Happy Independence Day!

Wishing a Safe and Happy 4th of July to All from GCC/IBT Local 140-N

Local 406 Ratification

Sunday all 6 bargaining units ratified a 3 year agreement with Newsday. Facing the choice of ratification or working under impasse and all that goes along with that, had much to do with the vote going foward. Also the state of the industry and lack of other employment opportunities contributed to accepting this agreement. Ratification votes were taken twice and this was the third attempt. The crux of the issues hinged on givebacks of 10% for transportation and 5% for the remaining bargaining units, with a wage freeze for 3 years. The company was also seeking elimination of the 5th week vacation and a forty hour work week. There was also an attempt to outsource the transportation dept and change the seniority system for layoffs in editorial. Special thanks to George Tedeschi and Teamster economist Jim Kimball for helping get this done.We negotiated a 52 week severance for employees that leave over the three year term. We also will also receive a DCRP of 1% gross pay beginning in 2013. We were able to retain all the important language and working conditions in the contracts.


We can only hope advertising can return and make the newspaper profitable. It seems there is some resentment for parent company Cablevision for expecting us to pay for a newspaper they dearly overpaid for. Meet the new boss......... same as the old boss.

Lou Nicosia Local 406

Los Angeles Times Pressmens 20 Year Club: Pressman Blogger re-instated at the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times Pressmens 20 Year Club: Pressman Blogger re-instated at the Los Angeles Times#links

Congatulations Ed, I was not surprised to see the level of support you received during this situation; from all of your brothers and sisters of GCC/IBT Local 140-N, to all of the wonderful personalities from the blogoshere. Our Attorney's in Washington reviewed the details in the blog post and were not convinced that Ed did anything wrong to warrant a suspension or any dicipline for that matter.

This was not a case of tarnishing the company's image: hell, Sam Zell has done enough on his own to do that........not to mention his side kick from outer space! The facts are what they are and as long as no dispairaging remarks are made toward the company or the product, there should be no danger of having one's loyalty questioned.

I am convinced that 30+ years of service proves loyalty beyond reproach, which Ed, as well as many, many others have exhibited through their perfomance, dedication, determination and above all, loyalty more times than this current management team can imagine.

This outcome, my Brothers and Sisters is a great example of solidarity, and what it can accomplish; I am proud of everyone that stood together on our Local Recording Secretary's behalf.

Brother Berry Tillage asked me to extend his deepest appreciation to all that expressed their displeasure with Ed's suspension, and for the support they offered Ed during his time away from his second home, the Pressroom.

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

L.A. Times Management Violate Employee's First Ammendment Rights

Ed Padgett, AKA "The Blogging Pressman" was suspended today by management, pending an investigation, for content he posted on http://www.edpadgett.com/ regarding the production problems experienced on Thursday, June 18, 2010.  An announcement  by the L.A. Times Publisher, Eddy Hartenstein vaguely described the situation;  Ed's post included details and opinions that Ed has every right to post under the same First Ammendment that protects the company's right to publish a newspaper.

 (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.)— The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Apparently Ed's comments were not well received by management and their feelings got hurt. Thats a shame because management should be more receptive to the constructive critcism that would prevent them from making foolish decisions such as suspending Brother Ed. Ed DID NOT disclose any company or trade secrets that would be detremental to the business, or operation, he merely voiced his opinion based on his more than 30 years experience working for the Los Angeles Times.

No one in management comes close to Ed's years of experience or dedicated service to this newspaper. As a matter of fact, none of his accusers could hold a candle to his ability to operate the behomoth presses that produce the L.A. Times! It has always been an area of contention when managers tell Qualified Journeypresspersons how to do their job, when they are incapable of perfoming our Craft. 

Ed, as many of you are aware of, is our Local Recording Secretary;  management has targeted our Executive Board Members on previous occassions for demotions and dicipline as a form of punishment for exercising our rights under the law to form a union. I intend on filing an Unfair Labor Practice charge tomorrow morning for that very reason.

This is a fight that we as a Union, will not back down from! I have said to the previous management team that if they don't like what is on their radio, change the station, if they don't like whats on their television, change the channel and if they don't like what they read on the internet, DON'T COME TO OUR SITES! They were not created for their benefit to begin with! Yeah I'm talking to you in Chicago,(whoever you are), and locally, Newton, Walker and Malcolm!

