51: Spring/Summer 2008

MKE to cease publication; 5 jobs eliminated
Bargaining on new contract set to begin
Getting a raise 101
Guild FAQ: Intern pay
Lunzer elected president of The Newspaper Guild/CWA
Heinen wins Milwaukee Press Club award
Keeping up with changes takes training

MKE to cease publication; 5 jobs eliminated

On June 11, five employees of the MKE newsroom were told their jobs were being eliminated.

Guild representatives went to work to provide information, meeting with employees and answering questions. (Four of those affected are Guild members; the fifth is a supervisor not represented by the Guild.)

Employees were given severance packages in accordance with the Guild contract — two weeks’ pay for each year worked, as well as pay equivalent to 60 days’ notice. Since MKE will continue until July 10, about a month after the termination notice, the employees will receive another month’s pay to meet the 60-day requirement.

Journal Sentinel Inc.’s memo to the “MKE Team” pointed to declining advertising revenue and rising newsprint prices as the primary reasons.

The memo also said, “The MKE team can be proud of a number of journalistic and reader successes.” We support this part of the announcement.

MKE’s hard-working staff members were often out of sight in their first-floor workspace, but they worked long and hard to put a new product on the street.

They showed plenty of enthusiasm, skill and verve for the job. It’s a blow to all of us when good journalists leave the building.

Bargaining on new contract set to begin

The first session of contract talks between Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators is scheduled for July 8. That is when both sides will exchange contract proposals.

The Guild bargaining committee conducted a survey of all bargaining unit members in June to get input on issues of concern to staffers that could be addressed in a new contract. Survey responses helped the committee develop the Guild’s contract proposal.

Under the terms of our current contract, the Guild notified the company before May 1 of its intention to seek a new contract. By mutual agreement, the start of talks was delayed until July mostly due to vacations and other scheduling issues.

Following the recent resignation from the newspaper of former president and bargaining committee chair Jennie Tunkieicz, the Guild Executive Board named President Amy Rinard to head the bargaining committee. Larry Sandler was named committee vicechair. The other committee members are Janine Ghelfi and Dave Kirner.

Darren Carroll, a field representative for The Newspaper Guild/CWA, will serve as lead negotiator. Carroll has worked closely with Guild bargainers during several previous negotiations and was with the committee during each bargaining session during the last round of contract talks.

The negotiating team for management is expected to be headed by Scott Zantow, company director of employee relations. The committee also is expected to include Cindy Wargula, also of the human resources department, and Carl Schwartz and Marilyn Krause, from newsroom management.

The Guild committee has invited any members interested in the talks to sit in on bargaining sessions as their schedules permit or when specific issues of interest are to be discussed. Contact Rinard if you would like to attend a negotiating session.

Getting a raise 101

I felt I deserved a bigger raise, and the Guild did nothing to help me. This is a complaint those who are involved in the Guild hear from time to time.

But, often, the complaint comes months - or even years - after the fact. Sometimes, the person is still angry. Usually, he or she is still disappointed and frustrated.

We want to avoid anger, disappointment and frustration. At the same time, getting a raise isn't easy, and it's also a personal matter that requires an employee to do some of the dirty work.

So, here's a guide to approaching the always sticky situation of asking your boss for a raise.

- Know the basics. The current contract calls for an annual raise of 1 1/2% each year for all employees represented by the Guild. That kicked in on Jan. 1 of each year of the contract, which runs through the end of this year. There also is a "discretionary pay pool," often called a merit raise, which has to average at least 1% for everyone governed by the contract. That raise often is tied to your anniversary date and/or is presented to you during your annual review - if you actually get an annual review.

- Check your pay stub. While the Guild regularly checks salary information to ensure people are getting what they deserve, you should be checking your paycheck to make sure raises are coming when they should.

If you see a problem, ask your supervisor. Sometimes, it's just a delay or oversight, but if you get an unsatisfactory answer, talk to a Guild representative.

- Be realistic. Let's face it. We all deserve more money. We all also know the reality of today's economy, so going in and just saying "I need a bigger raise" isn't going to get the job done.

- Do some homework. If you don't have a copy of a contract, get one or go to the Guild Web site, where the contract is posted. Look over Articles 17 and 18, which discuss wages. There are specifics on pay steps and what it takes to get there. There is information about classifications and what minimum hourly or weekly rates should be for each step.

And prepare yourself before requesting more money. Keep a list or examples of your best work and of improvements you've made in areas that have been pointed out as weaknesses in the past.

- Talk to a Guild representative. The Guild has wage information it can provide to members for comparison purposes. This data is offered for education purposes, not for office gossip. If you are interested in seeing this information, talk to your steward or a Guild officer, and an appointment can be made.

Guild FAQ: Intern pay

Q: Do interns get mileage, overtime and differential pay?

A: This question comes up every summer, as the interns return to the newsroom like swallows to Capistrano.

Interns are not members of our bargaining unit, so they don’t have the full protection of the Guild contract. However, our contract does have some provisions dealing with interns. While this language provides a few minimal standards for intern compensation, its main purpose is to ensure that the internships remain a mutually beneficial program that cannot be used in a way that threatens regular employees’ jobs.

Under Article 16, Section 4, of our contract, Wisconsin-based interns must be paid minimum wage. We don’t allow so-called "academic internships," in which interns work for free and are compensated only with college credit, except in the Washington Bureau, which is not part of our bargaining unit. And interns must be reimbursed for expenses, which means yes, they do get mileage.

