership and mobilizing; metro reporter Amy Hetzner, to her fourth full term as treasurer; and metro reporters Mark Johnson and Tom Kertscher, to a fourth full term and a second term, respectively, as at-large board members.

In other action at our annual meeting earlier this week, members:

Elected Pearson, Richards and Dresang as delegates to the international Guild's sector conference, with Samelson and Kertscher as alternates.
Chose Pearson as delegate to the international convention of our parent union, the Communications Workers of America, with Richards, Dresang, Samelson and Kertscher as alternates.
Approved a bylaws change to cut the local's board from 10 to eight members, by reducing the number of at-large seats from five to three, effective after this election.
Enacted a second bylaws change to cut the number of steward leaders from four to "up to three," effective with the term starting in mid-October.
Renewed the rebate provision that keeps our dues at 1% of pay.

Guild challenges layoffs

2009-09-04T00:44:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has filed multiple grievances challenging the involuntary downsizing of 35 employees of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom.

All of those workers were notified Aug. 4 that they would lose their jobs in early October. They are receiving full pay and benefits during the 60-day notice period required by our contract.

One grievance focuses on the way employees were selected for layoff. Our contract requires seniority to be the primary factor in this decision, but some of the most senior staffers were cut. At the moment, this grievance covers everyone involved in the layoff, but we are continuing to analyze the individual merits of each case, in consultation with our attorneys, and considering the wishes of the workers involved.

Another grievance calls on Journal Sentinel Inc. to honor the lifetime job guarantees of four newsroom employees who previously worked in the composing room but were nonetheless laid off. In one of those cases, the company had already acknowledged the validity of a staff member’s lifetime job guarantee, and we thought his name showed up on the layoff list by mistake, which is why we previously reported 34 layoffs, rather than 35.

A third grievance asks for compensation for personal days not taken by the laid-off employees. In exchange for the 6.6% wage cut we accepted earlier this year, all members of our bargaining unit were given 10 paid personal days. Many employees made an effort to schedule those days before the Oct. 1 expiration of the no-layoff guarantee that was part of the same deal. But in some cases, repeated requests to schedule these days were denied. Unlike unused vacation, unused personal days ordinarily would not be paid out on termination.

Finally, the Guild filed an unrelated grievance over the company’s suspension of the tuition reimbursement program. This program is defined by our contract and the company did not bargain with us when it sought to suspend the program earlier this year. Members of our bargaining unit who were already attending classes were reimbursed through the spring semester. We filed the grievance when a newsroom staffer was turned down for reimbursement for fall semester tuition.

The grievance process requires a series of discussions with the company in an attempt to settle our differences. If those efforts are unsuccessful, our local’s Executive Board will decide whether to bring the cases to arbitration.

After we filed the grievances, our bargaining team met with management negotiators and discussed contract provisions dealing with vacations, part-timers and databases. We reached tentative agreements to keep one of the vacation provisions in its current form and to make technical changes in language covering part-timers.

“On-call” proposal dropped

2009-08-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

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.

Deals reached on drug testing, open shop

2009-07-22T22:48:00.000-07:00

Negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. tentatively agreed Wednesday to keep current contract language on drug testing and union membership.

The drug-testing deal ends a lengthy effort by the company to weaken contractual provisions that protect our bargaining-unit members’ rights when they are suspected of drug or alcohol abuse.

In exchange, the Guild team dropped our proposal to require that non-journalists be union members. We had initially proposed a union shop for everyone in our bargaining unit. The current language calls for an open shop.

Also Wednesday, management bargainers provided a written version of their academic internship proposal. Their language would allow the Journal Sentinel to hire up to 12 interns a year who would work for college credit rather than pay. Those positions would count against the current contractual maximum of 20 interns a year overall.

The company team also indicated its on-call proposal was on hold to work out legal problems. The proposal would let the company schedule reporters or photographers to be on call, rather than in the newsroom, on weekends or holidays, in exchange for a $40 premium, but anyone actually called in would be compensated only in time off. Guild bargainers had questioned whether the comp-time-only provision would violate federal overtime laws.

We also discussed vacation provisions. The next bargaining sessions are set for July 29-30, then Aug. 10-11 and Sept. 2-3.

“On-call” system sought for newsroom

2009-07-09T23:51:00.000-07:00

Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators are proposing a new system that would let newsroom managers schedule some reporters and photographers to be “on call” on weekends and holidays instead of working in the newsroom.

With a shrinking staff, the company wants more flexibility in scheduling personnel, management bargainers told the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s bargaining team Thursday. The move also would let more reporters work traditional Monday-through-Friday schedules, instead of adding more people to the local news desk weekend rotation and/or increasing the frequency of their shifts, company bargainers said.

Here’s how the system would work, under management’s proposal: The current crew of four local reporters and one to four photographers each Saturday, Sunday and holiday would be reduced by one or two positions. But one or two people would be scheduled to be on call for 12 hours that day. During that time, they would have to refrain from alcohol, be reachable by telephone and be available to come to work on short notice.

Each person on call would be paid $40 regardless of whether they were called to work. If they were called to work, they would be compensated for the hours worked only in time off, at the rate of time-and-a-half, with no weekend or holiday differential or callback pay, and they would not be subject to the current four-hour minimum overtime rate for work on a day off.

Guild bargainers questioned whether the comp-time-only proposal would violate federal overtime laws. We also asked how this would apply to part-timers who would have worked less than 40 hours before being on call. The management team said it would answer those questions when it gives us a formal written proposal on this issue. Our team will wait to see the proposal in writing before reacting further.

Also in talks Wednesday and Thursday, the two sides reached tentative agreement on jurisdiction language that allows editors to post brief online items that are either links to other online material or don’t require any reporting that normally would be done by bargaining-unit members. We also discussed provisions dealing with vacations, holidays, excluded positions and columnists, as well as a management proposal to compensate some interns solely in academic credit rather than pay. The next bargaining session is set for July 22.

Journal Sentinel offers more newsroom buyouts; layoffs could follow

2009-07-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

Journal Sentinel Inc. is offering another round of buyouts to newsroom employees — the fourth in less than three years. And management negotiators have told the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild that the company could lay off an undetermined number of workers if not enough employees take the buyouts.

Managers declined to specify a target for job cuts, in either people or dollars, other than to say it would be substantially greater than either of the first two rounds of buyouts, which attracted more than 20 employees each. Guild leaders plan to continue pressing the company to tell us what the target is.

But if the buyouts fall short of whatever the target turns out to be, layoff notices could go out in late July or early August for downsizing to take effect Oct. 1. That’s the earliest anyone could be laid off, under the limited no-layoff guarantee we received in exchange for our 6.6% wage cut, and the earliest that notices could go out, under the 60-day notice provision of the current contract.

During negotiations last week, union and company representatives agreed on the following buyout terms:

The buyout will be open to both full-timers and part-timers in our unit.

Departing employees would be paid two weeks of severance for each year of service, with no cap.

Full-timers with 15 or more years of service would receive an additional 10 weeks of severance pay. At the Guild’s urging, the company also agreed to provide an additional five weeks of pay to full-timers with less than 15 years of service and part-timers with more than 15 years in, and an additional three weeks of pay to part-timers who have worked here for less than 15 years.

Severance will be payable in a lump sum.

All full-timers who leave would be eligible for the COBRA health care extension authorized by the federal stimulus legislation, and all employees taking the buyout would get outplacement aid.

Applications will be taken until 8 p.m. July 27. As in the past, the company can reject applications. In most cases, those accepted would leave by July 29, although some people could stay later.

By comparison, the current contract calls for two weeks of severance pay for each year of service, with no cap, plus 60 days’ notice or 60 days’ pay. (60 days would be 8.5 weeks of pay.) The federal COBRA extension is available to everyone who is either laid off or who takes a buyout to save their co-workers from being laid off. Outplacement aid is also guaranteed by contract.

Management is seeking to weaken our job security protections in the next contract. Their negotiators indicated that they will broaden their assault to include an unspecified reduction in our seniority provisions, in addition to seeking to reduce severance from two weeks per year to one week, and to provide the 60 days’ notice only when required by law.

But company representatives agreed that any layoffs this fall will be governed by the current rules regardless of whether we agree to something different in the next contract and regardless of whether we sign the next contract by then. That means everyone who gets laid off would get the two weeks per year of pay and 60 days’ notice, and the layoffs would be governed by the current seniority rules.

The Guild has distributed flyers with more information about the buyout and will hold two question-and-answer sessions next week to help employees trying to decide whether to take the buyout.

As in the past, anyone who is considering the buyout should keep in touch with Guild President Greg Pearson. Please let him know whether you are considering the buyout, whether you have actually applied, whether you were accepted and whether you were rejected. Your names will be kept confidential.

Also last week, management negotiators presented a comprehensive revised proposal that did not include wages. It did include their long-awaited vacation proposal, which seeks to force employees hired after 1995 to pay the company back if they leave after taking more vacation than they earned under the “earn-as-you-go” accrual system. Our current contract says nobody can be forced to pay back anything in a case like that.

The company team also indicated it will seek a new system for paying workers to be “on call” at certain times, and will press for the right to hire interns who are compensated in academic credit rather than pay. They did not present details on either proposal. We also discussed provisions dealing with union jurisdiction, job postings and interns.

The next bargaining sessions are set for Wednesday and Thursday.

Rally Monday marks 25 years of Local 51

2009-05-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild is turning 25, and our union leadership thinks that’s a milestone worth marking.

Local 51 was founded on June 1, 1984. Given all the industry turbulence that Journal Sentinel employees are dealing with, our local’s Executive Board decided a party might not be appropriate.

Instead, the Guild is inviting members to a rally at noon on June 1. Jack Norman, who helped found Local 51 and led it through some troubled waters, including the merger, will reflect on the anniversary. President Greg Pearson and Bargaining Chair Larry Sandler will make a few remarks, and we’ll discuss what lies ahead in negotiations.

The rally will be on the second floor of Turner Hall (use the north stairs off the parking lot; the restaurant will be closed). Lunch will be served — and, of course, birthday cake.

Journal Sentinel wants 2-year pact

2009-05-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators proposed this week that the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s next contract last just two years, through Dec. 31, 2010.

Guild bargainers had previously proposed a four-year contract. It’s the first time in memory that the company is seeking a shorter contract than the union. The management team said their proposal reflects the difficulty of long-term financial forecasting for our company and others in the newspaper business.

The company’s proposal on the term of the contract came as bargaining resumed after a hiatus of more than five months. Management negotiators halted the talks last November, as the company’s fiscal outlook started to deteriorate. Our contract was set to expire Dec. 31, but it has a clause that provides an automatic extension while negotiations continue.

During the break in regular talks, the two sides agreed on a deal to avoid layoffs by cutting wages 6.6%, effective this coming Sunday, in exchange for a no-layoff guarantee through Sept. 30 and 10 personal days during 2009. Guild and management representatives signed that agreement Wednesday.

Also during talks Wednesday and Thursday, we discussed provisions dealing with union jurisdiction and columnists, after an overview of tentative agreements that had been previously reached and Guild positions on issues not yet resolved. A subcommittee will resume discussion of drug and alcohol testing provisions during May. Future bargaining sessions are set for June 2-3, June 29-30 and July 8-9.

Wage cut approved, 86-46

2009-04-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild voted Thursday to approve a 6.6% pay cut for the 191 Journal Sentinel Inc. employees it represents. The decision averts the layoff of 20 or more workers in our bargaining unit, which includes journalists and support staff in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom and JSOnline.

Guild members approved the pay cut by an 86-46 vote. That vote came after several weeks of talks with the company, which told union negotiators in March that it needed to trim $1.2 million from the Guild-represented payroll portion of the newsroom budget.

At the Guild’s request, the company first offered a voluntary buyout, which resulted in nine employees — six full-timers and three part-timers — accepting the buyout proposal.

After two days of negotiations earlier this month, Guild bargainers agreed to present to our membership a proposal for a 6.6% pay cut that will extend until at least May 2010. In exchange, each member of our unit will receive 10 personal days for the remainder of 2009, and the company will not lay off anyone in our unit through Sept. 30.

Every element of this deal — the wage cut, the personal days and the no-layoff guarantee — was unprecedented. And it was the first time we voted on an agreement with the threat of layoffs hanging over our heads.

This was a very difficult choice for our union, largely because the job security guarantee was so limited. Many members voted “no” because the company refused to guarantee that it wouldn’t just take our pay cut and then turn around and lay off as many people in October as it would have let go in May. But the majority voted “yes” because they believed it was important to protect not only our colleagues' jobs but the high quality of our newspaper.

The most recent round of buyouts was the third offered to Journal Sentinel newsroom employees in less than two years. With those buyouts and the layoffs of the staff of the now-defunct MKE youth-oriented weekly, our local has lost about 55 of the employees that it represented. Our members believed that further reductions would only weaken the paper.

We hope that Journal Sentinel management understands that the Guild has made some significant sacrifices in the interest of our paper's health. We call on them to take those sacrifices into account, and to bargain in good faith with us, without seeking further concessions, as we resume our long-delayed contract talks.

Wage cut vote set for April 23

2009-04-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

For the first time in the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s history, members will vote on whether to cut their own wages, in exchange for limited protection against layoffs.

The plan comes to the membership with no recommendation from either the local's Bargaining Committee or our Executive Board, after two days of very difficult negotiations. If the membership votes the plan down in balloting next week, Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators say the company will proceed immediately with involuntary job cuts.

Terms of the package are as follows:

Effective May 3, wages for all members of our bargaining unit will be reduced by approximately 6.6%.
The wage cuts will expire May 2, 2010, or when the non-represented Journal Sentinel staff’s 6% wage cuts expire, whichever is later. If the company partially restores wages for non-represented staff, it will do the same for us.
All full-time employees will receive 10 personal days in 2009, on the same terms as the non-represented staff. Part-time employees will receive a proportional number of personal days. In 2010, we would receive the same number of personal days as the non-represented staff, if any.
The company will not lay off any members of our bargaining unit through Sept. 30 of this year.
These wage cuts will not apply to anyone who took the recent buyout.

The talks earlier this week followed the buyout, which attracted only nine employees, almost all from the copy desk, graphics/design and editorial assistant ranks. Guild negotiators had warned that the buyout terms were not generous enough to draw the numbers needed to meet the company's $1.2 million newsroom payroll reduction target and avoid layoffs. The combined wages of the departing staffers totaled $436,800, leaving us $763,200 short.

