|
Dec.
5, 2002
Newspaper
Guild Asks Labor Board to Reinstate Journal Employees Fired in Union
Campaign
Charging that Journal newspaper publisher Ryan Phillips fired eight
editorial employees of the Prince George’s and Montgomery
Journal newspapers in order to stamp out a union organizing drive,
on Dec. 4 the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild asked the National
Labor Relations Board for an emergency injunction to reinstate the
fired workers with backpay.
The dismissals occurred just 10 days before the scheduled Dec. 12
election in which 14 editorial employees of the two Maryland Journals
and some 35 editorial employees of the Northern Virginia Journal
were to vote on whether to have the Newspaper Guild represent them.
In
light of the unlawful firings and other employer actions aimed at
spreading fear among Journal employees and making a fair election
impossible, the Guild asked the labor board to set aside the Dec.
12 election.
The firings left the two Maryland Journals with a staff of only
one news reporter, two sports reporters and three photographers.
Since then, the two papers were filled mostly with wire copy.
In filing unfair labor practice charges with the labor board for
the Dec. 2 firings of the eight employees, including six reporters
and two editorial assistants, the Guild noted: “These employees
included the most active and visible supporters of the organizing
drive.”
“The employer’s actions have delivered a harshly threatening
message to the employees seeking to exercise their rights to form
a union,” the Guild said in its petition for injunctive relief.
“In short, the employer has been brutal in its attempts to
snuff out all union activity and chill the exercise of Section 7
(the right to organize a union) rights.”
The Guild initially petitioned last August for a representation
election only for Prince George’s and Montgomery Journal employees,
a majority of whom had signed cards requesting Guild representation.
The company argued that any election should include the editorial
employees at the Northern Virginia Journal, where there had been
very little union activity until recently.
While a board decision at that issue was still pending, the company
announced Nov. 8 that it was closing its Prince’s George’s
and Montgomery Journal offices, thereby eliminating the two potential
bargaining units sought by the Guild, and forcing Maryland employees
to relocate to the Northern Virginia Journal office in Alexandria.
In another move to squelch the unionization effort, the company
gave raises last August to its Northern Virginia employees while
denying any raises to its Maryland employees. In addition, it hired
two union-busting “management consultants” from New
York to conduct meetings at its Maryland offices last August. For
several days this week, two union-busting specialists from California
have been conducting mandatory meetings with the Northern Virginia
employees.
The union also asked the labor board to give the same raises to
the Maryland Journal employees that went only to Northern Virginia
Journal employees and to order the reopening of the closed Journal
offices in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties.
Return
to Top of Page
Deadline
Fast Approaching for Front Page Competition, Service Awards
The
deadline for the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild's annual Front
Page competition and its Service Awards is fast approaching.
To
honor the best work done in 2002, Front Page entries have
to be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Guild's Washington
office, 1100 15th St. NW, Suite 350, Washington,
DC 20005. You can mail it -- or deliver it in person yourself!
For
more details on Front Page competition rules and categories, click
here.
Jan.
31
is also the deadline for nominating Guild members for any of the
following local Guild Service Awards:
- The
Dan de Souza Memorial Award for Member of the Year, honoring
the memory of the Washington Newspaper Guild's first president,
who perished in an auto accident while on a Christmas Eve mission
to deliver donated toys to the children of strike newspaper workers
in New Jersey.
-
The Nadine Grinder Memorial Award for Shop Steward of
the Year, memorializing the tenacious shop steward at
the Washington Post in the service of rank-and-filers.
- Unit
Officer of the Year, for which any elected officer in
any of the Washington-Baltimore Guild's 23 bargaining units is
eligible.
-
Organizer of the Year, which recognizes new-member
and free-rider recruiting by a Guild member.
-
The Herb Block Community Service Award, for outstanding
service in our community -- however narrowly or broadly you wish
to define it. The labor community? The neighborhood community?
The church community? Civic organizations? Some combination of
these or other groups? You be the judge when you make your nomination.
Any
Guild member in good standing may nominate any Washington-Baltimore
Guild member for any one of these awards. Joint nominations are
accepted as well.
Return
to Top of Page
Statements
of Candidates Running in the Local 32035 General Elections
The
following are statements from some of the candidates running for
local union office for two-year terms beginning in 2003.
NOTE:
Because only one candidate was nominated for each of the top four
union offices, those candidates are unopposed and declared elected
by acclamation.