The Union will seek a reversal of Ed's suspension as well as retribution for Ed's lost wages. I have spoken to President Tedeschi and he agrees that this is a form of unjust dicipline and we have the support of the International and it's Legal team. I also suspect Ed's Blogging Community will allign their forces in defense of Brother Ed's rights to blog on the internet and voice his opinions that are legally protected.

Since you, management cannot resist, and will never cease reading our blogs, here is a message directly to you.

First, recognized Ed Padgett's rights under the law to post whatever he has a right to publish and reverse his suspension. Second, compensate Ed for his lost wages and this matter will be considered resolved. Should you decide to ignore these recommendations, we are prepared to defend Ed's rights to the bitter end and address this matter publicly, as well as in the legal arena, the choice is yours.

In Solidarity,

Ronnie Pineda,

President,

GCC/IBT Local 140-N

Teamster Press Release

06.15.10FCCTribune

Another Lie! Timeclock Coming Soon!

I was informed by management that a Kronos Timekeeper will be installed in the pressroom sometime mid August.
During negotiations, Russ said that this would not happen and that any employee cards would be used for security purposes only. Our negotiation notes will verify his statements regarding time clocks. 

More lies Russ! Cash that Bonus check that you say you don't get Russ? Pay severance instead of looking for more ways like this to piss off your employees. Punch in, Punch out, tell the truth, tell a lie;  time has a way of exposing the truth and time will tell.

Time to stand together Brothers and Sisters. You know what we've been through and you now see whats lies ahead; MORE LIES!  Will this finally be enough to convince Union doubters that the truth is only a concept and management does not feel obligated to abide by it. We have been lied to more by the current SVP than all former SVP's put together. Don't worry he won't be offended, are you? He's proud of the fact that he lies and there are still those that trust him. You know who you are and he not only lies to you too, he also laughs at you for trusting him.

I have no doubt another grievance will be filed in August.

Don't get mad about this notice unless you intend on staying mad, and then doing something about it! Solidarity will stop this pathological liar. He lies because he feels you don't deserve the truth and he has no respect for anyone he considers beneath him, hows that for the truth?

Republican Leader Boehner wants US Taxpayers to Clean Up BP's Boner!

ALERT: U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Republican Leader John Boehner want taxpayers to help pick up BP's tab for environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Tell John Boehner: No BP Bailout!

Friend --
How is this for outrageous? Republican Leader John Boehner actually suggested that American taxpayers should be hit with the bill to help clean up Big Oil giant BP's spill in the Gulf of Mexico. And it gets worse...

In making this outrageous suggestion, Boehner was agreeing with one of the Republicans' biggest shadow groups - a group that has pledged to spend more than $50 million this cycle attacking Democrats and trying to elect other Big Oil protecting Republicans to Congress. But it gets even worse than that...

Boehner's suggestion of a taxpayer-funded bailout for Big Oil giant BP came after he and other Republicans accepted more than $188 million combined in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. This calls for an immediate response from Grassroots Democrats.

Visit our newly-launched website, http://www.boehnerbpbailout.com/ to sign our petition denouncing John Boehner's Taxpayer Funded Bailout for Big Oil giant BP - then help spread the word on Facebook  http://www.dccc.org/bpfbshare  and Twitter  http://www.dccc.org/bptwshare 

Thanks,
Jon Vogel
DCCC Executive Director

P.S. One you sign the petition, share it with your friends on Facebook ( http://www.dccc.org/bpfbshare ) and Twitter ( http://www.dccc.org/bptwshare )!

Sign the Petition:
http://dccc.org/bpas

Newspaper ads returning !

According to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), newspaper print
and online advertising continued to drop in the first quarter of 2010.
However, the drop (9.7%) was the mildest since the first quarter of
2007.

NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm said the data shows the ad
environment for newspapers is turning for the better. He said:

"While broad, macroeconomic factors indicate we are not out of the
woods yet, NAA is encouraged by
the improvements we are seeing in newspaper ad spending.
...declines are moderating across the board
and, in some instances, have turned positive. Total newspaper
online ad spending increased nearly
five percent in the first quarter, a sign that marketers are
returning to newspapers...

"(The NAA continues to) to hear the that an advertising rebound is
getting closer. These sentiments,
combined with the changes newspaper companies have made to their
business models to develop new,
multiplatform strategies, reinforce the industry's strategic
positioning within a new media landscape."

Rotton Apples!

