More than a year after the News-Press employees election to join the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, contract negotiations are finally scheduled to begin this week with management of the Santa Barbara News-Press.
The negotiation sessions this week will be held Tuesday and Wednesday (11/13 and 11/14) at an undisclosed, neutral location in Santa Barbara.
Here is a portion of the letter sent to News-Press employees from Teamster Chief Negotiator Nick Caruso related to the upcoming contract negotiations. Conciliatory in nature -- let's hope the feelings are mutual between labor and management.
Until now, the fight has focused on ongoing disputes between employee and employer. Contract Negotiations are an opportunity for the participants to find common ground (if they so choose) and build an Agreement based on both the shared and distinctive needs of the respective parties. Labor brings the collective voice of the employees to the table and offers the expertise of these professionals with regard to more effectively applying their craft. In exchange we seek fair compensation and working conditions. Management will bring legitimate business concerns. Preferably, we can work together to resolve our differences and through the process of exchanging proposals and ideas, an Agreement can begin to evolve.
I have worked closely with the Union Committee Members to draft your expressed issues into proposals that we will present to the Employer. The proposals represent the collective vision of what the newsroom can and should be from the Employees’ perspective. The Committee Members are dedicated to that vision and will fight to whatever extent necessary to create a better workplace than exists today.
Up to this point, the Employer has adamantly opposed recognizing the employees’ legal right to bargain overcompensation and working conditions. Now that the day has arrived, we are hoping Management will begin to acknowledge that there may be some benefit in listening and discussing what the newsroom professionals have to offer.
The upcoming contract negotiations make me wonder if News-Press Co-Publisher Arthur Von Wiesenberger wasn't trying to begin a preemptive strike in the
Pacific Coast Business Times this morning when he blamed the Teamsters for their significant drop in subscriptions. Of course it is always easier to blame others for your own mistakes.
Here's the quote:
When asked to comment Nov. 6, News-Press co-publisher Arthur von Wiesenberger wrote in an e-mail that a union-orchestrated “smear campaign” against the newspaper was to blame for the publication’s drop in circulation. The News-Press “will not bow to this intimidation,” von Wiesenberger wrote.
“These subscriber cancellations have demonstrated the relative success of the injury that has been inflicted on the News-Press,” von Wiesenberger wrote.
Isn't this great? The free market is at work! Both sides have had their say and the News-Press has certainly outspent The Organized by a factor of at least 10 to 1. Despite the amazing amount of funds that McCaw and Company have paid to defend their right to say what goes on the front page -- it seems The Organized have the upper hand. How long can falling subscriptions on Sunday be bolstered by hubris? Yes -- the free market works, but will neo-Libertarians like Wendy McCaw and Travis Armstrong admit that now?
For a more detailed analysis of the PacBizTimes article, you can see
Craig Smith's post earlier today.
Labels: Arthur Von Wiesenberger, Santa Barbara News-Press, Teamsters, Travis Armstrong
