Hoffa Rallies Workers in Wisconsin, Vows to Fight Spreading Anti-Worker Tide

Hoffa Rallies Workers in Wisconsin, Vows to Fight Spreading Anti-Worker Tide

Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest by Matt Wisniewski

Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Wisconsin Governor Launches Attack on Public Sector Employees and Unions; Threatens to Deploy National Guard to Quell Labor Protests

Wisconsin Governor Launches Attack on Public Sector Employees and Unions; Threatens to Deploy National Guard to Quell Labor Protests

STOP THE ATTACK ON AMERICAN WORKERS RIGHTS!

Subject: Tired of political theater?


Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I just signed a petition that will be hand-delivered next TUESDAY. Please add your name : http://www.ourfuture.org/

The petition is on irrational, insane cuts. Some of our lawmakers on Capitol Hill are in a race to see who can propose more government spending cuts, whether the cuts make sense or not.

Instead of creating good jobs, anti-worker legislators in Congress want to go after hundreds of thousands of jobs. Their plans to freeze pay for federal workers and proposals to cut and eliminate jobs, pensions and health care benefits are political grandstanding, period.

If you agree that slashing middle-class jobs, pay and benefits is not the way out of a deep recession and that we need more good jobs, not fewer, to fix our economy, please sign the petition, which will be delivered next Tuesday:
http://www.ourfuture.org/

IN SOLIDARITY,
Ronnie Pineda
President,
GCC/IBT Local 140-N

Courtesy of Brother Banuelos

Might want to share with others, to help those that need to save their homes. This article was in the news today. 2-10-2011

If you or someone you know is in or facing forclosure; the link below may provide valuable financial assistance.

http://www.keepyourhomecalifornia.com/

Thanks Vic!

Follow The Rules.

SHOULDN'T BE PAINFUL!

• STOP HANGING ROLLS BY YOURSELF! It is very dangerous and it is a practice that must stop! This practice also misleads management into thinking that we have ample staffing to line-up and keep the presses running. This is also why management assigns the reel room  workers three RTP's and then expect you to perform quickly, safely and flawlessly. Hang rolls with a partner and don't hang it until you have one, you cannot be diciplined for following safety protocols.  Proctect yourself and your co-workers! Management is not telling anyone to hang rolls by themself, but they're not tripping over eachother to stop those that do from doing so. STOP IT NOW BEFORE SOMEONE GETS SERIOUSLY INJURED....OR WORSE.  
• DO NOT BEGIN WORKING PRIOR TO YOUR SHIFT START TIME. The company is not going to accept liability for any injuries that are sustained before you are scheduled to begin working and also because you're not getting paid for it. 
• TAKE YOUR FULL BREAKS AND LUNCHES. You have the legal right to these rest and meal periods and should not miss them for ANY reason! It is your responsibility to take your breaks; if taking your break creates an unsafe situation such as leaving your partner in the reelroom by themself to work alone,then supervision MUST be notified of the unsafe condition it would cause. The company must pay employees an hour penalty for all missed breaks and lunches; missing them is actually taking money out of your own pocket!
• TAKE SAFES WHEN PLATING UP, STRIPPING OR WASHING BLANKETS, DO NOT SPEED WASH. These are the easiest ways to get injured and the easiest way to get written up! Whats the hurry? Haste makes waste and mistakes! 
• CHECK YOUR LINEUPS, AVOID TRANSPOSING PLATES. This is by far the most common error that puts you on managements radar and is no longer accepted as "human error".  Regardless of the fact that each pressperson is now responsible for hanging approximately twice the amount of plates per run than you did just 5 years ago, you are 100% accountable and will be dinged or worse if you continually transpose! Check, double check and then check again before you hang it.

As always, safety first!

In Solidarity,

President, Ronnie Pineda

Are you getting your breaks ?

In California, the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders require that employers must authorize and permit nonexempt employees to take a rest period that must, insofar as practicable, be taken in the middle of each work period. The rest period is based on the total hours worked daily and must be at the minimum rate of a net ten consecutive minutes for each four hour work period, or major fraction thereof. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) considers anything more than two hours to be a "major fraction" of four." A rest period is not required for employees whose total daily work time is less than three and one-half hours. The rest period is counted as time worked and therefore, the employer must pay for such periods. Since employees are paid for their rest periods, they can be required to remain on the employer's premises during such periods. With respect to the taking of rest periods, an exception exists under IWC Order 5-2001, Section 12(C) for certain employees of 24-hour residential care facilities who may have their rest period limited under certain circumstances. Another exception to the general rest period requirement is for swimmers, dancers, skaters, and other performers engaged in strenuous physical activities who shall have additional interim rest periods during periods of actual rehearsal or shooting. IWC Order 12-2001, Section 12 (C).