For
President:
Bill
Salganik, Baltimore Sun -- ELECTED
BY ACCLAMATION
Our
employers (and the climate in which they operate) are becoming
more difficult. In my 30 years as a journalist and Guild activist,
I’ve seen a shift from family ownership to multimedia corporations
focused on earnings per share. Even our non-profit employers are
more likely to attend to the bottom line.
When
our members are involved, it’s more likely to be in their
own workplaces than in the local. The news units and the labor
staff units have different cultures, and bring a different approach
to trade unionism.
We
have, however, resources that can be tapped. The local has a strong
staff. Our members bring a broad and deep set of skills.
The
first mission of the local is to bargain and defend contracts.
We also must provide good stewardship of dues income. I think
we’re doing these things reasonably well. But it’s
not enough.
The executive council has approved a plan for moving from the
model of servicing members to a model where we build activism.
We need to think through how to bring the new model into operation.
We
also need to build cooperation among the units, to share our experiences
and our skills.
For
Vice President:
J.
Darlene Meyer, Washington Post -- ELECTED
BY ACCLAMATION
No
statement currently available
For
Secretary:
Carol
Oberdorfer, Bureau of National Affairs -- ELECTED
BY ACCLAMATION
I’m
grateful to the Newspaper Guild-CWA Local 32035 members for electing
me secretary for the next two years. Foremost, I promise to provide
timely and accurate minutes of the Executive Council and General
Membership meetings. I also pledge to work with my fellow officers
and local Guild leaders to achieve the goals recently set by the
council for “building leadership and membership power.”
These include: (1) facilitating monthly stewards meetings in the
major units; (2) establishing improved communications; (3) providing
unit and local-wide training; and (4) maintaining a coherent and
permanent organizing program. In the coming year, I also hope
to help breathe new life into the Front Page/Service Awards celebration.
I am determined as well to find novel enticements, including social
events and substantive programs, to encourage better participation
at the Local’s General Membership meetings. While I will
aggressively serve members in all of the units, I will also make
an effort to represent the particular interests of my fellow Guild
members at the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
For
Treasurer:
Mark
Pattison, Catholic News Service -- ELECTED
BY ACCLAMATION
As
treasurer, I see my role as working effectively with retiring
30-year WBNG bookkeeper Bertha Pritchett and her successor so
that our accounting remains above reproach. Further, it becomes
my duty in a special way to ensure the effective stewardship of
members' dues, which makes up virtually all of our revenue. But
as an officer, it is the imperative of me, the other officers
and the full Executive Council to promote greater rank-and-file
activism in our local, the Newspaper Guild sector of CWA, and
the wider labor movement. Whether that activism comes from safeguarding
First Amendment freedoms; defending against management encroachment
of our contracts and our rights; demonstrating outside our employers'
officers (or supporting Guild members at other units by pounding
the pavement with them); steward training and promotion; supporting
union-made goods and services with our money; sending e-mails
to support workers' struggles either in America or elsewhere in
the world; standing up for workers' rights and dignity -- or some
combination of the above -- we can make WBNG the channel through
which that activism flows. The next generation of leaders is already
among us; they just need to be welcomed.
For At-Large Delegate to the Executive Council:
(There are 5 available at-large seats)
Michelle
Amber, Bureau of National Affairs
I’ve
been a member of the executive council for three years, first
as a representative from BNA, then as an at-large member.
During my time on the executive council I served on the search
committees that recommended the hiring of Lori Calderone as AO
and of Paul Reilly as a staff rep.
I’ve been employed at BNA for nearly 30 years and more than
25 of those years have been spent reporting on labor relations
issues. Currently, I am a reporter on both Daily Labor Report
and Labor Relations Week and cover collective bargaining, organizing,
and the AFL-CIO. Because I have covered labor for so long I am
very well versed in all aspects of labor relations.
I
would continue to be an asset to the local’s executive council
because of my knowledge of unions as well as my knowledge of WBNG.
Also, I know and have access to a lot of labor officials and staff
from international unions that are headquartered here, as well
as the officers and staff of the AFL-CIO.
I am currently on the Guild’s bargaining committee at BNA—this
is the fourth round of bargaining I’ve been involved in.
Also, I have been an active member of BNA’s joint health
care committee for about eight years.
Catherine Connelly, Washington Post
No
statement available.