Management representatives then rejected a Guild proposal to close the gap through unpaid furloughs. They also refused to accept a 6% wage cut, because it would have left us about $73,000 short of their target. They refused to agree to a definitive date to end the cuts. They refused to extend the no-layoff guarantee to the end of this year. They refused to guarantee that we would get any personal days in 2010. And they refused to even discuss structuring the wage cut in some way that would ease the burden on the lowest-paid members of the staff.

Guild negotiators briefed members on the package at a membership meeting Wednesday. Voting will be scheduled 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. next Thursday, April 23. Details of the balloting and absentee-ballot procedures will be distributed to members.

Layoffs, job cuts don’t touch newsroom — yet; Guild meeting April 15 on what’s ahead

2009-04-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

None of the 31 jobs eliminated at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in recent days came from the newsroom. Nor were workers represented by the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild affected by the 6% wage cut imposed on most other Journal Sentinel employees.

That doesn’t mean we’re immune to cutbacks. We’re just proceeding on a different track, starting with a buyout offer that remains open through this week. But tough choices could be ahead in bargaining next week, and the Guild has called an April 15 membership meeting to discuss what comes out of those talks.

On Monday, Journal Sentinel Publisher Betsy Brenner announced 26 full-time and five part-time workers had been downsized. Guild leaders believe these jobs came from advertising, circulation, marketing and possibly other departments.

That followed Journal Communications CEO Steve Smith’s announcement Thursday that most company employees, including newsroom managers, would receive 6% pay cuts in exchange for 10 additional paid days off. The wage cuts did not apply to workers covered by either a union contract or, in the case of broadcasters, a personal contract.

In our case, management representatives told Guild negotiators last month that the company wanted to cut $1.2 million in annual payroll costs from our bargaining unit, about a 10% reduction. To avoid layoffs, the Guild asked the company to offer a voluntary buyout and then negotiate on unpaid furloughs.

The buyout window opened last week and remains open until Friday. Depending on wage levels and part-time or full-time status, up to 24 people would have to leave to meet the target through buyouts alone; that number could be 18 or less if some higher-paid full-timers are among those taking the buyout. As far as we know, buyouts are not being offered to newsroom managers or anyone else not represented by the Guild.

Once we know who has been accepted for the buyout, and what their wages add up to, we will return to the bargaining table April 13-14. The company has signaled it is unenthusiastic about furloughs and is likely to push for cuts in base wages. But furloughs remain on the table for discussion. Management representatives have said involuntary job cuts could begin in May if a deal is not in place by the end of April.

After this round of negotiations, Guild members will discuss the outcome in a brown-bag luncheon session at noon April 15 in the company’s second-floor training center. Any deal that results from the talks will be submitted to the membership for a vote, but that vote will not come at this meeting. As in the past, the union will arrange for members to vote later by secret ballot.

Deadline is April 10 for latest buyout

2009-04-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild leaders are working to ensure that Journal Sentinel newsroom employees have complete information about the company's latest buyout offer before the April 10 deadline.

On Wednesday, the company presented the buyout package to our bargaining unit. The buyout is open to both full-timers and part-timers and offers two weeks of severance pay for each year of service — but capped at 15 years of service, or 30 weeks pay (i.e., those with more seniority can take the buyout but wouldn’t get any more than 30 weeks’ pay). The company will provide two months of health insurance, but no additional cash incentives and no outplacement aid. Payments will be in two-week installments, not a lump sum.

Guild negotiators sought Tuesday evening to improve those terms, by raising the cap, but the company's bargaining team refused.

As we have reported previously, all of this is based on the company’s push to save $1.2 million in bargaining-unit payroll costs, as part of $5 million in cuts throughout the company. Once we know how many people have taken the buyout, we will return to the bargaining table April 13-14 to discuss other measures, such as unpaid furloughs and wage cuts, to reach the target without involuntary job cuts.

Here’s how the latest buyout differs from those in the past: (1) No previous buyout has ever been capped. (2) Additional cash or outplacement aid was part of some previous buyouts. (3) The last two buyouts were not open to part-timers. (4) Previous severance payments came in a lump sum.

Here’s how the buyout terms differ from our contract's involuntary downsizing terms: (1) If you are downsized, you get two weeks of pay for each year of service, with no cap. (2) Anyone pushed out in a reduction in force is also entitled to 60 days’ notice or 60 days’ pay. (3) The contract does not require the company to pay any health insurance if you’re downsized, but you do get some kind of outplacement aid.

The contract calls for involuntary job cuts to be based on reverse seniority, with some exceptions, such as to maintain diversity and special skills. The Guild's view is that seniority is the first consideration and the company must justify each deviation from seniority.

As in previous buyouts, the Guild will distribute information answering frequently asked questions about the details of the offer and how it applies to various situations.

Anyone who is considering the buyout should keep in touch with Guild President Greg Pearson. Please let him know whether you are considering the buyout, whether you have actually applied, whether you were accepted and whether you were rejected. Your names will be kept confidential.

Journal Sentinel seeks $1.2 million in cuts; buyouts, furloughs to be discussed Tuesday

2009-03-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members will meet Tuesday to discuss voluntary buyouts and unpaid furloughs as an alternative to involuntary job cuts.

Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators told the Guild last week that the company wants $1.2 million in payroll reductions from our bargaining unit -- raising the prospect of cutting newsroom jobs -- as part of $5 million in personnel spending reductions companywide. Guild bargainers responded by calling for talks on buyouts, to be followed by negotiations on furloughs if needed.

After two days of bargaining, the management team said it would give us a buyout package by early April, then come back to the table to discuss furloughs. The buyout offer is likely to provide a very short window for employees to accept it, so anyone who may be interested should be prepared to decide quickly. We have no details of what the buyout terms may be, other than management’s statement that they would not be the same as the last two buyouts.

Guild leaders have called a special membership meeting for noon Tuesday, at Turner Hall, to discuss the situation. Lunch will be provided.

If the package negotiated by the Guild is insufficient to meet the company’s target, management said it would use involuntary cuts to get the rest of the way to its goal. Had the Guild refused to negotiate and allowed the company to reach the target entirely through job cuts, as many as 24 positions could have been lost. But that number includes lower-paid full-timers and part-timers, so fewer people would need to leave if a voluntary buyout attracts some higher-paid employees.

One-week unpaid furloughs for everyone would save about $240,000. The company also offered the options of wage cuts (about $120,000 for each 1% reduction) and the complete elimination of all differential pay, saving $150,000.

The next bargaining sessions are set for April 13, 14 and 15.

A time to meet, a time to talk and a time to party

2009-02-17T23:32:00.000-08:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild is providing three very different forums to respond to the latest grim financial news from Journal Sentinel Inc.

A recent letter from Publisher Betsy Brenner said the company would seek wage freezes and raised the possibility of unpaid one-week furloughs. It's important for all Guild-represented workers to understand that all such proposals will be subject to negotiation, and that our Bargaining Committee will fight for the best deal possible for newsroom employees. Contract talks are expected to resume in the next few weeks, after being on hold since November.

All Guild members are encouraged to discuss the situation at our quarterly membership meeting at noon Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the meeting room upstairs at Turner Hall. Guild officers and negotiators will provide the latest information, offer a look at what's ahead and listen to members' concerns. Lunch will be served.

Then, to ease the tension a bit, the Guild's Winter Bailout Party is set from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 1, in the upstairs party room at Bootlegger's, 1025 N. Old World 3rd St. Everyone in the bargaining unit, both members and non-members, is invited to bring a guest to enjoy a buffet and drinks.

Finally, to help the company navigate through the financial crisis, the Guild is sponsoring a brown-bag forum at noon Wednesday, March 4, in the second-floor training center. Everyone is invited to brainstorm ideas for Journal Sentinel Inc. to raise revenue.

Newsroom escapes latest JS layoffs

2008-12-12T23:30:00.000-08:00

Another round of layoffs hit Journal Sentinel Inc. employees last week, but no one from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom was affected.

Management has declined to confirm details of the latest downsizing. However, various sources have told Milwaukee Newspaper Guild leaders that anywhere from 20 to 50 workers were cut. It's possible the larger number includes other parts of Journal Communications, because we've heard of several layoffs at the suburban weeklies in the Journal Community Publishing Group.

In response to questions from Guild representatives, managers have said they have no plans for further downsizing in the newsroom at this time.

Meanwhile, bargaining on a new contract remains at a standstill while company negotiators rethink their strategy in light of the economic downturn. Talks are not expected to resume until January at the earliest.

At our Dec. 2 membership meeting, the Guild's bargaining committee offered answers to several frequently asked questions about the situation:

Q. What happens when the contract expires Dec. 31?
A. Nothing. Our current contract has a clause that automatically extends all of its provisions while negotiations continue on a new agreement. The company has proposed eliminating the automatic extension clause in the next contract, while the Guild is seeking to keep it.

Q. Does that extension include the job security provisions?
A. Yes. Any economic downsizing still requires the company to provide 60 days’ notice or 60 days’ pay, plus two weeks of severance pay for each year of service. In negotiations on the next contract, the company is seeking to provide only legally required notice (still 60 days, but only when a large percentage of workers is being cut) and to slice the severance pay in half, to one week for each year of service, the same as in other Journal Sentinel unions' contracts. Guild negotiators have said that keeping the current job security protection is a high priority.

Q. What about raises?
A. Until we agree on a new contract, we won't be getting across-the-board raises, and the minimum pay scales and differential rates will not increase. Management is still free to give merit raises and bonuses, but few people usually get them until a new contract is in place.

Also at the membership meeting, Waukesha County Bureau reporter Erin Richards was elected to fill the remainder of Dani McClain's term as an at-large Executive Board member. McClain left her job as a metro reporter to take a position with a California-based advocacy organization. Richards will serve until Sept. 30, 2009.

Bargaining halted; Journal Sentinel rethinks budget

2008-11-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

Journal Sentinel Inc. has temporarily suspended contract talks with the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild.

Management negotiators said the economic downturn had prompted the company to ask all departments to review their 2009 budgets, and that bargaining would not resume until that review is completed. They indicated this is a companywide bargaining freeze that also affects the electricians’ union, which was preparing to open negotiations.

Since July, the Guild and the company have been discussing non-economic matters and have reached tentative agreements on many of those contract provisions. Neither side has presented a complete wage proposal yet. The company also has not presented its vacation proposal.

The Guild asked to continue bargaining on non-economic matters, but the company declined. As a result, bargaining sessions set for Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 were canceled. At our last bargaining session, Nov. 11, we discussed provisions dealing with drug and alcohol testing, columnists and union jurisdiction, but did not reach any agreements.

Bargaining Committee members will discuss the situation with Guild members at our local’s regular quarterly membership meeting, at noon Tuesday Dec. 2, on the second floor of Turner Hall. Lunch will be provided.

Election set Dec. 2 for McClain board seat

2008-11-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members will vote Dec. 2 to elect a new at-large Executive Board member to replace Dani McClain, who recently left her job as a metro reporter to join an advocacy organization in California.

The special election will be at our regular quarterly membership meeting, at noon on the second floor of Turner Hall. Lunch will be provided.

McClain was elected in September to a one-year term that started Oct. 1. She was also our human rights chair.

The board has temporarily appointed Waukesha County Bureau reporter Erin Richards to McClain’s board seat, but that appointment lasts only until the election. Richards, who lost by a single vote in September, will be on the ballot in December to fill out the remainder of McClain’s term. Nominations from the floor also will be accepted.

New steward leader, panel chairs named

2008-10-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

Russ Maki is the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's newest steward leader.

The Guild's Executive Board has appointed Maki, a night copy editor, to take charge of contract enforcement, membership, mobilizing and stewards for the copy desk, night design and graphics desks, opinions staff, national desk and downtown metro editorial assistants. He replaces restaurant critic Carol Deptolla, who did not seek reappointment.

Maki has been our wage data coordinator. He was reappointed to continue in that post.

Reappointed as steward leaders were editorial assistant Janine Ghelfi, representing the downtown photo, features/entertainment and business staffs; metro reporter Mark Johnson, representing downtown metro reporters, Wisconsin news bureaus and the News Information Center staff; and sports copy editor Vince Butler, representing the downtown and Green Bay sports staff, the day design desk and the JSOnline staff. Ghelfi and Johnson are also board members, Ghelfi is also a member of our bargaining committee and Butler is a former vice president.

The board also named metro reporter Dani McClain as human rights chair, filling a vacancy created when day copy editor Karen Samelson moved up to 2nd vice president; sports designer Ana Menendez as communications chair, filling a spot that had been vacant since night copy editor Dave Lee left in the last buyout; and online producer Craig Nickels as Webmaster, replacing online producer Heather Marshall Gergen, who is also leaving through the buyout. McClain and Menendez are also board members.

Other reappointments were metro reporter Susanne Rust as health and safety chair; feature writer Jan Uebelherr as social chair; night copy editor Jen Steele as newsletter editor; metro reporter Larry Sandler as posting and exclusions coordinator; and photo technician Dave Kirner as technology coordinator. Uebelherr is also our secretary; Sandler, a former vice president, is also our bargaining chair; and Kirner, a former president, is also on our bargaining committee.

All of the appointees will serve until next October. The steward leaders and vice presidents will now begin selecting stewards.

Training deal sets path to future

2008-10-04T23:38:00.000-07:00

Negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. reached tentative agreement this week on new contract language that recognizes the importance of continued staff training as the nature of our jobs change with changing technology in an evolving newspaper industry.

Under the contract provision, the company would be required to give the Guild reasonable notice of any changes in equipment, computer programs or processes that would substantially alter or add to employees' job responsibilities. The Guild and management would then discuss those changes, including the need for staff training. All training would be done on company time and at company expense, including transportation.

The language acknowledges that because not all employees need to be trained at the same time or in the same manner on every new equipment or process, newsroom managers would have to inform individual staffers of what training they are expected to have in order to do their jobs. The company would have to provide sufficient training to allow employees to meet those expectations and perform their jobs properly. Employees could volunteer for additional training beyond the requirements of their jobs, but that would be subject to approval by management.

In addition, the provision states that it is generally the company's intention that employees who take on duties requiring entirely different skills, such as reporters shooting video or still photography, should continue to do so voluntarily, as they do now. But management would reserve the right to assign those duties. Job performance would have to be judged primarily on the basis of an employee's core skills, such as writing and reporting for reporters. But employees would be expected to participate in required training and make a good-faith effort to perform new duties assigned.

