Do your co-workers make you sick?

By Allison Fletcher Acosta, on November 12th, 2009

If you’re one of the 57 million workers in the U.S. without paid sick days, chances are the answer is “yes”. Thirty-nine percent of us have a difficult choice to make when we’re sick: go to work and risk infecting our co-workers (and risk making our illness worse), or stay home and put our finances and our jobs in jeopardy.

Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Rosa DeLauro are leading the charge to pass the Healthy Families Act first introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy last spring. The Healthy Families Act would provide 7 paid sick days to all workers at companies with at least 15 employees, and would prevent employers from retaliating against workers who get sick. The bill has 113 sponsors in the House and 21 sponsors in the Senate, and has been endorsed by the Obama administration.
Passing this bill is an important step in fighting the spread of seasonal and H1N1 flu. Three quarters of workers without paid sick days work in food and service industries where they come into contact with both co-workers and the public.

The Healthy Families Act is an alternative to the Emergency Influenza Containment Act introduced by Rep. George Miller, which would guarantee five paid sick days to workers at businesses with at least 15 employees. Unfortunately, this bill only applies if management tells a worker to go home, and the bill would sunset after two years. Either bill is a step forward, but the Healthy Families Act is stronger.

Tell Congress to pass paid sick day legislation NOW!

Cocktails with the Los Angeles Times Pressmen

This Monday November 16th at 4:00 p.m. the pressmen from the Los Angeles Times will gather at Weiland Brewery, and everyone from the Los Angeles Times is welcome to attend.
400 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-680-2881

DIRECTIONS






linked from edpadgett.com

Interlocal Pension Fund Participation

The members in attendance on Sunday's Interlocal Pension meeting voted almost unanimously, in favor of participating in the GCC/IBT Interlocal Pension Fund. This is one of the main reasons for having wanted to form a union in our shops in the first place.

The fact that the company sponsored retirement plans were quickly becoming inferior to what we were once provided, the need for an alternative retirement investment was imperative in order to insure ample financial resources when we need it most.

Executive Vice President, Keith Denson will chair the committee on establishing the various segments and the contribution amounts that will apply to each segment.The committee members include Linard Williams, Mike Brierley, Dan Beruman and Richard Olmeda.

The committe members will be able to assist Keith in answering questions and instructing members on how to participate.

For all other questions or assistance, contact EVP, Keith Denson at (661) 886-5698 or e-mail atmailto:atmakeup52@sbcglobal.net

For more information on the fund itself, visit the ILPF website at http://www.ilpfgciu.org/ or e-mail info@ilpfgciu.org For immediate answers, or literature, call (630) 752-8400

O.C Meeting Reminder

I will be in O.C. tomorrow morning at the Round Table Pizza on Warner and Euclid in Fountain Valley at 11:00am. This is an informal meeting I was asked to hold in order to discuss current issues and their effects in the shops. All bargaining unit employees are welcome to attend. There will be a General Meeting for members of the Local following the October 18th InterLocal Pension Meeting at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Commerce.

Ronnie

Transfers and Shift Pick Details

Yesterday Keith and I met with Russ and Leticia to discuss the transfer of 27 press persons from O.C. to L.A. on October 19th. The ultimate decision belonged to management and we agreed to an unprecedented decision to allow bargaining unit employees to bid on shifts in either shop based on seniority.

This decision maintains compliance with the contract, which I was told by many of you in both L.A. and O.C. to preserve seniority and expressed no desire to amend the contract.

Transfers were handled in various ways in the past and this is the first time that we have an opportunity to bid shifts based on seniority in either shop. This affirms that we are ONE body, ONE union regardless of which facility one chooses to work in.

A few details:

Posted schedules are to run concurrent through 2010.


Orange County bargaining unit employees may voluntarily transfer to L.A.
Volunteers must inform management by October 9, 2009 by noon. After that time, management will institute mandatory transfers of the balance needed from those in O.C. with the least seniority.