For employees in certain on-site occupations in the construction, drilling, logging and mining industries, the employer may stagger the rest periods to avoid interruption in the flow of work and to maintain continuous operations, or schedule rest periods to coincide with breaks in the flow of work that occur in the course of the workday. IWC Order 16-2001, Section 11(A) Additionally, for these employees rest periods need not be authorized in limited circumstances when the disruption of continuous operations would jeopardize the product or process of the work. However, under such circumstances, the employer must make-up the missed rest period within the same workday or compensate the employee for the missed ten minutes of rest time at his or her regular rate of pay within the same pay period. IWC Order 16-2001, Section 11(B) Under Order 16-2001, rest periods must take place at employer designated areas which may include or be limited to the employees immediate work area. See Question No. 9, below, for information on how to file a claim to require your employer to provide time and a place to express milk.

Under IWC Order 10-2001, Section12(C), a crew member employed on a commercial passenger fishing boat who is on an overnight trip shall receive no less than eight hours off-duty time during each 24-hour period. This eight-hour period is in addition to the meal and rest periods required under the Wage Order.

Pursuant to Labor Code Section 1030 every employer, including the state and any political subdivision, must provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's infant child. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. Break time for an employee that does not run concurrently with the rest time authorized for the employee by the applicable wage order of the Industrial Welfare Commission need not be paid. The employer shall make reasonable efforts to provide the employee with the use of a room or other location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work area, for the employee to express milk in private. The room or location may include the place where the employee normally works if it otherwise meets the requirements of this section. An employer is not required to provide an employee break time for purposes of lactating if to do so would seriously disrupt the operations of the employer.

If an employer fails to provide an employee a rest period in accordance with an applicable IWC Order, the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay for each workday that the rest period is not provided. Labor Code Section 226.7 Thus, if an employer does not provide all of the rest periods required in a workday, the employee is entitled to one additional hour of pay for that workday, not one additional hour of pay for each rest period that was not provided during that workday.

The rest period is defined as a "net" ten minutes, which means that the rest period begins when the employee reaches an area away from the work area that is appropriate for rest. Employers are required to provide suitable resting facilities that shall be available for employees during working hours in an area separate from the toilet rooms.

San Antonio Openings Update

I asked Brother Benito in San Antonio if he could provide specific information regarding the "Sub" positions that are still available should any former L.A. Times pressmen or women wish to relocate. The following information will help your decision if you are interested, here is Brother Benito's response,

Brother Ron,
I hope this helps:

• The future for permanent employment is possible.
• Hourly wages is $22.22 per hour days $22.43 nights.
• The amount of weekly shifts is 3 to 5 shifts. Average is 3 shifts.
• There is a maximum amount of hours that subs are allowed to work for the year.
• Substitutes earn one day of vacation for each 25 shifts worked the prior year.
• A shift consist of 7 1/2 hours.
• 2 subs are to be elevated to full-time status this month.

Pressroom manager, Ken Coates,
contact number is 210-250-3676,
fax 210-250-3677,
email jcoates@express-news.net

Ben Ramirez
210-833-7754
fax 210-437-0171

MEETING REMINDER

Yearend General Meetings Flyer

BONE-US BONUS!

                   He believes he deserves this money
               and still thinks all of you are overpaid!


ALL OF THIS MONEY SHOULD BE USED TO BUILD A PRISON TO HOUSE ALL OF THESE THIEVES INSTEAD OF REWARDING THEMSELVES FOR RUINING THE LIVES, FAMILIES AND CAREERS OF HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF HARDWORKING MEN AND WOMEN THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO OWN THIS BANKRUPT INSTITUTION.


DENNIS FITZSIMONS AND SAM ZELL SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE THE EXECUTIVES OF ENRON AND PROSECUTED FOR THEIR BLATENT FIDUCIARY IRRESPONSIBILTY AND FOR ORCHESTRATING THE PRIVATIZATION FIASCO THAT LED TO THE DEMISE OF TRIBUNE'S FINANCIAL HOLDINGS.