Responding to the concerns of members, Guild negotiators also had sought to make training available to all interested staffers and to ensure that the company did not penalize employees who failed to catch on to new technology and equipment that wasn’t part of their original job descriptions. Management negotiators did not accept those proposals.

The tentative agreement would expand on current contract language, which provides notice of new technology and calls for any training to be done on company time and at company expense.

During negotiations Wednesday and Thursday, we also discussed contract provisions dealing with drug and alcohol testing, columnists, union jurisdiction and union membership. The next bargaining session is set for Nov. 11.

2 deals reached on job security

2008-09-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

Negotiators agreed Thursday to keep two job security provisions unchanged in the next contract between the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc.

But the deal does not affect the most crucial job security issue on the table: severance and notice pay during an economic downsizing. That question remains to be negotiated.

One of Thursday’s tentative agreements focuses on a different kind of severance. The contract provides one week of severance pay for each year of service when employees are terminated for reasons other than economic reductions in force, gross misconduct, excessive absenteeism or excessive tardiness. Management had sought to eliminate that payment.

The other agreement deals with probation periods. The Guild had sought to reduce the probation period for newly hired journalists from six months to 12 weeks, the same as for non-journalists. In a package deal, Guild negotiators agreed to drop our probation proposal and management negotiators agreed to drop their individual severance proposal.

Later in the talks, negotiators will tackle the larger severance provision, which calls for employees who lose their jobs in a downsizing to receive two weeks of severance pay for each year of service, plus 60 days’ notice or 60 days’ pay. The company is seeking to cut the severance pay from two weeks to one week per year of service, and to eliminate the notice pay altogether. The Guild is seeking to keep both parts of the provision intact.

We also discussed contract provisions dealing with columnists Thursday. The next bargaining sessions are set for Oct. 1 and Oct. 2.

Three join Guild board

2008-09-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members chose three new Executive Board members Monday in the first contested board election in several years.

The membership also handed full terms to four officers who had stepped up to new responsibilities last month after former President Amy Rinard left the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the recent buyout.

They are Greg Pearson, a day copy editor who had moved up from 1st vice president to succeed Rinard as president; letters editor Sonya Jongsma Knauss, who had been 2nd vice president and succeeded Pearson; day copy editor Karen Samelson, who moved up from secretary to succeed Knauss; and feature writer Jan Uebelherr, who had been an at-large board member before succeeding Samelson.

New to the board are metro reporter Dani McClain, a steward, and sports designer Ana Menendez. Ozaukee-Washington Bureau reporter Tom Kertscher, a steward, returns after a six-year absence; he previously served one term as 2nd vice president and also has been a steward leader and a negotiator.

Re-elected were Treasurer Amy Hetzner, a Waukesha County Bureau reporter, and at-large board members Janine Ghelfi, an editorial assistant, and Mark Johnson, a metro reporter. Ghelfi and Johnson are both steward leaders and Ghelfi is also on our bargaining committee.

Waukesha County Bureau reporter Erin Richards also sought a board seat but fell one vote short in the balloting.

All of those elected will take office Oct. 1. Pearson thanked three members of the departing board for their service: Rinard, a former Waukesha County Bureau reporter who remains on the bargaining committee; former board member Kawanza Newson, who left her job as a metro reporter to become the Milwaukee Health Department's spokeswoman; and photo technician Dave Kirner, a former Guild president who is stepping down from his at-large board seat but remaining on the bargaining committee.

Also at the meeting, members elected Pearson, Knauss and Samelson as delegates to the international Guild's annual sector conference, with McClain as alternate, and Pearson as delegate to the annual convention of the Guild's parent union, the Communications Workers of America.

Next contract could change timing of raises

2008-09-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

All Journal Sentinel newsroom employees could receive merit raises on the same date, under a tentative agreement last week.

Negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. reached that deal, as well as agreements on diversity and ethics provisions, during contract talks Wednesday through Friday.

Under the current contract, members of our bargaining unit receive discretionary raises no more than a year after their last merit or promotional raise. Management negotiators sought contract language to allow performance reviews and merit raises for everyone in the entire company at the same time, although they noted that top newsroom editors had not yet agreed to this idea from human resources.

Guild negotiators did not oppose the concept — noting that at least one contract in the 1980s did provide simultaneous merit raises for everyone — but raised questions about how it would work. The resulting language calls for raises to be prorated in the year the change is implemented, if it happens, and for managers to discuss implementation procedures with Guild representatives.

Other agreements would:

Resolve a long-standing point of contention by explicitly stating that our contract takes precedence whenever it differs from corporate and newsroom ethics codes, and any discipline for alleged ethics code violations must follow the contract and meet its standard of just cause. In return, the Guild agreed that bargaining-unit members should sign acknowledgements of receiving the ethics codes and/or any required training on them. Guild leaders have long objected to some provisions of the ethics codes as being broader than the contractual standard of avoiding conflicts of interest or the appearance of such conflicts. The ethics codes have never been amended to reflect rulings from arbitrators and the National Labor Relations Board in favor of the Guild’s position. The Guild has regularly reminded members of that history and some members have balked at signing off on receiving the ethics codes.

Provide a similar solution for the company’s no-harassment policy. The Guild never objected to this policy, but the issue was clouded when the acknowledgement of receiving it was combined with the ethics policy acknowledgement. In return for this agreement, management negotiators dropped their attempt to wipe out all contractual protections against discrimination and harassment and to replace them with language stating only that the company would follow applicable state and federal laws.

Exempt full-time journalists with more than five years of prior experience from a requirement that all new employees be assigned mentors; cap unpaid leave for attending international and regional Guild meetings; and clarify past practice on military leave and academic leave.

We also discussed contract provisions dealing with severance pay for individual dismissals (not mass downsizings), probationary periods, columnists, training, union jurisdiction and union membership. The next bargaining session is set for Sept. 18.

Last Racine bureau worker cut

2008-09-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has laid off a part-time Racine County Bureau employee, in an aftershock from the newspaper's downsizing.

No newsroom employees were included in the group of 22 workers laid off in late August. That was thought to be the end of a wave of downsizing that saw 24 newsroom employees take voluntary buyouts, after the shutdown of MKE claimed another five newsroom jobs in July.

The Racine County Bureau's office in Sturtevant actually had been empty since May, after the last reporter, former Guild President Jennie Tunkieicz, left for a Kenosha County government job. The Sunday Racine County section kept going for a while with mostly freelance material until it, too, was eliminated in late summer.

But one part-time editorial assistant continued to work from home, producing calendar material that was being posted online after the section was dropped.

Managers offered her a spot in the downtown newsroom, but she declined and was laid off. In accordance with our contract, she received 60 days' pay, plus two weeks of severance pay for each year worked.

Deal would expand transfer rights

2008-08-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Journal Sentinel newsroom employees would be able to appeal involuntary transfers to different shifts under a tentative agreement reached last week.

During contract talks Thursday and Friday, negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. agreed that staffers who are required to change shifts should have the opportunity to apply for other newsroom positions, discuss other options with their supervisors and appeal directly to one of the top two editors. Those rights already apply to other major changes of duties against an employee’s wishes.

Bargainers also agreed to add new language to clarify the definition of an involuntary transfer. Management negotiators did not accept Guild proposals to prohibit involuntary transfers across journalistic specialty lines (such as from reporter to copy editor); require mutual consent for transfers from the Madison or Washington bureaus to the Milwaukee area; and give employees more of a choice about filling in for managers.

We also discussed contract provisions dealing with ethics, diversity, discrimination, harassment, overtime, leaves of absence, performance evaluations, training, columnists and union jurisdiction. The next bargaining sessions are set for Sept. 10, 11 and 12.

Downsizing ends without newroom layoffs

2008-08-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s newsroom staff accounted for 24 of the 46 Journal Sentinel Inc. employees who took voluntary buyouts this month, but none of the 22 staffers laid off last week came from the newsroom or from other union-represented positions.

With those actions, Journal Sentinel managers have told Milwaukee Newspaper Guild representatives that the company’s downsizing has been completed, and that no further cuts are planned at this time.

The company had set a goal of cutting 10% of payroll, or the equivalent of about 130 full-time employees. In addition to the 46 buyouts and Thursday’s 22 layoffs, management shut down the youth-oriented MKE weekly (eliminating five newsroom jobs and possibly a few in other departments); outsourced several non-union departments; and left vacant some positions of employees who left between the last buyout and the most recent one.

51 jobs cut since last fall

This was the second round of buyouts in less than a year. In last fall’s buyouts, 22 of the 56 employees who left came from the newsroom.

Together, the two rounds of buyouts and the MKE shutdown have eliminated 51 newsroom jobs. (The exact number of jobs lost since October may differ slightly, because a few of those who left in the first buyout have been replaced, but some of the others who left voluntarily between buyouts weren’t replaced.)

Of those 51 jobs, 13 were reporters; 11 were editors; nine were support staffers (secretaries, News Information Center employees, editorial assistants, technicians or clerks); six were columnists, critics, editorial writers or editorial cartoonists; six were visual journalists (photographers, artists or page designers); five were copy editors; and one was an online producer. Every newsroom department was affected.

Also, 45 were in Guild-represented jobs. The other six were in non-union positions as managers, executive secretaries or Washington Bureau members.

More than 100 jobs lost since merger

Although most of those who took the buyouts left this month, several are sticking around through the fall. By the time all of them have left, the Guild estimates the newsroom staff will be less than 250, with about 200 positions in our bargaining unit and about 46 in non-represented jobs. (The exact number of jobs outside the unit is a subject of negotiation in the current contract talks.)

By comparison, the combined newsroom staffs of The Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel totaled 452 before the 1995 merger, and the Journal Sentinel newsroom staff stood at 355 after the merger. In other words, we have lost more newsroom jobs in the past 13 years than we did in the merger.

In addition to the most recent downsizing moves, 12 News Information Center employees took buyouts in 2000, a photo tech was laid off in 2001 and two part-time reporters were laid off in 2005. The rest of the job cuts came through a couple of early retirement programs and through attrition.

Rinard takes buyout; Pearson takes over

2008-08-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild President Amy Rinard has decided to leave the Journal Sentinel in the current round of buyouts, turning the local’s top position over to 1st Vice President Greg Pearson.

Pearson will fill out the remainder of Rinard’s term, which runs through Sept. 30. He plans to run for a full one-year term as president at the Guild’s annual meeting, to be scheduled in mid-September. Members will also elect a 1st vice president, 2nd vice president, secretary, treasurer and five at-large board members at that meeting.

This is the first time in our local’s 24-year history that a vice president has officially replaced a departing president part-way through a term. In 2004, Pearson took over many of the president's duties after Lauria Lynch-German left the paper, but she retained her title as an unemployed member for the last few weeks of her term.

Rinard’s 10-month tenure was the shortest of any Local 51 president, but hardly the least eventful. The last round of buyouts was announced on her second day in office, last October. In between that buyout and this one, Journal Sentinel Inc. shut down the youth-oriented weekly MKE. No other Milwaukee Guild president has ever had to deal with three major downsizings in their entire tenure, let alone a single term.

On top of all that, when former President Jennie Tunkieicz left the paper in May, Rinard picked up her duties as bargaining chair as well.

Rinard is a Waukesha County Bureau reporter. She previously served three terms as 2nd vice president, in charge of membership and mobilizing, and this was her second stint on the bargaining committee.

Pearson, meanwhile, has been the Guild’s point person in responding to all of this downsizing. He is in his fourth non-consecutive term as 1st vice president, the longest anyone has served as our grievance chair. He is a day copy editor and previously served four terms as a steward leader and two terms as an at-large board member.

Also moving up, with the approval of the local's Executive Board earlier this week, are letters editor Sonya Jongsma Knauss, from 2nd vice president to 1st vice president; day copy editor Karen Samelson, from secretary to 2nd vice president; feature writer Jan Uebelherr, from board member to secretary; and metro reporter Larry Sandler, from vice chair to chair of the bargaining committee.

Knauss was in her first term as a vice president, after filling an unexpired term as an at-large board member. Samelson, who was also our human rights chair, was elected last fall to replace Knauss on the board, then was named secretary after metro reporter Sarah Carr left the paper. Uebelherr was in her third term as a board member and is also our social chair. All three will serve through Sept. 30.

Sandler is the local’s most experienced negotiator, having been involved in bargaining our last four contracts and numerous interim agreements. He was our chief negotiator on issues related to the 1995 merger of The Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel, and he led the last stage of bargaining on our sixth contract, after former President Jack Norman left the paper in fall 2000. Sandler also has held a variety of Guild offices, including a record five terms as vice president.

Making a list? Check it twice

2008-08-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

Friday was the deadline for Journal Sentinel Inc. employees to apply for the buyout. At this point, the company has not said when, or if, it will announce how many of our co-workers took the buyout, who they were, whether their numbers were sufficient to avoid involuntary cuts or what the target number was for the newsroom, if such a target actually existed.

In this environment, it should be no surprise that various newsroom employees and outside observers have been trying to compile their own lists independently. Journalists don't just give up seeking information when they hear "no comment" — even from their own company's human resources department.

Two things to keep in mind about these lists, however:

Not all of them are entirely accurate. Some of them contain the names of several employees who have told the Guild they did not take the buyout, and of others who considered it but decided against it. In one case, a reporter walked into his editor's office Thursday for his regular annual evaluation (a favorable one, by the way) and his colleagues incorrectly assumed the editor was urging him to take the buyout. He found out from a former co-worker that he was on a list.
To the best of our knowledge, none of the lists come from the Guild. The Guild has been compiling its own list to ensure everyone's rights are protected, but we have been keeping this information confidential at the request of several of the individuals involved.

If you took the buyout — or if an editor encouraged you to do so or said you would be transferred to another position — please contact Guild President Amy Rinard, 1st Vice President Greg Pearson or another Guild representative as soon as possible to ensure we can provide you with all available assistance.

Deals struck on expenses, reader comments

2008-07-31T22:32:00.000-07:00

Negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. have reached tentative agreement on several contract provisions during three days of bargaining this week. The agreed-upon language would:

Expand our rights to be notified of corrections and of personal attacks. As with letters to the editor and corrections published in the Journal Sentinel, employees would receive advance notification of online corrections and negative reader comments on moderated forums. For unmoderated forums, the company would establish a system to review and discuss comments that employees consider to be unfairly disparaging.
State that employees are expected, not just encouraged, to file expense reports and differential forms promptly, and that managers are similarly expected to process them promptly. Guild negotiators did not accept management’s original proposal to let the company refuse to pay expenses that were turned in late.
Strengthen the Guild’s voice in recommending cafeteria improvements.

