An overwhelming majority of the 63 unionized workers in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newsroom voted on April 25 to ratify a five-year contract with owner Oahu Publications Inc.
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Santa Rosa Press Democrat Wins Pulitzer for Fire Coverage
The North Bay newspaper’s Pulitzer – in the Breaking News category – continues an impressive run of journalism for newsrooms covered by the Pacific Media Workers Guild. The East Bay Times won a Pulitzer in 2016 for breaking news coverage of the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland.
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Guild Pulitzer winners denounce DFM’s destruction of newsrooms
Members of the Bay Area News Group newsroom staff, winners of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the deadly Ghost Ship Fire, publicly denounced their corporate owner’s business practices Thursday.
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After 136 years, the LA Times votes to unionize and our student is nominated delegate
When the National Labor Relations Board began calling out the votes Jan. 19 from the Los Angeles Times’ Jan. 4 election on whether to unionize, it seemed to be neck and neck, recalled Matt Pearce, a national reporter and union organizer at the Times. Then, the pro-union ballots started to pull away. At one point, 40 yeses in a row were read off, by the count of data journalist Anthony Pesce, also an organizer.
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McClatchy and Guild working on money, metrics and marijuana
Bargaining continued in late January, early February at all four McClatchy California units (The Modesto Bee, The Fresno Bee, The Sacramento Bee and News Desk West). Full contracts are up at Modesto, Fresno and News Desk West while Sacramento has a reopener. The guild and company were able to narrow bargaining to a few core issues during each of the sessions. They include the new metrics for page view goals, seniority language in the case of layoffs, minimum salary levels and merit pay scales, equipment reimbursement, and drug policy.
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Job losses hammer Bay Area News Group
Twenty-one Guild members are being bought out and layoffs are next. How many more people will be let go is not known.
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Company seeks union security concessions from video sign language interpreters
Contract negotiations resumed in San Francisco on Tuesday and Wednesday with a focus on community interpreting and two bedrocks of any labor contract: just cause discipline and the right to arbitrate.
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Campaign escalates as DFM cuts staff
Negotiations for a 2018 wage re-opener covering 13 bargaining units will open soon as Digital First Media ordered a new wave of staff cuts throughout California and in suburban Philadelphia in January. In response, DFM workers are escalating their contract campaign against Alden Global Capital, the New York hedge fund that owns DFM and that has been systematically stripping newspaper assets since 2012.
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Honolulu talks hinge on economics
Guild and management negotiators significantly narrowed the issues blocking agreement on a new labor contract during two days of talks in Honolulu. Our committee managed to elicit a package proposal from the company that would drop many of the onerous proposals it made last year, such as reducing holidays and sick leave, absurd absenteeism terms, restrictions on shop stewards and a weaker grievance procedure. But the company still demands the right to conduct random drug testing.
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Shopnotes: Happy 99th Dr. Dave
Everyone showed up at Dr. Dave Perlman’s 99th birthday party except Dr. Dave, whose own doc (the kind who actually went to med school) advised him to stay home and rest up for the next one. So Dave was obliged to sit through a group performance of Happy Birthday by telephone.
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Local Election Committee announces results – Anderson wins for local Secretary
The following statement was issued today by the Local 39521 Elections Committee: Dear Candidates: The Local Elections Committee of the Pacific Media Workers Guild met December 21, 2017 at 10 a.m. at the Guild office to count ballots for the union’s election. Following are the results, certified by the LEC: Local Secretary Kat Anderson was elected […]
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Local Election Notice 2017
Dear Member: A Local 39521 Election is being conducted by secret mail ballot. Your Election Notice/Ballot and Voting Instructions have been mailed to all members in good standing as of the cutoff established by the Local Election Committee. Please be sure to follow the instructions carefully. You will receive the Notice and Ballot if our records indicate you are […]
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Candidate statements for Local 39521 election 2017
Candidate statements for Local 39521 election 2017
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NAFTA hearing airs access issues in trade debate
NAFTA negotiators can establish sanctions against countries that don’t at least try to make it safe for journalists – and other workers – to do their jobs.
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Faux retirement, faux eclipse? Real shopnotes…
So many Chronicle alumni raised a glass at Dave Perlman’s spectacular retirement party that Curiouser and Curiouser is apologizing in advance for all the ones he’s about to miss.
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