Where trade unionists start their day on the net.

As many of you will be aware, the Apple iPad (pictured) had its world-wide launch this weekend.

What you may not know is that the factory which produces it, in China, has been the scene of a dozen worker suicides in recent months.

We've been asked by unions and NGOs in Hong Kong and Taiwan to launch a big international campaign to put pressure on the factory owners -- and on Apple -- to probe why this is happening, and to allow workers there to have real, independent unions that can bargain collectively.

Please take a moment to send off your message now.

And please -- spread the word!

Thanks very much.
Eric Lee

MEMORIAL DAY 2010

National Right to Work

National Right to Work

Role of National Right to Work in the Anti-Union Network

National Right to Work is the country’s oldest organization dedicated solely to destroying unions. Its network consists of four organizations that share leadership, offices, resources and staff, all with the common goal of undermining workers’ freedom of association. To carry out this mission, the National Right to Work Committee employs over 200 staff to lobby, fundraise, distribute propaganda, and interfere with workers’ union organizing efforts, and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation employs nearly 50 staff for its litigation efforts.

While the organization has doggedly pursued an anti-union agenda for a half century, its public profile has recently been eclipsed by the big-budget anti-union front group the Center for Union Facts .

Does National Right to Work have anything to do with right-to-work laws?

When anti-union ideologues lost an effort to enact a national law weakening unions, they created the National Right to Work Committee in 1955 to pass such laws at the state level. The group’s single-minded focus of doing away with unions was as unambiguous then, as it is today, however the name it shares with the very legislation it was created to pass, is purposely confusing. For more background on this deceptively-titled legislation, click here.

What is the True Agenda Behind National Right to Work?

Does National Right to Work advocate on behalf of workers?

The group claims to be a “worker advocate.”2 But the organization doesn’t concern itself with improving workers’ job conditions, benefits, or treatment. An examination of press releases issued by the National Right to Work Foundation between 2003 and 2005 reveals there was no discussion by the group of improving benefits for workers, better working conditions, or workplace dignity; and only one reference to increasing wages. There were, however, 267 negative references to unions.

"The terrorist could then use his influence with the union to make it easier for a terrorist colleague to board a plane or to get a bomb through baggage screening."

- National Right to Work's warning that an airport screeners’ union could be infiltrated by terrorists

If National Right to Work is really advocating for workers, why is does it refuse to disclose its donors?

Whose interests are they really fighting for? The funding trail that exists points to anti-union businesses:

•A lawsuit revealed that 84 percent of the National Right to Work Committee’s 1973 budget was funded by corporations, and other employers.
•Early known donors include:

◦Wofford Camp who served on a U.S. Chamber of Commerce committee and was a California grower who fought efforts by farm workers to organize unions.

◦Roger Milliken, former president of Milliken & Company, who shut down one of his southern textile plants as retaliation against his employees’ vote to form a union.

•The Foundation bragged that “over 350 Presidents and Chairmen of the Board listed in Dun & Bradstreet’s Directory of Million Dollar Corporations,” were associated with it.

•Anti-union companies indirectly fund National Right to Work through foundations. The network has received major grants from the Walton Family Foundation (funded with profits from Wal-Mart), Castle Rock Foundation (funded with profits from Coors beer), and Publix Super Markets Charities.

The group’s original leadership also suggests an anti-union agenda shaped by the interest of employers. For instance, the Committee’s first chairman of the board was Edwin Dillard, president of Old Dominion Box Company, who vehemently fought his workers’ efforts to organize his company’s plants in the South.9 Fred Hartley, the Committee’s first president, was the former Congressman who sponsored the Taft-Hartley Act amending the National Labor Relations Act to expand employers’ rights, not workers. (Continue)

For more information on this Foudation and others that interefere with workers rights in the workplace, visit American Rights at Work

New Authors on Saveourtrade.

As you can see already, there are two new authors that will have the ability to post information on Saveourtrade from their shops in their states across the country. I spoke with numerous delegates at the Newspaper Conference this week about sharing information on our site to provide all of our members a one stop website that will allow us to see what is going on in each GCC/IBT shop from coast to coast as they occur. There are several links to GCC/IBT shops on the right sidebar of this page as well to view their Local's respective websites.