We also discussed contract language dealing with transfers, filling in for editors, overtime, evaluations, promotions, Guild jurisdiction and union-management relations.

Negotiators are in the process of scheduling August sessions. Also during August, three subcommittees from both sides plan to meet for talks on training, drug testing and positions excluded from the bargaining unit.

First set of deals reached in negotiations

2008-07-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

In contract talks today, negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. reached tentative agreement on a number of uncontroversial provisions.

During the second session of bargaining on the next contract, the two sides agreed to keep current contract language governing funeral leave, jury duty leave, employee records, byline rights and health and safety, and banning strikes and lockouts, among others. We also discussed a variety of relatively simple changes to some of the sections dealing with overtime, expense reimbursements, temporary employees, interns, corrections, letters to the editor, the cafeteria and union-management relations.

Negotiators are following the normal pattern of dealing with the easiest issues first and working our way up to the most difficult matters. Three more sessions are set next week, for July 29, 30 and 31.

What to consider when you consider a buyout

2008-07-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Deciding whether to take a buyout, like the one offered by Journal Sentinel Inc., is a major financial decision. And we're not the only newspaper staffers facing that decision.

Chicago Tribune financial columnist Gail MarksJarvis recently offered these tips on the Web site of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers to anyone who finds themselves in that situation.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has been distributing information through newsroom mailboxes and holding question-and-answer sessions to help our bargaining unit's members understand the company's offer, and to talk about what could be ahead next.

If you are considering the buyout, please contact 1st Vice President Greg Pearson or another Guild representative so that we can ensure your questions are answered and your rights are protected. We will keep your names confidential.

Job security is key issue in contract talks

2008-07-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

On the opening day of contract talks under the most challenging circumstances yet, the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild called for improving workers’ job security in a changing media environment.

Negotiations on a new pact with Journal Sentinel Inc. started Tuesday, against the backdrop of the second buyout offer in less than a year, and the specter that involuntary job cuts could follow if not enough people volunteer to leave.

The company’s proposal would drastically cut the severance benefits that Guild bargaining-unit members would receive if they lose their jobs in a staff downsizing.

Under the current contract – which lasts through the end of the year and would be automatically extended if talks are still under way at that time – Guild-represented workers in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom and JSOnline receive two weeks of severance pay for each year of service if their jobs are eliminated. That provision was included in the current buyout offer and the one last fall.

But under the company's proposal for the next contract, bargaining-unit members would receive just one week of pay for each year of employment if they are dismissed in an economically motivated staff reduction.

In addition, management proposed to delete a section of the current contract that requires the company to provide 60 days’ notice to an employee who will be dismissed in a workforce reduction, or pay that employee for every day the notice falls short of 60 days. The company is seeking to provide that notice only when required by state or federal laws, which offer less protection than this contract provision.

By contrast, the Guild’s proposal would leave the severance pay and notice provisions intact, and would add new language requiring that our contract be honored even after a sale or merger of the newspaper or the company.

In recognition of the dramatic changes in our industry, the Guild is also calling for training on new systems and new equipment to be available equally to all interested employees. But if employees are asked to take on tasks sharply different from their original job descriptions – such as reporters being assigned to shoot video – they should be free to decline the training, and if they give it a try and fail, they shouldn’t be penalized, the Guild argues.

Other Guild proposals would prohibit involuntary transfers across specialty lines, such as forcing reporters to become copy editors, and would allow appeals for involuntary transfers to different shifts.

Neither side presented a complete wage proposal at the opening session, in recognition of the normal negotiating practice of tackling the toughest issues last. The company also deferred presenting a vacation proposal.

The Guild also proposed:

Raising mileage reimbursements from 32 cents a mile to 49 cents a mile.
Freezing the company’s share of health care premiums at current levels.
Restoring the fifth week of vacation for new hires, and granting it to everyone after 15 years of service, rather than 20.
Providing a month of paid parenting leave, a week of paid family medical leave and three personal days a year.
Adding Martin Luther King Day as a paid holiday.
Offering health care, paid sick leave, paid holidays and other benefits to part-timers.

By contrast, company negotiators proposed:

Freezing night, weekend, holiday and production differentials at their current levels through the life of the contract.
Eliminating the current $20-per-shift differential paid to bargaining-unit members who fill in for managers.
Ending overtime pay for staffers who work on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve.
Deleting current contract provisions on health care, pensions, tuition reimbursement and mileage, and replacing them with language that gives the company total control over all of those benefits.
Eliminating current contractual protections against discrimination and harassment, replacing them with language that simply says the company will follow state and federal laws.

Both proposals included many other changes from current language, some minor, and several provisions that would not change. Bargainers from both sides will now compare the proposals to identify areas where the two sides are either in agreement or close to agreement, before the next session July 22.

More information on the contract talks and on the buyout offer will be posted on this Web site and distributed through Guild stewards in the days ahead. Bargaining-unit members can also talk to any member of the Guild bargaining team (Guild President Amy Rinard, chair; Larry Sandler, vice chair; Janine Ghelfi and Dave Kirner) about the contract talks or to Guild 1st Vice President Greg Pearson or other union representatives about the buyout.

Guild readies for job cuts -- again

2008-07-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

The news came on Wednesday, and it had a familiar ring to it: Journal Sentinel Inc. to offer a "voluntary separation program" to its employees.

That would be a buyout package for volunteers followed by involuntary layoffs if enough people don't agree to leave.

We went through this in the fall, and this time the news was a little tougher. The company is aiming to eliminate 130 jobs in this round, more than double the number cut last fall. Managers have not indicated how the 10% cut would be spread among departments, but if it's proportional, on a full-time-equivalent basis, that would be about 25 newsroom jobs.

As happened last fall, the Guild is working to gather information and answer questions for its membership. A handout of frequently asked questions should be coming your way soon, and informational sessions will be scheduled if it will help newsroom staff get a better handle on what to do.

Also, on Thursday, the Guild filed a grievance over the way the company is handling the elimination of four bargaining-unit jobs at MKE, the youth-oriented weekly that is closing next week. Union leaders will be watching to see if similar issues arise in the newsroom downsizing. More details on that situation will be coming soon.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, bring them to your steward or to a Guild officer or board member.

In times like these, it's more important than ever for all of us to work together.

Norman panelist at economy forum

2008-06-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Former Guild President Jack Norman will be one of three panelists participating in a forum discussion on “An Economy That’s Not Working for Us” sponsored by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council. The forum will be held at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 2, at Serb Memorial Hall, 5105 W. Oklahoma Ave.

The forum is open to the public and Guild members are encouraged to attend. The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild is a member of the Labor Council.

Guild responds to ethics push

2008-04-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

Journal Sentinel Inc. announced a new online ethics and harassment training program today.

As with similar ethics code efforts in the past, it continues to be the Guild's position that the terms and conditions of employment for bargaining-unit employees, including ethics standards, are governed by the collective bargaining agreement and past practice. We have negotiated ethics standards in Article 25 of our contract.

In addition, Articles 3 and 7 of our current contract expressly prohibit harassment. The Guild remains supportive of efforts to ensure our workplace is free of harassment.

Each bargaining-unit member should make his or her own decision on whether to view the training videos and click on the acknowledgment afterward. It's important to note that the acknowledgment does not require that an employee abide by the company's ethics code. The acknowledgment states in its entirety:

"I have viewed the Journal Communications Code of Ethics and Harassment training videos. If I experience or witness any unethical behavior or any sexual or other unlawful harassment in the workplace, I should report it immediately to my department manager, the Human Resources department, or senior vice president of Human Resources."

That is a change from previous company ethics code efforts.

Lunzer to visit newsroom Monday

2008-03-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Bernie Lunzer, secretary-treasurer of The Newspaper Guild and candidate for president of our international union, is scheduled to be in Milwaukee on Monday afternoon. He plans to tour the Journal Sentinel's downtown newsroom to meet and talk with JS staffers.

Lunzer is running against international Guild President Linda Foley in the first contested election for that office in more than a decade. Former Milwaukee Guild President Jennie Tunkieicz is Lunzer’s campaign treasurer. An overview of the candidates' backgrounds and positions in the race for international president is featured in the latest issue of our newsletter, “Fifty-One.”

Milwaukee Guild members will have the chance to vote for international Guild president, secretary-treasurer and chairperson at a polling place to be set up near the downtown newsroom during the last week of April

Butler returns to leadership post

2008-02-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Vince Butler, one of the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s most experienced leaders, is back in a senior role.

The local’s Executive Board has appointed Butler as a steward leader, overseeing contract enforcement, membership and mobilizing for the sports, JS Online and News Information Center staffs. He will fill the term of Jeff Maillet, who stepped down, citing time constraints. Maillet, an assistant sports editor, was in his fifth term as a steward leader.

Butler, a sports copy editor, previously served five terms as a steward leader, in addition to one term as a vice president, five terms as a board member and several stints on our bargaining committee. He was most recently a sports steward.

Pension case victory gives choices to workers

2008-02-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

Journal Sentinel Inc. soon will be notifying more than 35 current employees who will be affected by a recent arbitration ruling.

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild prevailed in an arbitration involving changes that the company made to the pension plan in 2006.

In the spring of that year, the company announced that most employees on the payroll at that time could choose between staying in the existing pension program or shifting to a new plan similar to a 401(k) plan. However, other employees -- non-vested part-timers and all employees hired after May 1, 2006 -- were not given a choice. They were moved into the new plan.

The Guild argued that everyone should have a chance to make the choice. We also argued that the switch represented a change in benefits that should have been negotiated, and that it eliminated some from the existing pension program. The arbitrator agreed.

Now, the company will have to offer the choice between the traditional pension plan and the new plan to those who were not allowed to choose. This will affect 36 current employees in our bargaining unit -- 13 full-time and 23 part-time.

If you have any questions before or after you get more information about the choice, contact Greg Pearson.

Guild wins in pension arbitration

2008-01-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has prevailed in an arbitration stemming from the grievance filed against Journal Sentinel Inc. over changes management made to the pension plan in 2006.

In a decision released Thursday, arbitrator Jay Grenig agreed with the Guild's argument that the plan changes violated Article 9, Section 1, of our contract because certain bargaining unit staffers -- new hires and part-time, non-vested employees -- were then excluded from pension plan coverage.

The Guild conceded that the company had the right to make changes in the plan, and a previous arbitration case upheld that. But the Guild argued that, under our contract language, the company was required to offer a pension plan that "will continue to cover employees..."

The company argued that it had the sole discretion under Article 9 to implement unilateral changes to the pension plan without having to negotiate with the Guild. Managers felt so strongly about the importance of this case that they hired a nationally known lawyer from San Francisco, who specializes in representing companies in union disputes, to handle their case.

In the end, arbitrator Grenig concluded that the company was wrong and that Article 9 of the Guild contract is not a "meaningless provision." He ordered the company "to offer employees excluded from the pension plan coverage effective May 1, 2006," and "to make those employees whole." Grenig retains jurisdiction in this matter to resolve any disputes that might arise over implementation of his order.

The Guild was represented by attorney Barbara Zack Quindel. Guild President Amy Rinard, First Vice President Greg Pearson, Board Member Dave Kirner, former President Jennie Tunkieicz and former negotiator Larry Sandler helped Quindel prepare the Guild's case. Pearson and Rinard testified at the arbitration hearing on behalf of the Guild.

2 elected, dues offer approved

2008-01-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members have elected two new Executive Board members and approved a limited-time offer for prospective union members.

At the local's January membership meeting, members elected day copy editor Karen Samelson as secretary and metro reporter Kawanza Newson to an at-large board seat. Samelson, our Human Rights Committee chair, will fill the term of metro reporter Sarah Carr, who left for a job at another newspaper. Newson, our former secretary, will fill Samelson's board term. Both had been appointed to their new positions on an interim basis before the membership meeting.

Also approved was a plan to stimulate membership by offering one month's free dues to each non-member who signs a union card, in addition to the one-month rebate already paid to the person who signs up the new member. The special dues offer, in conjunction with a membership drive, will be in effect for 90 days, starting Feb. 1.

New year, higher pay

2007-12-25T17:25:00.000-08:00

Nearly everyone covered by the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild contract can count on higher wages in the year ahead. Here are the wage and differential increases that take effect Dec. 30:

Across-the-board raise: All employees who were on the payroll Oct. 1 or earlier will receive a 1.5% raise, unless they receive a larger raise because of rising minimum pay rates.

Higher minimums: The minimum pay rates rise by 2.5% in most job classifications and a bit more for a few positions. At the first step of the journalist classification, the minimum rises from $800 to $820 a week; for senior journalists, our highest-paid group, the minimum is up from $1,187 to $1,217 a week. For part-time editorial assistants, the first-step minimum rises from $12.54 to $12.86 an hour.

Higher differentials: Almost all shift differentials are rising. Night differential is up from 75 to 80 cents an hour, weekend differential is up from 80 to 85 cents an hour, production differential is up from 65 to 70 cents an hour, holiday differential is up from $7 to $8 a shift and callback pay (for sudden schedule changes) is up from $9 to $10. Only substitution pay (for filling in for managers or others outside the bargaining unit) remains unchanged, at $20 a shift.

But remember, this is the last year of the contract that guarantees those wage increases. In spring, negotiations start on a new contract, to take effect Jan. 1, 2009. It's always a battle to build on what we have in tough economic times. Support your bargaining committee.

Have yourself a merry bigger paycheck

2007-12-25T16:51:00.000-08:00

Holiday paychecks can be a little more festive if you file for all the extra pay that's coming to you. If you're working over the holidays, here's what you're entitled to under the Guild contract:

If you work on the actual holiday (Dec. 25 or Jan. 1 in this case): You get overtime for your full shift (fill out a yellow overtime card), plus holiday differential ($7 for Christmas, rising to $8 on New Year's Day; file electronically). If a holiday falls on a weekday and you work a night shift, the night differential would be paid at the overtime rate ($1.13 an hour, or $9.04 for an 8-hour shift on Christmas, rising to $1.20 an hour, or $9.60 for an 8-hour shift on New Year's Day; file electronically). If you're eligible for production differential, that's paid at the overtime rate, too (98 cents an hour, or $7.84 for an 8-hour shift on Christmas, rising to $1.05 an hour, or $8.40 for an 8-hour shift on New Year's Day; file electronically).

If you work a night shift on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve: You get overtime for your full shift. Since they're both on weeknights this year, you get night differential at the overtime rate. And if you're eligible for production differential, that also would be paid at the overtime rate.