THE "LOVE" OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL! 

EVSP 2010

EVSP 2010

Job Openings in San Antonio

Ron;
 
Is there any web offset pressmen in LA that may want to work in San Antonio? Glen Couch from LA is working at the San Antonio, Express-News as a supervisor.
There is work for subs here in San Antonio. We need people to work ASAP. If anyone is interested please contact me. 
 
Ben Ramirez
President 
GCC/IBT LU 737N 
 210-833-7754

Civil Court and Arbitration Updates

Click on letters to enlarge and print



 

I apologize for the delay in producing these updates, I have had quite a busy schedule lately preparing for these arbitrations and upcoming arbitrations; my month has included Doctor and Attorney appointments, therapy, acupuncture and a funeral to end my week.

Please make sure that everyone in the shop is made aware of these updates and go the extra mile by printing several copies to distribute.

IN SOLIDARITY,

RONNIE PINEDA

PRESIDENT, GCC/IBT LOCAL 140-N

Nothing Lost, Nothing Gained.

CIVIL COURT UPDATE ON FREERIDERS

Time seems to be on the side of the freeriders that have sought to avoid their obligation to pay monthly dues. The Commissioner that postponed our cases until today was not present in court and a "Judge Pro-Tem" sat on the bench in his place. 

The Court is obviously apprehensive about making a decision while Lee Carey's Request for Review is pending with the NLRB in Washington. I attempted to explain to the Judge that the matter in D.C. is not an appeal but rather a request to have the Regional Boards decision to instantly dismiss Lee's petition for a de-authorization election reviewed by the Board in Washington.

We have already won a decision on the local level denying Lee his attempted election to have the Union Security language removed from our CBA. The Union challenged his petition based on the grounds that the collection of signatures was done in violation of the NLRB rules. 

I notified the clerk that I would prefer to postpone our cases to have the Commissioner Harrison hear our argument, yet the cases went before this judge pro-tem none the less. The Judge decided to again postpone the cases until March, 2011 thinking that the NLRB in Washington may reach a decision on Lees' request for review by then. I informed the Judge that  Commissioner Harrison did the same two months ago thinking the same and that we may not have a decision from Washington for another year for all we know. It made no difference to the court and his position remained the same, wait for Washington.

It doesn't amaze me that these individuals accepted the signing bonus and lump sum payments yet they won't support their Union financially. Instead they do the bidding of the Senior Vice President of Operations who seeks nothing more than to destroy this Union and the loyal members who support it. He values his pawns and is proud that they are blindly serving him in his efforts. They should be embarrassed and ashamed to allow  management to use them as such; especially at the expense of fellow and former pressmen and presswomen.

The Local has spent close to $50,000.00 of YOUR DUES fighting the Company and Lee Carey over this matter and the dozen or so grievances that are pending arbitration. This court battle over dues is just another example of how management divides and conquers. They are very aware that without financial resources to defend the contract, they can literally do what they want and we won't be able to afford legal help to fight back. 

I have no doubt we will prevail once Washington upholds Regional Director, James Small's Dismissal and the Union Security language is enforced by the Civil Court.

In Solidarity,

President, Ronnie Pineda

Randy Michaels RESIGNS: Tribune CEO Steps Down Following Reports Of Raunchy Behavior



MICHAEL LIEDTKE
10/22/10 08:35 PM

Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels resigned Friday, pressured by tales of raunchy behavior that likened him to the ringleader of a college fraternity house. Michaels' decision to leave comes at a pivotal time for the troubled media company. After nearly two years operating under bankruptcy protection, Tribune Co. is drawing up a reorganization plan that it hopes to get approved by a federal judge before the end of the year.

The new plan, scheduled to be filed late Friday, was expected to increase the amount of money that Tribune Co.'s bondholders would get compared with a previous proposal. Tribune is hoping that would be enough to win approval of the much-debated reorganization plan.

A four-man executive committee will fill the void created by Michaels' departure. The new bosses are Don Liebentritt, Tribune Co.'s chief restructuring officer; Nils Larsen, chief investment officer; Tony Hunter, publisher of the Chicago Tribune; and Eddy Hartenstein, publisher of the Los Angeles Times. The Tribune and the Times are the largest newspapers owned by the company, whose holdings also include more than 20 television and radio stations.