Overtime rules vary somewhat by internship. Interns who are paid directly by Journal Sentinel Inc. must be paid time-and-a-half for overtime work. Those who are paid through other organizations should either receive compensatory time off or simply be told not to work overtime.

The contract is silent about differentials for interns. The company may choose to pay night, weekend or production differentials to interns, or not, but the Guild has no say in whether interns get that money.

Guild FAQ will be an occasional feature that answers some of the most frequently asked questions about our contract. If you have a question about your wages, hours or working conditions, be sure to ask a Guild representative.

Lunzer elected president of The Newspaper Guild/CWA

Bernie Lunzer, who was endorsed by the Local 51 Executive Board, has been elected president of our international union, The Newspaper Guild/ CWA.

Lunzer, who had been secretarytreasurer of the Guild since 1995, beat Linda Foley, who had been president since 1995, with about 55% of the vote.

In Milwaukee, he won 62-4 during voting April 29. Lunzer had been supported by Milwaukee Guild President Amy Rinard and former president Jennie Tunkieicz, who served as Lunzer’s campaign treasurer. He made a newsroom visit in April.

Turnout in Milwaukee was significantly higher than the overall turnout of 23% of the 28,000 eligible TNG members in the United States and Canada.

In a written statement, Lunzer said: "We argued for the need for change within the Guild, to strengthen the Guild with a focus on real member involvement. We will fight for constructive engagement with employers throughout the industry, to respond to the challenges of building a robust, profitable industry across all platforms - collaborating where possible, fighting where necessary."

It was the first contested race in more than a decade, and the campaign was heated, especially since Lunzer had run on Foley’s ticket in the past. Lunzer’s running mates for two other spots also won: Carol Rothman beat Scott Stephens for secretary-treasurer, and Connie Knox defeated Lois Kirkup for international chair. Their Stronger Guild slate argued that Foley was out of touch.

Foley told Editor & Publisher that she was disappointed by the turnout but wished Lunzer luck and hoped the leadership could "heal whatever rifts there are" with the Communications Workers of America parent group.

The official certification of the election was delayed a few days because of a few voting problems, including at least one local that failed to distribute ballots.

Lunzer worked at the St. Paul Pioneer Press from 1979 to ’89 in advertising, marketing, circulation and the newsroom. He worked at the Minnesota Newspaper Guild before being elected to the TNG post.

The president is paid about $140,000 a year and is elected to a three-year term. Lunzer will be sworn in at the CWA convention in Las Vegas. Thanks to all the Milwaukee members who took time to vote or help with the election in some way: Karen Samelson, Amy Hetzner, Joel Dresang, Ben Poston, Kawanza Newson, Sonya Jongsma Knauss, Jan Uebelherr, Larry Sandler and Dave Kirner, as well as Rinard for moral support for the Local Election Committee and Tunkieicz for her get out the vote efforts.

Heinen wins Milwaukee Press Club award

Congratulations to Tom Heinen, who won a second-place award for best feature story under 30 inches in the Milwaukee Press Club’s 2007 Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism Contest.

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild helps Journal Sentinel staffers interested in being recognized for their work by paying members’ fees for a single entry in the contest. This has resulted in many recent wins in the club’s contest, including Heinen’s award for last year’s work.

Heinen and other award winners were honored at the Press Club’s 2008 Gridiron Dinner in April.

Keeping up with changes takes training

Not that long ago, the only equipment a reporter needed to cover a story was a notebook, a pen and, maybe, a small cassette tape recorder as a personal backup to notes. Photographers went out on assignments with pockets full of film cartridges.

Amy Rinard

Today we’re all being asked to do much more: Take digital photos, shoot video and record digital audio, all to provide a mix of multimedia content for the Journal Sentinel Web site.

As the importance of the Web site grows, it’s anybody’s guess what else we will be asked to do as new Internet technologies are developed.

The newspaper industry is evolving and we’re all evolving with it - whether we like it or not.

This is the nature of our work in the 21st century. The majority of us want to do it and do it well.

But, so far, very few of us have had any training at all in how to perform the tasks that now are expected of us.

The Guild believes this is a problem and we will address it in the upcoming round of contract talks.

At our May general membership meeting, many Guild members expressed concern - even worry and anxiety - about being left behind in the pen-and-notebook era of journalism while the skill set needed to perform our jobs changes.

Several members have said they fear the creation of an "elite class" of staffers - those who have been selected to receive training.

Already, the newsroom has been divided into those who have been trained in the new skills now prized by our editors and those of us who have received no training. Some members feel they have not been selected for training because they are older and wrongly presumed by managers to be not interested in learning new skills required in the digital age of journalism.

There is considerable worry about the lack of these skills affecting performance reviews and raises.

Already, some staffers have had managers set performances goals for them involving production of visual and audio content for the Web site. But no training in how to do all this has been provided.

The Guild strongly believes that training should be made available equally to all interested staffers.

Most of us, however, were not hired to shoot great videos, record scintillating audio or provide other new forms of content for Web sites.

So staffers who choose not to take the training courses offered or who, after taking the training, just can’t quite get the hang of these new skills must not be disciplined or penalized in performance evaluations or raises.

But, from talking to Guild members, I believe the vast majority of newsroom staffers are ready, very willing and completely able to use these new media technologies. We all just need to learn how.