If you work five days in a holiday week (in this case, the week of Dec. 23 or the week of Dec. 30), but not the holiday itself: You get overtime for your full shift on the fifth day. Any night, weekend and/or production differentials for that shift also are paid at the overtime rate.

All of the above provisions apply to both full-timers and part-timers. The only difference is that full-timers get paid holidays off, so any full-timer who works on the holiday automatically gets 8 hours of straight-time pay on their paycheck in addition to the extra money described above.

Questions? See your Guild steward or steward leader. And happy holidays from Local 51.

Newson's back on board

2007-12-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

Metro reporter Kawanza Newson has returned to the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's Executive Board.

In December, the board named Newson as an at-large member to replace day copy editor Karen Samelson, who moved up to secretary in November. Both appointments last only until the Jan. 8 membership meeting, when members will vote on filling the seats for the rest of the term, which ends Sept. 30.

Samelson replaced metro reporter Sarah Carr, who was elected secretary in September but then left the Journal Sentinel. Newson was our longest-serving secretary, holding the office for three full terms and part of an unexpired term before deciding not to seek re-election in the fall. She also has been our social chair and a steward.

Samelson moves up; Deptolla returns to Guild leadership

2007-12-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's Executive Board named day copy editor Karen Samelson as secretary in November. She will serve until the next membership meeting, when members will vote on filling the term of metro reporter Sarah Carr, who was elected at the September annual meeting but who then left the Journal Sentinel for a job at the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Samelson had started her first term as an at-large board member on Oct. 1. She also is chair of the local's Human Rights Committee. The Executive Board is seeking candidates to fill Samelson's board member position. Anyone interested should contact our president, Amy Rinard.

In December, the board appointed Carol Deptolla as a steward leader, in charge of contract enforcement, membership and mobilizing for the copy desk, night graphics/design staff, national desk, opinions staff and metro desk editorial assistants. She will fill the term of Jerry Ziegler, the only Guild leader to take the Journal Sentinel buyout. Both Deptolla and Ziegler are assistant copy desk chiefs on the night shift.

Deptolla previously served two terms as a steward leader, in addition to two terms as 2nd vice president, one term as a board member and a stint as newsletter editor. She was most recently a night shift steward.

The board also reappointed metro reporter Susanne Rust to a third term as Health and Safety Committee chair.

25 from newsroom seek buyout

2007-10-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

A Journal Sentinel Inc. buyout offer has attracted 25 applicants from the newsroom, according to the company.

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has not yet been provided with the names of the applicants. We also don't know how many people applied companywide, although the newsroom response suggests the company met or exceeded its target of 35 to 50.

Friday, Oct. 26, was the deadline for applying for the voluntary buyouts. The company now is in the process of deciding who will be accepted for the buyouts. Employees will be notified in writing that their application has been accepted.

Anyone who has applied may retract his or her application at any time prior to being notified of acceptance. The company has said that once an employee has been notified in writing that the buyout application has been accepted, the acceptance is final.

The Guild's lawyer, Barbara Zack Quindel, had raised concerns with the Agreement and Release form that employees taking the buyout will be signing. Because of the concerns she raised, the following steps have been taken:

Item 13 about confidentiality has been removed. Quindel raised the point that it is unnecessary, because the agreement has been widely distributed.
The company has clarified Item 12, the "waiver of re-employment." This is not an outright ban for working again for a Journal Communications company. What it does is establish that we have no recall rights in such cases. In other words, a former employee reapplying to a Journal Communications company will not be given special consideration toward rehiring.

Also, here are answers to a few late questions we received from members.

How will references be handled? Human Resources will not change how it handles references. It will continue to give out only basic information -- dates of employment and confirming that the employee was part of a voluntary buyout.

If I take the buyout and then later I am rehired by the Journal Sentinel, do I retain my seniority and current vacation status? No, because of the interruption in service, you would start at the beginning for seniority and vacation if rehired. You would retain pension benefits you have accrued.

What are the tax implications of taking the buyout? Your lump-sum payment is expected to be paid out in 2007, so it will be part of calculating your 2007 tax return. How much you actually pay will depend on all your other income and will not be determined until you file a return. If you need specific information about your situation, you should consult a tax expert.

More buyout FAQs

2007-10-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

In the wake of a Journal Sentinel Inc. buyout offer, Guild representatives met again Thursday with Scott Zantow and Cindy Wargula from the company’s Human Resources department to get answers to a second round of employees' questions about the buyouts. We also are continuing to discuss issues with newsroom managers, international Guild staff and the Guild attorney.

Here are the responses. If you have additional questions, or if you are considering the buyout yourself, please contact a Guild representative.

Will employees hired before 1995 who take the voluntary buyout be paid for 2008 vacation they’ve already earned in 2007? Yes, they will. Employees hired before the merger of The Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel retain the vacation policy of earning vacation in the previous year, so they have already accumulated vacation for 2008. The payout for those vacation weeks will be included in your last paycheck.

Only some employees hired after the merger are eligible for the buyout, because it is restricted to those with 10 years or more at the Journal Sentinel. Employees hired after the merger are now on an earn-as-you-go vacation policy. If anyone in that group took the buyout, he or she would be paid for any unused 2007 vacation and for Transitional Vacation Account time.

Can we clarify the 100 jobs that were mentioned in one of the company’s news releases? We assume that is the approximately 50 jobs that will be cut with the buyouts, while the rest are jobs that are already vacant. Is that correct? Yes, it is.

Will my boss know if I have applied for the voluntary buyout and then it turns out I'm not accepted? Top newsroom management has not shared names of anyone who has applied. The number of people who apply in the newsroom and elsewhere in the company will determine how many other managers will have to be informed of who is seeking the buyout.

Can employees receive a cash payment or some type of additional benefit if they do not need the two months of health coverage? No.

How will part-time years be counted? What date would be used as an employee’s starting date if they worked part-time before becoming a full-time employee? Who will calculate how much employees can expect in their buyout package in such cases? For full-timers who previously worked part-time, payroll will calculate the years using the pension plan formula. That means years in which you didn’t meet pension requirements, such as working at least 1,000 hours, would not be counted. For a calculation of your years of service, you should call Human Resources. Once you have that figure, you can multiply whole years by two weeks of pay per year to obtain your severance total.

How will employees be notified if they’ve been accepted? How will employees who are not accepted be notified? The company will return a copy of the application, signed by an authorized company representative, to employees whose application is accepted. Those not accepted will be notified by Human Resources.

What criteria are being used to decide who is accepted and who is not and who is making that determination? The company says decisions will be based on “business needs” and determined in large part by who applies for the buyout. “At the end of the day, we need to have a viable business,” Zantow said. While managers would not want the buyout to take so many people from a particular department that it couldn’t function, they say they did not come up with specific guidelines in advance to decide who would stay and who would go.

Is there a number of people or a percentage target number for the newsroom? The company says it does not have a set target.

What is the supplemental tax rate that is taken off the separation dollar amount? 25% federal, 6.5% state, 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare.

When can employees expect their severance payout after they leave on Nov. 15? "We are going to turn this around as quickly as we can," Zantow said. The company would like to have the money paid out before the end of the year. Wargula said the severance payout will be processed as part of a regular pay period, so it seems likely the severance check would come two weeks or four weeks or six weeks after the Nov. 23 paycheck, which would be the last regular paycheck for those taking the buyout.

Will the company take more then 50 people if more apply for the voluntary program? The company says it will keep all options open.

Is there a hiring freeze since the voluntary buyout was announced? No.

Is the company willing to offer more company-paid medical coverage than the two months that was offered in the initial package? No.

In the case of involuntary layoffs, the company needs to provide 60 days' notice or 60 days' pay. If I am laid off immediately and the company provides me with 60 days' pay, do I have company health coverage for those 60 days? Zantow said he would try to get us an answer.

How can I determine how much I would pay for COBRA coverage? Call Wage Works at (800) 735-7515.

If there were involuntary layoffs, would those be aimed at people with 10 years or more at the Journal Sentinel? Zantow said the company has not discussed the process for involuntary layoffs, but he said it is unlikely that such a restriction would be set.

If I have a health care or dependent care account, if there a chance I would owe money on that? Wargula suggested calling Wage Works, at (800) 735-7515, for that information.

Why were the voluntary buyouts limited to those with 10 or more years at the Journal Sentinel? Because 10 years of service is needed for employees who are 55 and older to qualify for retiree health benefits.

How can I see the release form I'll be asked to sign if I take the buyout? The form is available from the Human Resources office on the second floor.

New faces -- and some familiar ones -- in Guild posts

2007-10-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

Jerry Ziegler has returned to the steward leader ranks, swapping Milwaukee Newspaper Guild posts with Greg Pearson for the second time in two years.

Ziegler, an assistant copy desk chief, stepped down after one term as 1st vice president to go back to the steward leader position he previously held for two terms. He will be in charge of contract enforcement, membership, mobilization and stewards for the copy desk, night graphics/design staff, opinions staff, the national desk, newsroom clerks, and local news downtown night reporters and downtown editorial assistants. He replaces Pearson, a day copy editor who returned to the 1st vice presidency he previously held for three terms.

In addition to Ziegler, the Local 51 Executive Board reappointed three other steward leaders: photo editorial assistant Janine Ghelfi, to an unprecedented 12th term representing the downtown photo, features/entertainment, business news and day graphics/design staffs; metro reporter Mark Johnson, to a fifth term representing local news downtown day reporters, Wisconsin news bureaus and the MKE staff; and sports design coordinator Jeff Maillet, to a fifth term representing the sports, JS Online and News Information Center staffs.

Also on the Grievance and Representation Committee, metro reporter Larry Sandler was named posting and exclusions coordinator, replacing Pearson and returning to a job Sandler had previously held for more than three years, and night copy editor Russ Maki was reappointed wage data coordinator, for his first full term.

MKE copy editor Dave Lee, a steward, was named communications chair, replacing Sandler, and night copy editor Jen Boyden-Holmes was named newsletter editor, replacing night copy editor Amy Rodenburg Maillet. Also on the Communications Committee, online producer Heather Marshall Gergen was reappointed Webmaster and photo technician Dave Kirner was reappointed technology coordinator.

Among other committees, day copy editor Karen Samelson was named human rights chair, Racine Bureau reporter Jennie Tunkieicz was named organizing chair and features/entertainment writer Jan Uebelherr was named social chair.

Ghelfi, Johnson, Kirner, Samelson and Uebelherr are also board members. Tunkieicz is our immediate past president and Kirner is also a past president.

All terms expire next October.

Deal reached on Guild jurisdiction

2007-10-09T17:13:00.000-07:00

Negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have agreed to reduce the management ranks by two positions.

Retroactive to July 1, the vacant post of deputy features editor was removed from the list of jobs excluded from Guild contract protection. That brought the number of excluded jobs down to 54, not counting Washington Bureau employees and newsroom interns. By Jan. 1, the number will drop to 53, when the newspaper removes another job from the exclusion list. That is currently scheduled to be the vacant position of deputy managing editor, but another job could be substituted if a deputy managing editor is named before then.

The Guild contract called for a decrease of three excluded positions by Jan. 1 of this year, followed by negotiations this summer on further reductions. Management previously dropped the positions of urban life editor, News Information Center manager and database editor from the exclusions list. All three jobs remain vacant.

FAQs on Journal Sentinel buyout

2007-10-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

After Milwaukee Newspaper Guild leaders received Tuesday’s announcement of the Journal Sentinel’s voluntary buyout offer, we compiled a list of questions from members. Guild representatives met Wednesday with Scott Zantow and Cindy Wargula of the company's Human Resources Department to get those questions resolved. We do have some answers; for other questions we’re waiting for more information.

We ask anyone who is considering the buyout to contact a Guild representative. This will help us get a handle on how many people are interested. Also, we can answer -- or help get answers to -- your questions. The Guild can’t recommend what you do. This is a personal decision that involves many factors, but we can try to provide as much information as we can along the way.

The Guild also will be conducting informational meetings next week for anyone who has questions or concerns. More information will be coming soon on those sessions.

Here’s what we know so far, with a promise we’ll provide more details as they become available.
How will the company handle unemployment filings for those who take the voluntary package? Whether someone receives unemployment is a decision made by the state. The company can be asked to provide information, though, and we were told the company would not challenge unemployment claims made by those who take the voluntary buyout. However, the Guild’s lawyer, Barbara Zack Quindel, said the company’s promise not to challenge unemployment claims is not enough protection for our members. She cited an issue that arose in 2000 when voluntary packages were offered to employees in the News Information Center. The Guild has asked the company to consult with the state unemployment compensation office, as it did in 2000, to ensure that employees taking the package would be eligible for unemployment.

Equity Award winners have to stay with the company for three years before they can collect their stock award. How are they affected if they take the voluntary package? They would forfeit their Equity Award.

Will employees who are leaving be paid for all unused vacation, ATO (comp time), banked vacation days and TVA (transitional vacation account) time? Yes, that would all be included in an employee’s last paycheck.

If a newsroom employee found the proposal being offered to other departments (1½ weeks of pay per year of service plus six months health care) more enticing, would he or she be allowed to take that instead? No. “We’re only offering the programs as they’ve been offered,” Zantow said.

If an employee has been with the company 12 ½ years, does the half-year count in calculating weeks to be paid with the buyout? No, only full years of service will be counted. So someone who has worked 12 ½ years would receive 24 weeks in the buyout.

Will the payout be in a lump sum? If so, what are the tax implications? While your vacation pay would be included in your last regular paycheck, the check for the weeks you are being paid under the voluntary buyout would come in a lump sum. It would be taxed at the supplemental rate: 25% for federal taxes; 6½% for state taxes.

When would I receive the check? Nov. 15 has been set as the approximate last day for those who take the voluntary package. Your last regular paycheck would be Nov. 23, a Friday because Thanksgiving is Nov. 22. The lump sum check would come soon after that, but exactly when is not yet clear.

Would the two months of health care coverage provided count against my COBRA time limit (because COBRA provides 18 months of coverage)? Yes. You essentially retain your Journal Sentinel coverage while under COBRA for those two months. The company would pay for health care coverage during that period. Once those two months end, you would have another 16 months under COBRA.

Will the Guild be provided with updates on the number of people seeking the voluntary package? Yes. The company said several people, not necessarily from the newsroom, already have applied.

How would the health coverage in the voluntary package dovetail with retiree health benefits? Employees who are 55 or over are eligible for the coverage under the retiree health insurance plan. Instead of COBRA, those employees would be covered under the retiree plan for two months at the company’s expense. After that, they could continue in that plan and pay the required premiums.