Michaels, 58, joined the Tribune Co. three years ago following an ill-fated $8.2 billion buyout engineered by real estate mogul Sam Zell. Michaels became Tribune Co.'s CEO late last year. Michaels, a former radio disc jockey, won Zell's trust as CEO of a radio broadcast company that Zell owned, Jacor Communications.
It seemed likely Michaels' reign was nearing an end anyway. Lenders in line to become the company's new owners will probably want to install their own management team once a bankruptcy reorganization plan gains approval.

Meanwhile, at a hearing in Wilmington, Del., the judge overseeing Tribune Co.'s Chapter 11 case gave the official committee of junior creditors permission to file lawsuits against some parties involved in the 2007 buyout. He gave them until Nov. 1 to file the complaints.

An independent investigator concluded this summer that some aspects of the deal had bordered on fraud. The lawsuits could allege that Tribune Co. wouldn't have had to file for bankruptcy protection if not for fraudulent conduct by Tribune's board, including Zell, and some of its financial advisers and lenders. Tribune Co. spokesman Gary Weitman declined comment on the possibility of lawsuits.

Under Tribune Co.'s latest reorganization proposal, the lawsuits would be pursued by a so-called litigation trust with a $20 million loan from the company for covering legal expenses.

In exchange for relinquishing more money to Tribune Co.'s bondholders, senior lenders would be shielded from any legal claims tied to early stages of the Zell-led buyout, based on a tentative agreement reached earlier this month. The reorganization plan could still be derailed by other Tribune Co. creditors. The proposal has the support of major creditors – JPMorgan Chase & Co., distressed debt specialist Angelo, Gordon & Co. and hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management – as well as the committee of junior lenders. Tribune has not said where some of the company's other lenders stand.

Once Tribune Co.'s bankruptcy plan is approved, the company is expected to be controlled by creditors who are getting ownership stakes in exchange for forgiving most of the debt incurred in Zell's buyout, which took Tribune Co. private. The debt holders in line to become Tribune Co.'s owners include JPMorgan Chase, Oaktree and Angelo, Gordon.

Michaels' exit apparently was accelerated by an unflattering portrait drawn of his management style in a front-page story published by The New York Times two weeks ago. The story, based on interviews with more than 20 current and former Tribune Co. employees, asserted that Michaels helped cultivate a culture filled with sexual innuendo, profanity, poker parties and other bawdy behavior.

Tribune's Chicago headquarters, one of the country's most famous skyscrapers, "came to resemble a frat house," the Times reported.nTribune Co.'s board of directors issued statements supporting Michaels in that article, but he quickly found himself under fire again last week when a top lieutenant sent an internal memo with an Internet link featuring a racy video that included a bare-breasted woman pouring booze down her chest. The executive, Lee Abrams, resigned as Tribune Co.'s chief innovation officer.

"During the last few weeks the company has drawn a lot of media attention, much of it negative," the board wrote in an e-mail sent Friday to Tribune Co. employees. "That coverage has diverted attention from the things that matter most: The quality of our media products, the talent and dedication of our people, and the very real progress that we've made over the last two-and-a-half years."

Michaels was Tribune Co.'s executive vice president in charge of its broadcasting and interactive divisions before his promotion to CEO. When he was hired, Michaels also brought in many of his former colleagues from his days in radio. By the time he was named Tribune Co.'s CEO, Michaels already had gained a reputation for using language and engaging in conduct more befitting of the "shock jock" that he once was. Michaels and Zell said they were trying to loosen up a traditionally staid company and usher in fresh thinking at a time of upheaval in the media business. Zell remains Tribune Co.'s chairman.

While Michaels was CEO, Tribune Co.'s financial performance improved, helped by cost cutting that has become common at newspaper publishers throughout the country as they try to offset a steep downturn in advertising sales that has depleted their main source of revenue.

Tribune Co. already has projected its newspapers' revenue will continue to drop for at least two more years while its broadcasting division rebounds. The company's other major newspapers include The (Baltimore) Sun, Hartford (Conn.) Courant and the Orlando Sentinel.

AP Business Writer Andrew Vanacore in Wilmington, Del., contributed to this report.