Providence Newspaper Guild - Guild Leader January 15, 2001

GUILD LEADER

Vol XIl, Issue 6

TNG/CWA Local 31041

January 15, 2001

Ask the Guild

WHY IS PROJO HOLDING BACK BENEFITS FROM THE GUILD?

PROTEST TODAY
Today is the first of four days of scheduled demonstrations outside the Journal Building to underline the Guild's concern with the company's violation of labor laws. The small protests will be between noon and 12:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

MORE LUNCHES
Today and Tuesday will be the final lunch meetings at the Guild office, 270 Westminster St., Providence, so members can question union leaders about negotiations and voice their own views. The small-group meetings are a prelude to the membership meeting at noon Wednesday.

QUESTION: I'm perplexed by the company's position about parking and retirement. Parking clauses in our contract couldn't cost that much. Why is the company so adamant that we give them up? If it's willing to offer Belo benefits to non-Guild people, why won't it talk with us about them?

ANSWER: The company's position on both these issues appears to be part of a pattern. They reflect the Journal's wish to be free to change our benefits how it wants, when it wants. And they are also moves in the company's effort to cripple, if not destroy, the union.

It's true that the parking clauses in our contract are not burdensome or expensive. The Journal wants them out primarily to erode our contract-to have fewer and fewer rules that management has to play by.

There's also another game going on here. The company suddenly started letting nonunion workers park for free. Giving nonunion members a benefit that is denied to union members is a classic union-busting tactic. (In the case of parking, it also violates our contract.)

What's more, the company asserted, falsely, that the Guild leadership had rejected free parking for its members, hoping Guild leaders would be blamed for the company's actions.

Trying to sow dissent within the union ranks is another union-busting tactic.

Something similar is going on with the 401K. Instead of negotiating about the 401K, the company has proposed a contract "reopener" under which we would keep our current benefits for the first two years. Then, the 401K issue would be revisited.

A reopener weakens the contract because it means that benefits are assured for a shorter period of time. This is in keeping with the company's pattern of seeking the freedom to change our benefits at will and seeking to erode the contract.

The reopener idea also creates some confusion about what exactly was offered, opening up an opportunity for disinformation. As you remember, the company asserted-again, falsely-that the Guild leadership had rejected the Belo pension and 401K even though it had never been offered to us.

Again, an attempt to sow dissent.

Finally, the company is providing the Belo 401K to nonunion members but denying it to union members. Many members strongly believe the Belo 401K is superior. Others question how good these benefits really are. The Company has illegally refused to provide the information necessary to analyze the plans. By treating Guild members as second-class citizens and withholding information, the company apparently hopes to turn them against their union and each other.

So far, these tactics have not fooled most Guild members.

But they do provide strong evidence that our conflict does not result merely from disagreements about particular contract provisions. Rather, this conflict is about the company's desire to kill the union, and the union's desire -- still strong -- to stay alive.