Anyone wishing to voluntarily transfer to O.C. from L.A. may request to do so also and must meet the October 9 deadline as well. Seniority will determine whether it will be possible to transfer to O.C. based on how many volunteers from O.C. request to come to L.A.

There are four (4) management assigned shifts in L.A. that print commercial products such as the Wall St. Journal, Barron's and The Post. Anyone one on these crews currently may bid on any available shift schedule when it is their time to pick.

Vacations scheduled for the remainder of the year will be honored and vacation picks for 2010 will be bid later in the year. If new schedules conflict with 2009 vacation picks, you may be asked to modify your vacation pick. If vacation arrangements have been made, IE. Airline and hotel reservations, management has indicated that they will accommodate and honor established vacation times.


Management has posted schedules and all the details of the bid process, so read the information carefully and if you have any questions, check with your representatives.

In Solidarity,
Ronnie Pineda
President,
GCC/IBT Local 140-N

Update.

Hello Brothers and sisters. Exec Vice President, Keith Denson and myself met with Russ and Leticia to discuss the pending transfer of approximately 27 presspersons from O.C. to L.A.

We did not finalize the terms of the effects and plan to meet again on Thursday afternoon. As I said before, we will disclose the details once they are confirmed.
Be patient and don't believe the rumors.

One certainty is that this staff movement will not result in a reduction of the workforce and no bargaining unit employees are in jeopardy of losing their jobs.

In Solidarity
Ronnie

Important Reminders!

GCC/IBT Trainers Rob Thiesen and Gene Binda will be here this coming Saturday so plan to attend. Their information will help make the shops a safer and healthier place to work. BE THERE! GET INVOLVED! This is your Union!Training Flyer Revised

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InterLocal Pension Fund Meeting

GCC/IBT Interlocal Pension Fund Chairman, John Agenbroad is returning to Los Angeles on Sunday October 18, 2009 to once again meet with our members to discuss and vote on participation in the GCC/IBT InterLocal Pension Fund.

The meeting and vote will take place at the Crowne Plaza/Commerce Casino at 11:00 AM.

This is a very important part of everyones retirement future and no one should miss this meeting! Tribune no longer provides a viable retirement vehicle for it's employees. Will you have enough retirement money?

THERE IS NO OTHER PENSION LIKE THIS IN THE COUNTRY!

This pension is the ONLY 501 C18 in the country. It was founded in 1950 and the fund is overseen by union trustees , NO company trustees. There is in fact absolutely no involvement by the company in any way with regards to the fund, its investments or the administration of the fund.

The Fund's assets were reported in 2007 of the 57th Annual Report of The Trustees to be approximately 1.8 Billion dollars.John stated the current assets are reported to be 1.4 billion dollars.The administration fees are a mere 4% which is unbelievable for a fund with the assets that are in the ILPF.

For more information visit the ILPF website at http://www.ilpfgciu.org/ or e-mail info@ilpfgciu.org For immediate answers, or literature, call (630) 752-8400

(Click here for Previous InterLocal Pension Post)

Union/L.A. Times Meeting Scheduled

A meeting has been scheduled on October 8, 2009 at 10:00 am to discuss the company's plans to restructure the Orange County Facility. That was the earliest we could agree to in order to have our International Representative and Attorney present at the meeting.

As usual, the rumors and speculation are in full swing and I have heard plenty of doomsday scenarios, including supervisors predictions. Apparently Mgt. is intentionally leaving supervision out of the loop because they have come up with some of the wildest scenarios I've heard so far.

I must say, none of the scenarios have led to the assumption that we have nothing to fear. As always, we can only wonder how this restructuring is going to impact our shops. It's been almost a decade since anything good has been bestowed upon the employees of the L.A. Times from the higher ups in this greed driven Tribune Corporation.

I wish to meet with everyone on Friday October 9, 2009 in O.C at 11:00am at Round Table Pizza in Fountain Valley (Euclid and Warner) to disclose the findings of our meeting with the company. This meeting is open to ALL Bargaining Unit Employees.