Is there a target number for how many newsroom employees the company would like to see take the buyout? Zantow said, “We don’t have a magic number.” The companywide range of 35 to 50 employees is based on the total dollar figure that the company is seeking to save via the buyouts. If employees with higher salaries take the package, the number might be closer to 35 than 50.

If more than 50 people seek the voluntary buyout, would you take that many? Zantow said he was not sure.

One of the announcements on Tuesday talked about the company expecting a reduction of approximately 100 jobs by year-end. What does that mean? The reference was to 100 full-time equivalents (FTEs). From the information we’ve been given so far, that would be a combination of the 50 or so people who potentially take the voluntary buyout as well as positions that have not been filled throughout the company.

Are applicants being considered on a first-come, first-served basis? No. All applicants will be reviewed once the deadline is reached.

What will the impact of the buyout be on hiring, current open jobs and posted jobs? Zantow said he was not sure and would get back to us with an answer.

For people who take the buyout and are accepted, why does the company have different agreements to sign for people 40 and over and people under 40? By law, people 40 and over are a protected class and would have 45 days to back out of the agreement.

Who from the company will decide which buyout applications for the buyout to accept and which ones will be denied? Zantow said he did not know, but would get back to us on that.

The letter from the company states that people would be informed if their application for the buyout is accepted, but would they also be informed if it is denied? Zantow said that was a good point and he would check into it.

What is the reason for the newsroom employees getting two weeks of pay per each year of service and two months of health care, and the rest of the company getting 1½ weeks of pay per each year of service and six months of health care? The Guild contract requires two weeks of pay per year of service under an economic downsizing and the rest of the company has no similar guarantees. The additional health care for non-newsroom employees is the financial equivalent of the additional half-week of pay.

Did the company consider other actual “sweeteners,” such as job placement assistance, education assistance, pension enhancements, service credits, etc.? Zantow said he did not know, but would check into it and get back to us.

Guild moves to deal with buyouts

2007-10-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild leaders are moving swiftly in reaction to today's announcement of a buyout plan at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Newspaper managers announced plans to offer voluntary buyouts to between 35 and 50 employees companywide, limited to workers with 10 or more years of service. But if the buyout plan doesn't attract that many takers, involuntary cuts could be next, Publisher Betsy Brenner said.

Local Guild leaders have already been in contact with The Newspaper Guild's international staff -- including the top international officers -- and with our attorney. Guild representatives will be meeting Wednesday with human resources managers to discuss the issues raised by the buyout offer.

"We are deeply concerned that a reduction in newsroom staff could affect the quality of our newspaper and our online offerings," newly elected Local 51 President Amy Rinard said. "The fewer journalists we have, the less service we can provide to our readers."

Rinard said the Guild is also concerned that the three-week window to decide on the buyout will be too short for people to make life-changing decisions about their jobs, and that the offer as it stands now is "not very enticing" in comparison to what our contract would provide in an involuntary economic downsizing.

Within the newsroom, the buyout would offer two weeks of severance pay for each year of service, plus two months of health care coverage. Other Journal Sentinel employees would get 1.5 weeks of pay for each year of service, plus six months of health care coverage.

In an economic downsizing, the Guild contract requires two weeks of pay for each year of service, plus 60 days' notice or 60 days' pay.

Newsroom workers who have questions about the offer, or who are considering the buyout, should contact their Guild representatives. We will try to get your questions answered and will communicate your concerns to management.

The Guild represents more than 200 newsroom staffers, or between one-quarter and one-fifth of all Journal Sentinel Inc. employees. Our contract runs through Dec. 31, 2008.

Rinard elected Guild president

2007-09-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members have elected Amy Rinard as our new president.

She will succeed Jennie Tunkieicz on Oct. 1. Tunkieicz, a Racine County Bureau reporter, is stepping down after three terms as Local 51 president, but plans to remain active in the Guild.

Rinard, a Waukesha County Bureau reporter, is finishing her third term as 2nd vice president, in charge of membership, mobilizing and communications. She also has served on our Bargaining Committee and as a steward.

Other officers elected at Tuesday's annual meeting were:

Greg Pearson as 1st vice president, in charge of contract enforcement. Pearson, a steward leader and day copy editor, returns after a one-year absence to the position he previously held for three terms. He succeeds Jerry Ziegler, an assistant copy desk chief who did not seek re-election.
Sonya Jongsma-Knauss as 2nd vice president, succeeding Rinard. Jongsma-Knauss is a board member and MKE assistant editor.
Sarah Carr as secretary, succeeding Kawanza Newson, a metro reporter who is stepping down after three terms. Carr is a steward and metro reporter.
Amy Hetzner as treasurer, for her second full term. Hetzner is a Waukesha County Bureau reporter.

Among the Executive Board's five at-large members, the newest will be Karen Samelson, a day copy editor elected to succeed Jongsma-Knauss. Four others were re-elected: Dave Kirner, a former Guild president and photo technician, to his fifth consecutive term and sixth term overall; Janine Ghelfi, a steward leader and photo editorial assistant, to her sixth consecutive full term and ninth term overall; Jan Uebelherr, a features/entertainment writer, to her third term; and Mark Johnson, a steward leader and metro reporter, to his second full term.

Members also agreed to renew the rebate provision that keeps our dues at 1% of pay, and to elect Rinard, Tunkieicz and Jongsma-Knauss as delegates to the international Guild's Sector Conference, with Samelson as alternate and Rinard as delegate to the international convention of our parent union, the Communications Workers of America.

Come sail away

2007-07-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, mateys!

Join your Journal Sentinel crew mates on Aug. 18 for a sunset cruise on the waters of the Milwaukee River and the inner harbor of Lake Michigan aboard the good ship Edelweiss.

Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails will be served as we sail leisurely past the sights of downtown and the Third Ward and get a great view from the lake of the art museum's Calatrava addition.

All Guild members in good standing are invited. Each member may bring one guest on the two-hour tour. And it won't cost you a dime or a doubloon; it's all free. We weigh anchor at 7:30 p.m. sharp from the river walk at 204 W. Highland. Boarding begins at 7:15 p.m., so don't be late.

If you're planning to sail with us, you must RSVP by noon Aug. 6 by sending an e-mail to info@milwaukeenewsguild.org. Invitations also are being mailed to all Guild members.

So don't miss the boat! Join us for an evening of good food, great drinks and Guild camaraderie.

72nd meeting of The Newspaper Guild

2007-07-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

The world is facing a “terrible erosion of free expression,” Aidan White, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, told the 149 members of The Newspaper Guild gathered in Toronto on Saturday.
White said violence targeted at journalists has increased dramatically in the last several years. He said that 155 journalists and media staff people were killed in 2006 in warfare and by militias and gangsters around the world. Among those attending the guild meeting were Local 51 President Jennie Tunkieicz,1st Vice President Jerry Ziegler, and 2nd Vice President Amy Rinard.
A native of Ireland, White has been a consultant to several United Nations agencies, the Council of Europe and the European Commission on the mass media and human rights. He has worked as a reporter for The Guardian and other newspapers in Great Britain.
He railed against the impunity of governments that at the least allow killers to get away with the murder of journalists and at the worst engaged in actual complicity in those killings. He noted that there are 14 unsolved murders of journalists in Russia alone.
White said that the International Federation of Journalists has been pushing both the U.N. and the U.S. government to take measures to safeguard journalists.
He noted that BBC reporter Alan Johnston, who was released after kidnappers in Gaza held him for 114 days, was especially grateful to the pressure brought by the federation on governments and private groups to work for his release. Johnston is now working with the federation to try to free other journalist around the world who are being held by kidnappers or governments.
Some governments, Johnston said, has found the anti-terrorism campaign to be a “useful smokescreen” to attack and hold journalists.
And yet it is just those conditions that make it so important for the preservation of a free press, White said.
“Never before has it been so important for journalists ot be informed, ethical and responsible,” he said.
Adding to the pressure on journalists is the turmoil in newspaper ownership, especially in the United States, he said, where sensationalism is pushing aside good solid journalism.
And there is more to come, he said, as ever-changing technology puts more pressure on journalists. “The greatest tests we face are still ahead,” he said.

72nd meeting of The Newspaper Guild

2007-07-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

With a backdrop of U.S., Canadian and Puerto Rican flags, the 72nd meeting of the Newspaper Guild sector conference opened Friday morning in Toronto, one of the most ethically diverse cities, and union supporting, in the world.
Lise Lareau, president of TNG-CWA Local 30213, the host local of the conference, welcomed the 148 Guild delegates from across America and Canada. Lareau noted that Toronto is a great newspaper town, with four daily newspapers -- Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Toronto Globe and Mail and the National Post -- as well as a daily Chinese and daily Italian newspaper.
She also noted that the conference is being held just a few blocks from the headquarters of CBC, where 2,500 members of TNG work.
Simcoe Park next to CBC headquarters is a place with history for the Guild because of the many events that took place there during the contentious CBC strike a few years ago, said Lareau.
Carol Rothman, chairperson of TNG-CWA, said this is the 72nd Guild sector conference. Diversity, collective bargaining and organizing are the three most important tasks facing TNG, Rothman said.
Rothman said that the current efforts toward collective bargaining have come amid the most hostile environment from management in recent memory.
Linda Foley, president of The Newspaper Guild, offered grim statistics on the deterioration of advertising fin daily newspapers in the U.S. With that grim outlook, benefits and jobs continue to disappear for media workers. She talked of the “scorched-earth, chainsaw cost-cutting” actions at Media News but noted that there are positive efforts across the country, and specifically talked of the efforts of Local 51 to organize reporters at CNI and stop the outsourcing of Journal Sentinel bargaining-unit work to lower-paid CNI staffers.
“We are diverse; we are a united front against” the forces that face us, Foley said.
She talked of her “favorite dead guild member, Eleanor Roosevelt, who belonged to the guild for 25 years. Foley offered what she said was one of her favorite quotes from Roosevelt, who once said: “A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.” Foley said the Guild as a whole could take a lesson from that sentiment.
TNG Secretary-Treasurer Bernie Lunzer talked of the differences and the common goals of the U.S. and Canadian TNG locals. “We have our uniqueness, our distinctions, but we don’t fear them,” he said.
He also talked of the decline in Guild membership in the past few years from 33,000 to 30,000 members. “The biggest problem we face is the decline in membership,” he said, noting that membership has dropped recently from 33,000 to 30,000. The solution? Broaden into other areas of the media sector. “It’s clear to me that locals realize that they have to reach out to members and non-members,” said Lunzer. “We need to develop real diversity strategies that work” at all levels, both national and local, he said.
Lunzer said that it is tragic that newspaper people are leaving the industry and going to public relations and other jobs outside the industry and enjoying their work for the first time in a long time. “How sad it that?,” he said.
Arnold Amber, director of CWA Canada, said the union faces many challenges in an industry that is changing at a breakneck pace. Yet he said the industry in Canada does not face as many problems as the U.S. industry. He noted that two of the dailies in Toronto have held their own in circulation in recent years.
“But the real keynote in Canada is the same as it is in the United States: change, change, change,” Amber said.
He noted that the last time he met most of the delegates, he and the Canadian delegates had “stormed out” of the CWA convention in Las Vegas last year after a measure favorable to Canadian representation was rejected. Much has changed since then, he said, and relations have improved greatly between the U.S. and Canadian sectors.
Foley talked of the pension reform act which she called the “pension destruction fund” because of the way it is structured.

69th Annual Meeting of the Communications Workers of America

2007-07-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Some notes from Jerry Ziegler at the 69th Annual Convention of the Communications Workers of America on Monday, July 16.

-- David Miller, mayor of the host city of Toronto, reminded delegates that “every day is labor day.” Miller is very pro-labor. The phrase was his slogan during his most recent mayoral campaign and he offered it to the 1,800 people attending 69th annual CWA convention to remind them that people in the labor movement need to work for fairness and equality and workers’ rights all the time.
-- Next up was the Rev. James Evans, a minister with the United Church of Canada, who gave the invocation for the opening day of the convention. More interesting that his invocation was his current pursuit: He’s organizing a labor union for clergy. He said the idea, based on a similar union organized in England, is to protect ministers from everything from abusive parishioners to unwarranted removal from a posting. He also had the best quote of the day: “No matter how almighty a boss may be, he’s not as strong as a union.”
-- Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labor Council, noted that Canada has the highest percentage of labor union membership in the G8, the international group of representatives of the eight nations that have about 65% of the world’s economy. About one in three Canadians belongs to a labor union. Compare that to the U.S., where only 7% of Americans belong to unions, lower than when collective bargaining was officially protected by the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.
Georgetti was the first but far from the last during the day to extol the Canadian universal health care system and he encouraged the U.S. labor movement to keep pushing for a similar plan.
He also told convention attendees that a recently passed law in Canada prevents anyone, even a judge, from throwing out a collective bargaining agreement if a company enters bankruptcy.
-- CWA President Larry Cohen followed up on Georgetti’s comments, saying a major challenge to the U.S. labor movement is to try to bring membership back up to and beyond the 35% level of the 1950s.
Cohen said he fight for universal health care will be an important effort for the U.S. labor movement.
He also said it is crucial to push for passage of the employee free choice act, which made it through the U.S. House but fell nine votes short in the Senate recently.
-- Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers of America, said he wants his grandson to have the same chances in life as he did. But he said that can’t happen without a strong labor movement.
His take on the U.S. health care system was ominous. Unless something is done by the next U.S. president, health care costs in the U.S. will consume 20% of the Gross Domestic Product.
-- CWA Executive Vice President Jeff Rechenbach said the survival of the middle class is dependant on the labor movement. He spoke of a new move to use CWA members as political activists.
Rechenbach also visited the health care issue. “We missed an opportunity to deal with health care in the early ‘90s. Well shame on us if we don’t deal with it this time.”
In afternoon sessions, delegates by voice vote passed five resolutions. The most important and controversial was to add four seats to the CWA executive board to increase diversity. The other resolutions included creating an exclusively Canadian region (currently, some CWA members are attached to U.S. regions); calling for a rollback of increased postal rates for small and medium periodicals; a call for the U.S. and Canadian governments to use sanctions to attempt to end conflict in Darfur; and a measure to increase the pace of political activity aimed at electing candidates favorable to labor issues.

Return of the Webmaster

2007-07-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

Heather Gergen has been named the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's new Webmaster, succeeding Mandy Jenkins, a JSOnline producer who left for a job in Cincinnati. Heather, a JSOnline producer, served a previous stint as Webmaster and also has been a member of our Bargaining Committee.