Robert
Demby, Washington Post
I
am an Advertising Representative. Since I have been at Washington
Post Newspaper, I have served as a steward, and on the Post organizing,
mobilizing, and contract negotiation committees. I am a volunteer
at Job Opportunities working with adult mentally challenged citizens.
I would like to participate in the decision-making process of
the guild. I believe these experiences equip me to assist the
local in using unfair labor practice and procedures strategically,
to assist in organizing and representing Guild members.
I
graduated from University Of Pittsburgh, School of Art & Sciences.
There I took classes in Business Law collective bargaining, labor
history, contemporary trade union movements, and labor economics
among others.
I
believe in an active labor movement. I would appreciate the privilege
of serving as an At-Large member of the Executive Council, so
that I might put my strengths, knowledge, and experiences in the
broader union movement to work for the benefit of Guild members
at the local level.
Alan Lengel, Washington Post
No
statement available.
Dennis Lewis, Bureau of National Affairs
I
stand as a candidate pledged to continuining
reform efforts within Local 35 to welcome
all Guild member contributions and innovations
to maximize our effectiveness. I have
attended Council meetings since 1994
and have missed only one when I suffered
a stroke. Now we are ready for new ideas
and new leadership from within our ranks.
I feel confident that we are ready to
establish an atmosphere where all members
will feel encouraged to contribute.
It
is particularly important that all five
delegates-at-large seek new ways to
meet this challenge directly by adapting
our rules and policies so these ends
can be met on a regular basis. Those
actions will be a building block for
the Guild’s future. When this
is accomplished, all will see our Local
as a vital, growing and member-friendly
body that can and will effectively represent
and serve the best interests of Guild
members and members-to-be.
In
the past year I’ve seen this spirit at our demonstrations
and meetings concerning Washington Post negotiations. In addition,
this same spirit is taking root through endeavors for a new contract
at the Bureau of National Affairs. I’ve been active in this
regard and toward getting an employee elected to the Board of
Directors. At present, this board consists of 12 managers and
no employees. This contradiction has stirred support from some
90 percent of Guild members and 89 percent of non-Guild workers,
according to our recent contract survey. Again, our voice is the
voice heralding responsiveness and much-needed change in the workplace.
Sheila Lindsay, American Nurses Association
I
am 1st Co-chair of the WBNG- American Nurses Association (WBGN-ANA)
bargaining unit. I also served as the 2nd Co-chair from 1999-2001.
I am currently serving as a member of our contract negotiating
team for the second time. In 2000, the negotiation team was successful
in negotiating a contract that included longevity pay, an increase
in our professional development/union activities, along with the
development of a sick bank policy that would assist an employee’s
major surgery/illness until eligible for long term disability
coverage.
It
is an honor to be nominated by my unit chair for an At-Large seat
on the Executive Council. If elected, I hope to bring to the council
the same inspiration and dedication that I provide to the unit
here at the American Nurses Association.
This
has been an exciting time for me to serve as an executive member.
It is a struggle to remind management that they ask us daily to
go over and above the call of duty each and every day, not given
the proper treatment and respect that we deserve. I am so very
proud to say, “I am a card carrying union member.”
Joanna Millhouse, Washington
Post
No
statement available.
David
Robie, Washington Post
No
statement available.
Bonnita Spikes, Montgomery County
Council of Supporting Services Employees
I
sit on the Guild’s Executive Council and am also the Human
Rights Coordinator. I represent the Montgomery County Public Schools
Support Staff (8,000) Members along with learning the guild’s
other union units and their needs. I am also a community activist
and a board member of the Coalition Labor Union Women. We do many
projects such as the coat drive, domestic violence issues, adopt
a school programs, labor history essays for the schools and volunteer
for youth centers in DC. I feel a commitment to serve the members
and it is also a passion I find contagious and love sharing with
my fellow trade unionist. I would like very much if you would
give me your support.
Delegates
to TNG and CWA Conventions:
(The two top finishers in the vote will go to both
conventions, while the third-place finisher will go to the TNG "sector
conference" only.)
Connie
Knox, Baltimore Sun
No
statement available.
Mark
Pattison, Catholic News Service
See
statement above.
Bill
Salganik, Baltimore Sun
See
statement above.
Bonnita
Spikes, MCCSSE
See
statement above.
For
more information, contact any member of Local 32035's Elections
and Referendum Committee:
Mark Gruenberg, At-Large
painews@bellatlantic.net
Peter Perl, Washington Post
perlp@washpost.com
David
Schwartz, BNA
dschwartz@bna.com
|