In Solidarity,
Ronnie

Will Ferrell stands up for the real health care victims

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Questions and Answers

Questions are coming in by the dozens, unfortunately answers won’t be available until we meet with management and ask the same questions that are being presented to our Local and it’s Officers.

As you know, management notified us of their potential restructuring of the Orange County Facility and the possible transfer of approximately 30 to 40 presspersons from O.C. to L.A. That is all we know at this time. I have been in contact with our Attorneys in Washington since an article posted on Recording Secretary Ed Padgett’s Blog eluded to the O.C. Register moving it’s operation into the L.A. Times Costa Mesa Plant.

We have accepted the company’s offer to meet and have been provided dates by management. I have forwarded the dates to our local Attorney to ensure his attendance and legal assistance during our meeting with management.

There is a lot of speculation at this point and some of your assumptions could possibly be correct, but we must wait until we can obtain answers directly from management. As I stated on saveourtrade.com, I asked management if there was any truth to the article to which H.R. and the L.A. pressroom Superintendent denied any knowledge of such an agreement with the Register.

I’m not saying any of this has anything to do with the Register, but history has proven that rumors definitely come to pass, especially in the production departments, and this rumor may end no differently. History has also proven that when management makes decisions, they’re not usually in our best interest and always come at our expense. That is why I have been preaching unity and solidarity for almost a decade now.

As soon as we schedule the meeting with management and have the opportunity ask your questions, the Local will post answers on the Blog, shop bulletin boards, and a general meeting will be immediately scheduled to meet with all bargaining unit employees in order to answers your question directly.

Again, I want to remind everyone that our Local is only as strong as the members and if this situation has a negative effect on our bargaining unit, it will take everyone to make a stand. Unity and Solidarity is our greatest strength! Get involved!

Ronnie Pineda
President, GCC/IBT Local 140-N

O.C. Facility Restructuring

Our Local was notified on Wednesday afternoon (via e-mail) that the company intends to implement restructuring changes to the Orange County Facility Operation. The SVP of Operations has made an offer to meet for the purposes of discussing their restructuring plan and it's effect on Orange County and Los Angeles Bargaining Unit Employees.

What exactly is to be done is unknown at this time, we will ask management all the pertinent questions necessary to answer all of the employees questions that will certainly arise from this announcement.

The only information we do have at this time is that the restructuring of O.C. will result in the mandatory transfer of approximately 30 to 40 presspersons from O.C. to L.A. on or about October 17th.

This "plan" may have something to do with the O.C. Register and anything said at this point in time is speculation, unless mgt. honestly discloses that information prior to meeting with the Union. I personally asked the H.R. Representative and the L.A. pressroom Superintendent last week about the possibility of the Register moving into our O.C. shop, to which both denied any knowledge of such an arrangement.

Further details will be provided when they are obtained from management during the offered meeting we intend to accept.

Ronnie Pineda
President,
GCC/IBT Local 140-N

Health and Safety/Leadership Training

Training Flyer Revised

SEIU Sends Thanks

This e-mail is intended for Ronnie Pineda and all members of Local 140.

Jesse, Maria and I would like to Thank You again for such a grand outpouring of hospitality that was given to us by the members of Teamsters Local 140.
The BBQ was such a success that we stayed to the end enjoying conversation with all . The Hamburgers were great and the two horse piñatas were a real tribute to the Teamsters ( Thunder and Lightning ) I'm not sure I remembered their names correctly but I'm sure your granddaughter does. It was nice to be treated like family and to spend time with all your families and friends. The young women that won the 50/50 raffle were so cute, smart and had a lot of good conversation . I also enjoyed looking at pictures I have seen at latimespressmen 20yearclub also.
We had a Ball-------------------------THANK YOU TEAMSTERS

SEIU IN SOLIDARITY
Donna Hernandez
Jesse Aranda
Maria Ybarra

Board decision to grant review

Many of you have seen the notice generated by the same National Right to Work Foundation that represents Lee Carey. This publication is bias and erroneous in it's entirety for implying that the "Officers", (dramatically referred to by the NRTW's Stephan Gleason as "Union Bosses") are attempting to force Lee Carey and others to join our union and force them to pay dues.

