Screwed by Gannett, again and again

By Joel Thurtell

You’d think the owner of the Detroit News and Free Press would want to snuggle up to the public.

You know, in hopes paying readers won’t junk them when they dump most home delivery in March.

Somehow, Gannett needs to persuade people that dropping home delivery and charging for Internet news is not a collossal screw job.

Yet instead of making nice, the McLean, Va.-based newspaper chain, the nation’s largest, has found a way to stick its finger in everyone’s eye.

A little history:

The merger of the Free Press and News in 1989 into a monopoly euphemistically known as a “Joint Operating Agreement” was the biggest boondoggle in the history of newspapers in Michigan. Lots of workers got axed while the Detroit papers, each in the top ten for circulation in the U.S. in the early 1980s, sunk to mediocre size. Nice going, gannett.

Then in 1995, wouldn’t you know, Gannett found another way to piss off readers. It provoked the longest newspaper strike in U.S. history.

A couple weeks ago, I interviewed someone who stopped his Free Press on July 13, 1995, the first day of the strike. He hasn’t read the paper since. Guess what, Gannetoids — there are thousands and thousands of people in metro Detroit who, like my friend, view the dailies as something more repulsive than swine swill.

Gannett need not worry about those people. They are so thoroughly alienated they’ll never take the papers, even for free.

But others have come back reluctantly to read the dailies while holding their collective noses.

Still others subscribe, but complain about poor quality. People are not stupid, contrary to the Gannett worldview. They know cut corners when they see them.

What are they going to think when they find out that once again Gannett is stiffing its workers?

That’s right. On January 19, production workers at both papers were scheduled to get a 2 percent cost of living raise, according to their contracts. Didn’t happen. Gannett told them to whistle for the pay they’re owed by law.

Yep, the biggest chain in the country thumbed its corporate nose at members of four Detroit newspaper unions, reneging on a raise promised to printers, mailers, typesetters and janitors.

The company, in effect, claims there’s a different law for them.

We’ll see. The unions have filed grievances and have demanded to see the company’s books.

Gannett’s win-loss record in arbitrations is pretty bad.

The company wants to begin bargaining concessions from the unions on Monday. Turns out, by stiffing the workers on their raise, they’ve unilaterally imposed a big concession already.

Not to mention the coercion contained in Gannett’s threat to lay off 111 workers if the unions don’t knuckle their forelocks and cave to demands from McLean.

Blackmail, anybody?

It’s not a story you’re gonna read in the two Detroit dailies, soon to be threelies and twolies as both papers cut back to three days of home delivery for the Free Press and two days delivered for the News.

It’s the kind of news that might just prompt a few pro-worker people to cancel their subscriptions.

Gannett knows that, so they don’t report it.

Think about that the next time you see newspapers claiming they’re bastions of democracy.

Once again, I’m astonished: Stiffing their workers — what can they be thinking?

Here, in case the newspapers forget to run with it, is a notice sent by Local 18 of the Detroit Typographical Union, Local 13-N of Graphic Communications International Union, Teamsters Local 372 (mailers) and The Newspaper Guild Local 34022 (janitors). Editorial workers covered by the Guild contract were not scheduled for a raise.

METROPOLITAN COUNCIL OF NEWSPAPER UNIONS

BARGAINING BULLETIN Jan. 16, 2009

BARGAINING BEGINS ON DMP’S PLAN FOR PRODUCTION CHANGES AND LAYOFFS;
COMPANY ANNOUNCES WAGE FREEZE

Newspaper Unions had their first bargaining session Wednesday with the Detroit Media Partnership (DMP) regarding DMP’s plan to convert to three-day per week home delivery and electronic editions of the newspapers, starting March 30.
? The Company informed the Unions that the plan would involve approximately 111 layoffs among employees represented by the Teamsters, Pressmen, Newspaper Guild and Typographical Union.
? The Company said in addition to staff reductions, it also needed a wage freeze, due to the extremely poor economic climate and its severe impact on DMP.
? The Company intends to implement the wage freeze immediately, while the Company and Unions bargain over the wage freeze and the impact of the new business plan.
? The Company said there may be more layoffs or other changes, depending on the outcome of negotiations.

The wage freeze would affect wage increases due to take effect on January 19 under the Unions’ collective bargaining agreements.

As a result, the Unions took several actions.
? We informed DMP that the Unions will file grievances over the wage freeze.
? We requested information on the financial condition of DMP and the need for a wage freeze.
? We said we wanted to bargain over the impact of the changes in the business plan and the impact of the layoffs, including ways to cushion the impact.
? We informed the Company that our members would vote on any wage freeze, any Company proposals to modify the collective bargaining agreements, and any tentative agreements reached in bargaining.

In response to the Unions’ request for information, the Company produced certain financial data. Union representatives reviewed the information and asked questions.

The Company and Unions have scheduled bargaining sessions for February 2, 3, 12 and 13. On February 2, the Unions will present their proposals in response to the Company’s announced plans.

We will keep you advised of developments. When bargaining is concluded on the impact of the Company’s plan, we will have Union meetings to discuss and vote on issues affecting the members.

In Solidarity,

Ron Renaud John Peralta Sam Maci Lou Mleczko Tom Grenfell
Sec-Treas. Business Rep. President President President
Local 372 Mailers/372 Local 13-N Local 34022 Local 18