Also, Adam Lovinus has been named newsletter writer, a vacant post last filled by local news editorial assistant Steve Potter. Adam, the MKE editorial assistant, is a new Guild member who also serves on our Social Committee.

Meeting set with CNI workers

2007-06-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members are invited to meet with Community Newspapers Inc. workers next Wednesday, June 20, to discuss the Guild organizing drive at CNI.

The informational meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. that day at the Communications Workers of America Local 4063 office, 6511 W. Bluemound Road. It will be an opportunity to answer CNI workers' questions about what it's like to work in a Guild-represented newsroom and to be a part of our local. CWA organizer Cheryl Baker also will be there to explain how federal law protects workers seeking to form a union.

Guild drive launched at CNI

2007-06-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

Newsroom workers at Journal Communications’ Community Newspapers Inc. have started a union organizing effort in a bid to become part of the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild.

Local 51 officers are providing advice and support, and our parent union, the Communications Workers of America, has assigned a staff representative to help guide the drive. But the workers at the suburban weeklies are leading the way.

They’re fighting for the same kind of basic workplace rights guaranteed for years by the Guild contract that covers the Journal Sentinel newsroom, JSOnline and MKE, such as:

Job security: CNI recently laid off 15 newsroom employees, then turned around and hired three new reporters -- at the same time it was opening a new $2.65 million headquarters building. The Guild’s Journal Sentinel contract requires economic justification for downsizing.

Overtime and differentials: CNI workers don’t get overtime pay for working 10- or 12-hour days unless they go past 40 hours in a week. Nor do they get any extra pay for working nights, weekends and holidays, or for working late into the night and coming back early the next morning. The Guild’s Journal Sentinel contract provides overtime after 8 hours in a day, as well as night, weekend, holiday and turnaround pay.

Protection against speedups: Before CNI reporters can take a week of vacation, they have to work twice as hard to get an extra week’s worth of work done in advance. The Guild brought an end to that practice years ago in the Journal Sentinel unit.

Wage scale: CNI workers’ pay is decided entirely by management. The Guild’s Journal Sentinel contract sets minimum pay rates based on job duties and experience.

Grievance process: When CNI workers have a problem with management, they have no one to speak for them. At the Journal Sentinel, the Guild represents employees in disciplinary matters and other disputes, and the contract provides a clear process for resolving grievances.

Management has started its own campaign against the organizing drive. At a June 1 staff meeting, CNI managers locked the doors while Publisher Cristy Garcia-Thomas delivered an anti-union lecture. She claimed that CNI is losing money, that the company might consider shutting it down if workers joined the Guild, that contract talks could lead to lower wages and worse benefits, and that having a union would be bad for business and would cause conflict in the newsroom. She also threatened to take away duties like posting stories online.

The CNI organizers challenged Garcia-Thomas to back up her claims of financial woes. She provided no figures or other proof.

(If some of the management talking points sound familiar to long-time Journal Sentinel workers, it’s because we heard many of the same things when we were organizing our Guild unit 23 years ago. But contrary to management claims, our contract didn’t worsen pay or working conditions, didn’t hurt business and didn’t lower journalistic quality or ethical standards. And it provided a way to resolve conflicts fairly and collectively, instead of by arbitrary management decisions.)

Because of the threats and intimidation in the locked-door meeting, the CNI organizing committee filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board on June 8. The NLRB regional staff will now investigate before deciding whether to issue a complaint, which would lead to a hearing on whether the company violated federal labor law.

The organizers brought their charge just before another CNI staff meeting, this time with Journal Sentinel Publisher Betsy Brenner, the executive vice president in charge of the Journal Communications publishing group. Brenner also claimed CNI was losing money and was in danger of being shut down, but she danced around a question about whether she was trying to tie that prospect to the union drive. She provided financial figures, but conceded they might be off when CNI organizers asked how the payroll could have doubled when the staff was cut in half. Then she collected the figures, so no one could take them home for closer analysis.

Meanwhile, the CNI organizers are moving ahead with gathering support among their co-workers, with the goal of seeking a vote on whether the Guild should represent CNI workers.

Right now, the CNI workers need to know that we’re standing with them to insist that the company respect the rights of our fellow journalists. Guild leaders and members from both the Journal Sentinel’s downtown newsroom and the Waukesha Bureau met with CNI workers June 7 to offer our local’s support and encouragement. We’ll also be circulating a petition soon in the newsroom and the bureaus to express our support for forming a Guild unit at CNI.

If you would like to help in this effort or if you have any questions, please contact Guild President Jennie Tunkieicz, 2nd Vice President Amy Rinard or other Guild leaders. You can also check out the organizing committee’s blog, cniunion.blogspot.com, for more information.

Add one to awards list

2007-06-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

The April 12 post listing Milwaukee Press Club awards won by Journal Sentinel and MKE staffers inadvertently omitted one award. That brings the total to nine staff members who won four first-place and four second-place awards, including one three-member team who shared two awards. The listing should have included this entry:

Web Category 3
Best Web-Only Commentary
2nd
Sara Oceguera
MKE/MKEonline.com
Summerfest and State Fair Three Views 2006

Knauss elected to board

2007-06-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members have elected Sonya Jongsma Knauss to our Executive Board. Knauss, the MKE assistant editor, will serve until Sept. 30, filling the seat vacated by JSOnline news producer Mandy Jenkins when she moved to Cincinnati.

Notes from Washington, D.C.

2007-05-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

About 60 union members from locals in such cities as New York, Boston, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Toledo and, of course, Milwaukee, are meeting at the Multi-Council Meeting in Washington, D.C., this weekend.
Topics have ranged across the board, from a discussion about an exciting new program designed to help journalists keep pace with the quickening pace of technology to the attempts to unionize parts of the disintegrating Tribune Co.
The new program will offer credit courses through the CWA/NETT Academy that focus on digital photography and editing, basic videography, Web design, and the use of Flash 8. The classes will be offered online and in some cases, equipment needed for the class will be shipped to the student. Information on the classes will be available through The Newspaper Guild and the Communication Workers of America.
During a discussion about organization and mobilization, the value of the internet was noted time after time. It has been a valuable tool for organizers trying to keep in touch with potential union members in the Los Angeles areas, where scheduling meetings is tough because travel times are so long. Steve Yount, the president of the IAPE segment of The Newspaper Guild, said he used email extensively in his efforts to keep in touch with workers about the organizing efforts at Dow Jones.
Roz Pelles, director of civil, women's and human rights, for the AFL-CIO, discussed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) working its way through Congress (with the threat of a veto hanging over it), which would strengthen penalties for retaliation against union members. She also talked about the AFL-CIO's efforts to increase the number of women and minorities in leadership positions, noting that 42% of union members in the U.S. are women and 32% are minorities.
Toledo representatives thanked locals from around the country for the generous outpouring to help the 215 workers locked out at the Toledo Blade. Locals around the country -- including Milwaukee -- have contributed $60,000 to help the locked-out workers pay for health insurance premiums.

Knauss named to Guild board

2007-04-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's Executive Board has named MKE assistant editor Sonya Jongsma Knauss to a vacant board seat. She will serve until the next membership meeting, at noon May 22 on the second floor of Turner Hall, when Guild members will vote on who fills that position through the end of the term Sept. 30. The seat was previously held by JS Online news producer Mandy Jenkins, who left for a job at the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Meanwhile, the local is still seeking a Webmaster to fill the other vacancy created by Jenkins' departure. That term runs until early October. Interested Guild members should contact Communications Chair Larry Sandler.

Journal Sentinel workers capture 7 awards

2007-04-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

It was another good year for Journal Sentinel staffers in the Milwaukee Press Club's annual contest. Eight staff members picked up four first-place and three second-place awards, including one three-person team that shared two awards.

For the third time in four years, the Guild paid entry fees for members who requested it, following the company's decision to stop competing in this statewide contest. This year, we paid for 20 entries by 14 Guild members, almost half of whom won something. Other staffers entered at their own expense.

Here's a list of the Press Club awards won by Journal Sentinel staffers:

NEWSPAPERS

Newspaper Category 3
Best Overall Design
2nd
Katherine Bryja, Tuc Krueger & C. Taylor
MKE

Newspaper Category 5
Best Single Page Design
1st
Tuc Krueger, Katherine Bryja & C.Taylor
MKE
More Than Your Average Joe

Newspaper Category 8
Best Feature Photograph
1st
Jack Orton
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
She Wears It Well

Newspaper Category 13
Best Beat Coverage
1st
Tom Heinen
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Religion Beat

Newspaper Category 14
Best Single Feature Story Over 30"
2nd
Georgia Pabst
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A Cross to Bear

Newspaper Category 15
Best Single Feature Story Under 30"
1st
Greg J. Borowski
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A Simple Man, A Giant Life

2nd
Joanne Cleaver
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ornament Shop's New Route to the Old World Bypasses China

Board member, Webmaster sought

2007-03-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild is looking for an Executive Board member and a Webmaster. That can be two different people, but they both would be replacing Mandy Jenkins, who has been handling both jobs.

Jenkins, a JS Online producer, is leaving for a job at the Cincinnati Enquirer. Last fall, she was elected to her first one-year term as an at-large board member and appointed to her second term as Webmaster.

We're now looking for people to fill out Jenkins' terms in each position. The board member will be elected at our second-quarter meeting (not the one coming up March 27, the one after that) and will serve through Sept. 30. If you're interested in that seat, please contact President Jennie Tunkieicz. The Webmaster is an appointed position with a term that runs until early October. If you're interested in that job, please contact Communications Chair Larry Sandler.

Talk and eat at March 27 Guild meeting

2007-03-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Guild's next quarterly membership meeting will be at noon Tuesday, March 27, on the second floor of Turner Hall.

We'll have an update on pending grievances and discuss any other concerns members want to raise. And we'll have lunch, too. All dues-paying members are welcome.

Union offers scholarships

2007-03-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

March 31 is the deadline to apply for the scholarships offered by the Communications Workers of America's Joe Beirne Foundation for the 2007-'08 school year.

The CWA, the Guild's parent union, is offering 30 college scholarships of up to $3,000 each to CWA members, their spouses, children and grandchildren, including the dependents of retired, laid-off or deceased members. Applicants must be high school graduates; high school students who will graduate during the year in which they apply; or undergraduate and graduate students returning to school.

For applications and more information, see the foundation's website.

Open season

2007-02-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

Open enrollment has started at Journal Sentinel Inc. Employees have until Feb. 16 to select their health care options for the plan year starting April 1.

But it's not always that easy. For one thing, the packet we received at our homes doesn't actually mention what the premiums are going to be or where to find them. To find that information, sign on to the JRN Focus Web site, click on "Health and Welfare" under "Benefits" on the left-hand menu, then scroll down under "2007/2008 Annual Enrollment" to "Medical Rates 2007/2008" and click on that. If you scroll further down the "Health and Welfare" page, you can also find a link to the current 2006/2007 rates, for comparison purposes.

The company does provide a Health Care Cost Estimator on the Web. But at first, it was programmed with the wrong rates. After one of our members pointed out the problem, it was fixed. But if you ran your numbers through this tool before Jan. 31, you should run them again to be sure they come out right.

Also, the company continues to tout its two Health Savings Account (HSA) plans as "consumer-driven" health care. You may want to read another view of that concept from the real consumer experts -- the staff of Consumers Union, where about 300 Guild-represented workers produce Consumer Reports magazine.

Guild sponsors contest entries

2007-01-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

Once again this year, the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild will sponsor entries in the Milwaukee Press Club's annual contest.

The Guild board voted last week to sponsor up to two entries in the contest for each Guild member.

Here are the basics:

Entries are $20 each. For more information on the contest and to obtain entry forms, go to www.milwaukeepressclub.org.
The contest deadline is Jan. 26, but to assure delivery, get entries to us by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

You can deliver entries to Greg Pearson in the downtown newsroom or Amy Hetzner in the Waukesha bureau.

It will be up to you to compile your entries. We'll deliver what you submit to us and pay the freight for up to two entries.

Raise a toast to New Year's raises

2007-01-02T23:30:00.000-08:00

You can start 2007 with a bit more cash in your paycheck, thanks to the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild contract. Effective Dec. 31, wages rose 1.5% for every bargaining-unit member who has been on the payroll at least three months. Those raises should show up on the second paycheck in January.

At the same time, minimum wage scales rose by 2.5% in most pay classifications, and by slightly more in a few classifications. (That's up from a 2% boost in most minimums in each of the first two years of the 2005-'08 contract.) Each worker receives either the across-the-board raise or an increase to the new minimum, whichever is greater.

For full-time journalists, the new minimums are $800 a week at the first step (less than 3 years in the business); $922 a week at the second step (at least 3 years experience); $1,027 a week at the third step (at least 4 years at the second step or 6 years at the Journal Sentinel); and $1,187 a week for Senior Journalists. For part-time editorial assistants, the new minimums are $12.54 an hour at the first step (less than 2 years experience) and $14.04 an hour at the second step (at least 2 years experience).

Also up are night differential, to 75 cents an hour (or $6 for an 8-hour shift), and weekend differential, to 80 cents an hour (or $6.40 for an 8-hour shift).

Standup drama

2006-12-18T23:21:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Dec. 11, thousands of Newspaper Guild members and other supporters stood up for quality journalism by demonstrating against the job cuts that have plagued the news industry.

More than 44,000 news industry employees have lost their jobs over the past five years. At least 34,000 of them worked at newspapers alone. These cuts represent not just a few jobs spread across our industry, but a substantial reduction in the number of journalists working at newspapers, television, radio and other media companies.

And it’s happening here, too. In the 11 years since the merger of The Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel eliminated about 100 newsroom positions, another 31 newsroom staff jobs have disappeared from the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s bargaining unit. That includes 12 News Information Center positions and one photo tech job that were downsized, but the other 18 jobs – 16 journalists and two support staffers – simply weren’t filled when people left.

Today, the Journal Sentinel has 13 fewer reporters covering local and suburban news than in 1995, even though we’ve added a bureau in Racine. We’re also down 10 sports journalists, six street photographers and three copy editors, offset partly by the addition of nine JS Online staffers and seven MKE journalists to our bargaining unit.

These cutbacks aren't momentary, or due to a poor economy. It's all about money. They represent an accelerating and alarming trend by corporations to demand higher profit margins from their news operations.