The information the NRTW people present is FALSE for the fact that our contract does not make membership in the union a "condition of employment" to work in our shops, nor can we request termination of a bargaining unit employee for refusing to join the union, or refusing to pay dues.

Also, anyone not interested in joining the union is given an opportunity to apply for "Agency Fee Payer" status with the International and under the law, would only be required to pay dues germane to collective bargaining and representation, that amount was determined to be $48.04 or 80.06% based on members dues of $60.00

We have not made "threats" as Lee and the NRTW people accuse our local of doing, our Secretary Treasurer mailed what we consider a standard notice of arrears similar to those sent by many institutions that is owed monies. None of the notices sent to bargaining unit employees seeking to collect dues made any reference to joining the union.

NLRB Regional Director Smalls understood the union security language in our contract and "instantly dismissed", not "bizarrely" dismissed Lee's petition for a de-authorization election based on the facts I stated. The officers of Local 140-N expect the board in Washington to reach the same conclusion.The NRTW people are tooting their own horn in this notice and is making this appear as if this story was reported by an uninterested party all the while attempting to smear the union for taking action against "free riders" that refuse to pay dues.

This decision could take some time, so we need to realistically look at the ramifications of what advantages the company would gain if Lee's attempt to de-authorize the union security language in the contract is successful and how that would effect the local's ability to take action against the company should it violate the contract in the future. Instead of trying to vilify the Union for all that is wrong currently, one needs only look where the decisions come from and the ones making those decisions.

As I said a million times before "a union is only as strong as it's members" and in order to have any chance in resolving the shortcomings of the contract, we must focus on unity.In short we must focus on what we need to accomplish in order to convince management to accept our proposals when we return to the table in April 2011, because if we don't, and the union is removed as representatives, pressroom employees must be willing to put their faith, trust and financial future back in the hands of the same people who refused to continue to pay shift differential and equal severance while asking the bankruptcy court for tens of millions of dollars to deposit into their accounts in order to empty the cookie Jar before the creditors slam it shut and Zell runs off with it!

Senior mgt. and middle mgt. have perfected the art of taking care of themselves, when will we learn to conduct ourselves in the same beneficial manner? As Keith once said, "when did we stop becoming our brothers keeper?"Don't support this effort by Lee and others that are ignorant to the concept of a brotherhood allowing them to cripple our local financially, He has his interests in mind only and needs others to help him achieve his objective in avoiding payment of dues. Lee could care less if you all paid dues as long as he doesn't have to. That takes cajones to ask the same people he steals money from in the form of overtime to rally behind his cause, but they ignorantly do. When Lee has gotten what he wants from them, he will resume screwing them over as history has proven.

Get involved and become a willing member in order to attend local meetings where your concerns can be address and resolved, as opposed to expressing anger towards the union. As a member you can vote on the direction of this local and the decisions made by it's officers. Lastly, as a member you can run for office if you feel you possess the skills and abilities to lead this local in a direction the members agree with. I recommend you don't get angry, but rather, get involved! If you must express your anger, direct it to those that are truly responsible........and ask yourself, have I done all that I could to make this union succeed? Am I willing and capable of doing more?

If you've done nothing but resist the union and complain every step of the way, never attending meetings, never asking questions, unwilling to seek and obtain the union provided information, then you've done absolutely nothing on your own behalf, and in my opinion, have no right to be angry at the Union, it's Officers or the company for that matter.

Ronnie Pineda

President

GCC/IBT Local 140-N

Recall Number Increased By Three

MORE GREAT NEWS!

An additional four presspersons received recall notices from management a few day ago. One individual that was required to respond by August 3rd from the first group of six chose to relinquish his recall. This will total nine pressroom employees tenatively scheduled to return on August 24, 2009.

This latest group has until August 14, 2009 to contact Leticia in Human resources to inform management of their decision. Once an individual reliquishes their recall rights, it is final and said individual will not be considered for any future recall regardless of the nine month recall per our contract.