The Next Step

We cleared a major hurdle in our quest for a fair contract with the "Certification Decision" from The N.L.R.B. 10 days ago. Marty and I have been in constant communication since the decision and have been informed by President Tedeschi that Mike Huggins will be our Representative in Collective Bargaining. I have provided Mike with the names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all the Negotiation Committee members so that he can communicate with each of us directly.

Mike will be meeting with our elected Negotiation Committee Members on July 15th to begin contract negotiation skills training for the committee members and contract proposal preparation utilizing the information obtained from the completed surveys that have been returned.

This will begin the next step to prepare a fair contract proposal for the committee members to present in Collective Bargaining. That is why it is so important that everyone participate in this process. You now have the ability to make your voice heard, don't ignore this opportunity to speak up.

Now that a decision has been reached and The GCC/IBT has been Certified as our Representatives in Collective Bargaining, I am looking forward to receiving our "Charter" from President Tedeschi, which will officially create our own new "Local" here for all Times employees.

This is an exciting aspect of our victory because we will be creating our own local and have a great opportunity to grow by organizing our fellow employees in departments other than the pressroom.

Many of them are standing by waiting to see what we will accomplish and there are others who are interested in organizing their departments now. We need to identify the leaders who are willing to make a commitment to help their fellow workers and improve their working conditions. We will provide them with all the information they need and arrange for them to meet with our Organizers.

Our Attorney Ira Gottlieb informed me last week that he filed unfair labor practice charges against the company based on information that was presented to him in our recent meetings. The N.L.R.B. was informed of changes in the expectations of our operators and how they oversee their crews. Several Operators at the meeting stated that they received negative reviews on their evaluations in this area.

The other charge is related to the company's decision to eliminate our "meal ticket" incentive.

That is all I have for now, I will keep you all informed of events as they come to my attention. If anyone has any questions or would like more detailed information on any of these subjects, feel free to contact me any time. I have to be cautious when posting on our blog because it is frequently visited by management in L.A. and Chicago.

Moving Forward Together!