I'd like to thank Boston's Local 3n President, Marty Callaghan and Local 406 Chief Steward, Lou Nicosia for being the first to accept our invitation. In the next few weeks I hope to have at least one Officer from each Local across the country posting current information from their respective Local or District Council. This will insure that we are all kept abreast of what is going on in our industry in REAL TIME. Readers will also have access to these authors/Officers and their e-mail information allowing readers a two way dialog between the reader and the author. Readers will continue to be allowed to comment on their posts which will lead to an ongoing dialog between all that wish to offer their comments and/or opinions.

The news on the Teamster sites are very valuable and informative and I suggest Savourtrade readers continue to use them, this site will go a step further and keep Local Officers in touch with eachother year round as opposed to when we meet once a year at Newspaper Conferences.

I encourage readers to engage these new authors as they have knowledge and experiences that will benefit all that visit our site. The news they deliver will expose our members in Los Angeles, and shops across the country, to the ongoings in their neighborhood shops without having to read about it in eachothers papers or websites. Most of us really have no idea what is going on outside the 4 walls of our own shops.

The gates are open and I expect to see many more authors here for your benefit.

Thanks again Marty and Lou and we hope to soon see your postings on saveourtrade soon, Welcome!

Ronnie Pineda
President, 140-N
Los Angeles

Welcome

Ronnie:

Thanks for the invtation to the Blog. I look forward to participating.

Marty Callaghan

ESOP MY ASS! EMPLOYEE OWNERS WANT THEIR SHARE TOO!

Tribune Chapter 11 Plan Includes $15M In Executive Bonuses

Tribune Co. has unveiled plans for a third round of top executive bonuses, nearly $15 million, bringing to more than $72 million the amount of pay enhancements the media company handed out while operating under bankruptcy protection.

Publisher of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun and operator of a chain of broadcast stations, Tribune wrapped the latest bonus programs into the Chapter 11 plan it will be sending out for creditor votes.

Creditors will be voting on the bonuses as they decide whether to support Tribune’s plan, which dishes out equity to cover part of its $12.7 billion debt load.

The new bonuses, which cover 42 top executives, include nine of Tribune’s 10 top-ranking corporate leaders, according to papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

They are in addition to $57.4 million worth of bonuses already approved by a bankruptcy judge over the protests of unions whose members lost jobs due to the company’s financial struggles. The earlier bonuses were paid out between May 2009 and February 2010.

Hundreds of managers were included in the court-approved bonus programs, along with top executives. Tribune has refused to identify top leaders who participated or say how much they received, other than to say Chairman Sam Zell didn’t participate.

The Chicago company also hasn’t revealed the identities of insiders who collected $268 million in pay, bonuses and severance pay the year before the company filed bankruptcy.

Tribune filed for Chapter 11 protection in December 2008 after a leveraged buyout piled $8 billion worth of debt on the media enterprise.

It hopes to be out of bankruptcy by September as the property largely of banks that financed the deal. If Tribune’s Chapter 11 plan is approved, the company will have shaken off billions in debt and silenced questions about the wisdom of the LBO transaction.

Yet to be revealed is the percentage of equity in the reorganized company that will be set aside for management under Tribune’s Chapter 11 plan. Like most companies departing bankruptcy, Tribune has said it plans to reward management with stakes in the reorganized media company.

How much equity executives will get, Tribune hasn’t said. The company’s financial advisers estimate the post-Chapter 11 company will have an equity value of $4.1 billion.

A spokesman and an attorney for Tribune didn’t respond Tuesday to requests for information about the equity incentive plan. The company has promised to supplement information on its Chapter 11 plan before a July 30 voting deadline on the plan.

(This report is from Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review, which covers news about distressed companies and those under bankruptcy protection.)

Payroll Check Notice

F.Y.I. The Company sent this notice regarding todays payroll checks.

Ronnie

________________________________________________________________________

PAYROLL CHECKS FOR

PAY DATE May 21, 2010

WILL BE LIVE CHECKS

Date: May 20, 2010

To: All Hourly Pressroom Employees


We have experienced a problem processing this Friday’s (May 21, 2010) payroll checks. Unfortunately, all payroll checks for tomorrow will be live checks. Anyone who has signed up for direct deposit will be receiving a live check. We expect to have them available by 10AM tomorrow. If you will be coming in to the facility to pick-up your check, please contact your supervisor to confirm the arrival time of your check. If you would like to make other arrangements, for example have us mail your check to your home, please inform your supervisor.


We apologize for the inconvenience.