Fewer people in the newsroom mean less news coverage. With fewer journalists, the whole community suffers. With smaller staffs, editors are being forced to decide which stories not to report, cover or investigate. We all lose when "the news" is reduced to nothing more than a commodity on a profit-loss statement.

To see what news industry workers across North America did to support quality journalism, go to www.savejournalism.org. And while you're there, check out the video on a press conference held by Guild members attending the Federal Communications Commission hearing in Nashville.

Let's not grow old together

2006-12-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Journal Communications recently sent out letters declaring the company would cut off retiree health insurance for any current employee who hadn't turned 50 by the end of this year.

But many workers didn't realize those letters came in two versions: one for those under 50 and one for those over 50. If you read the over-50 edition, which includes more details, you can see the company is pushing older employees to retire before April 1, but if you read the under-50 edition, it just looks like another benefit the company is cutting back on.

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's leadership has been seeking more information on this move and on our options. We'll discuss this issue at our quarterly membership meeting at noon Monday on the second floor of Turner Hall.

Also on the agenda are a possible settlement of our grievance over vacation payouts (see Sept. 1 posting, "Parting gift: A kick in the TVA"); an update on our talks about pension changes; and a discussion of what we can do to support the international Guild's efforts to stand up for journalism in the face of job cutbacks at newspapers nationwide. Lunch is included.

Exporting jobs: It's not just for cars and clothes any more

2006-11-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest scary trend in journalism. But it's not the only reason to be concerned about the future of newspaper jobs. As industry consolidation and cost-cutting efforts lead newsrooms to slice staffs, the international Guild has declared Dec. 11 a day to stand up for journalism.

Mile-High Blog End

2006-11-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Here's a last shot from Denver, with the best-read, best-traveled newsletter around.

See you soon,

Jennie and Jerry

Mile-High Blog III

2006-11-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

News flash!
Milwaukee Local 51 President Jennie Tunkieicz has been elected president of the Midwest District Council. Janet Ortega, president of the Sheboygan local, was elected vice president. Laurie Faliano of the Denver local was elected secretary. Mike Ulreich of the Chicago local was re-elected treasurer.

Also during the afternoon session of the Midwest District Council meeting of The Newspaper Guild in Denver some notes for across the Midwest:
From St. Louis: Local 36047 did a survey of members and 478 responded. The big concern? Surprise: health care. Also, 89% of those surveyed said they do not trust management. A photographer at the St. Louis Post Dispatch got a three-day suspension and was ordered to reimburse the company for $9,000 in photo equipment stolen from his car. The photo editor earlier had directed staff to sign a form that they would agree to these conditions but the guild was never informed. It appears that the matter will be resolved in the favor of the photographer.
From Sheboygan: Local President Janet Ortega said the 50-member union has a tentative agreement with Gannett and will vote on it on Wednesday after four years of sometimes acrimonious talks. She said the union gave up a lot but is still intact. They gave up stepped wage increases and now get only merit pay. They gave up the eight-hour work day (meaning no overtime until after 10 hours of work in a day). The new contract includes pay cuts for advertising personnel and an open shop.
From Minneapolis-St. Paul: Supposedly a two-page a day reduction in newshole is coming in order to cut costs at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, according to Bill Weyandt, secretary of the St. Paul local. He sees this as one of the results of the dissolution of former owner Knight Ridder and the acquisition by the Hearst organization on the way to being acquired by Media News. Other instability related to the sale includes the company not turning over union dues or telling new hires that they will have to pay dues. Also looming is a pension shortfall estimated at up to $22 million. “We have grievances upon grievances,” Weyandt said. He said there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 grievances pending at the paper.
From Kenosha: Pretty quiet except for the possibility of job cuts at a small unit of the local, the Labor Paper.
From Peoria: The local found out two weeks ago that the paper is up for sale by Copley newspapers. Also up for sale are six small papers in Ohio and Illinois.
From Denver: Shrinking membership because of the joint operating agreement is a concern. There were also recent layoffs and more may be on the way.

Mile-High Blog II

2006-11-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

During the Saturday morning session of The Newpaper Guild's Midwest District Council meeting, TNG Secretary-Treasurer Bernie Lunzer also talked about problems locals are facing in such places as San Jose, a former Knight Ridder paper, where everything has been put on the board by the paper’s new owner Dean Singleton. Wages, pension and even jurisdiction. Singleton wants to use lots of free lancers and material from other sources, Lunzer said. He wants to dump the pension entirely, according to Lunzer. There is talk of 150 layoffs, including 65 in the newsroom (consider: San Jose had 900 members 10 years ago, Lunzer said, and now has 500).
And then there’s Toledo, “an ideological dance of death,” as Lunzer describes it, as management and the union local vortex into increasingly grim tactics, with 25% of the staff locked out and 21 of 22 car advertisers withholding advertising.
At another Block paper, Pittsburgh, the union local is trying to help management find deep cuts.
Good news? In Pittsburgh, an interplant council of unions may be one of the last of its kind, effectively letting a group of unions exert a combined power.
“The good news is that people are still fighting really hard,” Lunzer said. Management in many cases realizes that they still must deal with unions down the road. Organizing will be a major tool, Lunzer said, especially in places like California, where organizing in surrounding papers can help put pressure on San Jose’s new management.
More to come.

The Mile-High Blog

2006-11-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

9:30 a.m. MST.

Welcome to the Midwest District Council meeting of The Newpaper Guild. Denver. Sunny. 50s and out of Milwaukee just in time to beat that heavy wet stuff that hit all of you.

Representatives from Denver, Peoria, Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Sheboygan and Milwaukee are in the first session this morning at the Denver Press Club. We're listening to Bernie Lunzer, secretary-treasurer of The Newspaper Guild as he explains talk about the sometimes dismal state of union-management relations across the country today.

Much of the chaos across the country is a result of the breakup of the Knight Ridder chain. In its wake, new owners are challenging stable, long-standing contracts and attendant benefits, such as pensions.

An electoral turnaround

2006-11-08T23:48:00.000-08:00

If you worked election night, control of Congress and the Wisconsin Senate weren't the only turnarounds you needed to think about.

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild's contract calls for a 10-hour turnaround between shifts. For many Journal Sentinel newsroom workers, that could mean extra money for working late Tuesday and coming back Wednesday morning.

Whenever you have less than 10 hours between the scheduled end of one shift and the actual start of the next one, you get overtime for the difference. If you have a day off in between, the turnaround should be at least 34 hours. Turnaround pay runs concurrently with overtime for working late; you don't get paid twice for the same hours.

For example, if you were scheduled to work until midnight Tuesday, and ...
-- You left at midnight and came back at 9 a.m. Wednesday: You had a 9-hour turnaround. You should get 1 hour of overtime.
-- You stayed until 1 a.m. and came back at 8 a.m.: You had a 7-hour turnaround. You should get 3 hours of overtime.
-- You stayed until 1:30 a.m. and came back at 10 a.m. Wednesday: You had an 8.5-hour turnaround. You should get 1.5 hours of overtime.
-- You stayed until 1:30 a.m. and came back later than 10 a.m. Wednesday: You still worked 1.5 hours of overtime, no matter what your turnaround was. You should get 1.5 hours of overtime.

As with regular overtime pay, you should fill out a yellow overtime card and give it to your supervisor to claim turnaround pay.

And since this was a night shift, don’t forget to file for night differential, too. That’s currently 70 cents an hour for straight time, $1.05 an hour for overtime -- $5.60 for a regular 8-hour shift, or $7.70 if you work two hours of OT. But you don’t have to do the math: call up the electronic differential form and it will do the math for you.

If you have any questions, please ask a Guild representative.

Coming soon: the Mile-High Blog

2006-11-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

Tune in to the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild blog Friday, Saturday and Sunday for updates from the Midwest District Council meeting in Denver. Local 51 President Jennie Tunkieicz and First Vice President Jerry Ziegler will be attending.
We'll give you updates as the meeting progresses. The agenda includes a morning session by the district attorney's office in Denver on identity theft and an afternoon session by the Colorado Business Group on Health on new ways to look at health care costs.
We'll also share comments from other locals in the large Midwest District Council, which stretches from Lake Michigan to the Rockies.
Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted.

Pearson named steward leader

2006-10-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

Greg Pearson has been appointed as a Milwaukee Newspaper Guild steward leader, completing a switch with Jerry Ziegler.

Local 51 members previously elected Ziegler as 1st vice president, the position Pearson held for the last three years. The local's Executive Board then named Pearson to the steward leader job that had been held by Ziegler, in charge of contract enforcement, membership and mobilizing for the copy desk, graphics/design night shift, opinions staff, national desk, newsroom clerks, and the downtown local news desk's night reporters and editorial assistants.

Pearson was also chosen as posting and exclusion coordinator, in charge of enforcing the jurisdiction and job posting provisions of our contract. He had handled those duties as vice president, in addition to his main role as grievance chair.

The board reappointed the other three steward leaders: Janine Ghelfi (downtown photo staff, features/entertainment, business news and graphics/design day shift), Mark Johnson (downtown local news day reporters, Wisconsin news bureaus and MKE) and Jeff Maillet (downtown and Green Bay sports staff, JS Online and News Information Center).

Also reappointed were Mike Johnson, payroll coordinator; Larry Sandler, communications chair; Susanne Rust, health and safety chair; Linda Spice, human rights chair; Vikki Ortiz, social chair; Amy Rodenburg, newsletter editor; Mandy Jenkins, Webmaster; and Dave Kirner, technology coordinator.

Pension talks continue

2006-09-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild representatives are continuing to meet with Journal Sentinel Inc. management about our grievance over changes to the pension plan. A Guild committee of Dave Kirner, Jerry Ziegler and Greg Pearson met Sept. 20 with James Spangler, vice president/human resources, to continue discussions.

The Guild's argument has two basic points: 1) These changes should have been negotiated before they were presented. 2) All employees should have a choice. Right now, those hired after May 1 are automatically in the new plan.

Company representatives also told us this week that it is the company's view that non-vested part-time workers should not have a choice and will be placed in the new plan as well. This will continue to be part of the discussion in the grievance process.

Here's what we know so far:

1) While talks continue, it still is important for you to meet the Sept. 30 application deadline, especially if you want to change into the new plan. If you do not meet that deadline, the company will retain you in the current plan.

Refer to the literature from the company for specifics on your choice. Guild representatives can try to answer questions, but we can't make recommendations for individuals. The choice varies from individual to individual based on a number of factors, including your age, how long you have worked here and how long you plan to stay.

2) Once you have made a choice, the company will send you a notification confirming your decision.

3) Under the current 401(k) plan, the company has the option of not providing matching funds if it does not meet financial goals. Spangler said the company has always made this match, and it understands the uproar it would face if the match was not made.

4) Under the new plan, the company will contribute 3% as an Annual Employer Contribution, in addition to any match you might be receiving in your 401(k). The first such contribution will occur sometime in early 2008

5) Aside from those hired since May and non-vested part-timers, everyone should have received a report from the company comparing how the two plans might work for you. This is the report that talked about projected raises and provided specific figures for what you might expect when you retire. If you did not get one of these, see your steward or a Guild officer.

6) Some folks have found that the steps needed to make the selection can be confusing. We've mentioned this to the company, but it probably will not be changed at this date, so make sure to get help if you are confused.

7) There also may be a problem registering your selection from a Mac. Again, the company has been notified, but proceed with caution.

Any questions? Just ask a Guild representative.

Ziegler succeeds Pearson as 1st VP

2006-09-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members elected Jerry Ziegler as 1st Vice President on Monday. Ziegler, an asst. copy desk chief, now becomes the local's chief contract enforcement officer. He succeeds day copy editor Greg Pearson, who served a record three years as our grievance chair.

Pearson is seeking appointment to Ziegler's former position as a steward leader. Local 51 Webmaster Mandy Jenkins, a JS Online producer, was elected to replace Ziegler as a member of the local's Executive Board.

The rest of the board was re-elected: President Jennie Tunkieicz, 2nd Vice President Amy Rinard, Secretary Kawanza Newson, Treasurer Amy Hetzner and board members Janine Ghelfi, Mark Johnson, Dave Kirner and Jan Uebelherr.

After taking office Oct. 1, the new board will appoint or reappoint steward leaders, committee chairs and members of some committees. The vice presidents and steward leaders will then appoint or reappoint stewards.

SOS for SF sportswriters

2006-09-19T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Newspaper Guild is rallying support nationwide for two San Francisco sportswriters facing jail for refusing to reveal their confidential sources.

Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams of the San Francisco Chronicle drew nationwide attention to baseball's steroid scandal by publishing grand jury testimony that had been leaked to them. Now federal prosecutors are demanding they testify to another grand jury about that leak. They won't do it, and a judge could decide this Thursday, Sept. 21, to jail them for that refusal.

Here's how you can help: e-mail guild@cwa-union.org with the following statement attached:

"I am opposed to the subpoena of Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, demanding them to reveal their private sources, and I support their right, and the right of all journalists, to be fully protected by the First Amendment and its clear provision for freedom of the press."

When replying include your: Name, Newspaper or other Affiliation, Position Held (e.g. Sports Writer, Sales Person, Copy Editor) and Date.

Parting gift: A kick in the TVA

2006-08-31T23:15:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild has filed a grievance and is continuing to work on a case involving vacation payout.

The case in question involves the Transitional Vacation Accounts (TVAs), which affect employees hired since the merger. Journal Sentinel Inc. management wanted those people to be placed on an earn-as-you-go vacation system. Thus, those workers no longer accrue vacation in the previous year; they accrue it during the current year.

The big difference under the new system: If an employee leaves the job on June 30, he or she would only be eligible for half of that year's vacation pay, not the full amount as had been the case under the old system. To compensate these people, the TVAs were established to provide some payback to employees who had their vacation accrual system changed.

Problems arose when Waukesha Bureau reporter Reid Epstein recently left the company. Epstein would have qualified for a third week of vacation later this year. The TVA language says, "Each account will contain the same amount of vacation as the affected employee would be entitled to take during 2006."

The Guild argues Epstein should receive three weeks from his TVA, because that's the amount of vacation he would have received in 2006.
The company argues Epstein should only get two weeks from his TVA,
because that's what he was eligible for when he left.

Furthermore, Epstein had taken more than two weeks of vacation already
in 2006, figuring he had three weeks coming this year. The company deducted
the days in excess of two weeks from the amount that was paid out from his
TVA.

The Guild believes this violates the contract provision that states employees will not be required to reimburse the employer for taking more vacation than was earned at the time of departure.

A grievance hearing was held recently, and the grievance was denied. That denial has been appealed.