51: October/November 2006

Guild elects members to lead
Date set for steward training
Column: Let’s see some health care encouragement, not fliers

Guild elects members to lead

Jerry Ziegler and Greg Pearson have traded places in key Milwaukee Newspaper Guild leadership roles.

At our annual meeting Sept. 18, Local 51 members elected Ziegler, an assistant copy desk chief, as 1st vice president, to become our chief contract enforcement officer. He succeeds Pearson, a day copy editor who served a record three years as our grievance chair.

The local’s newly elected Executive Board later named Pearson to the steward leader job that had been held by Ziegler. That position is in charge of contract enforcement, membership and mobilizing for the copy desk, the graphics/design night shift, the opinions staff, the national desk, newsroom clerks, and the downtown local news desk's night reporters and editorial assistants.

Pearson also was chosen as posting and exclusions coordinator, in charge of enforcing the jurisdiction and job posting provisions of our contract. That position had been vacant for three years, and Pearson had handled those duties as vice president.

Mandy Jenkins, a JS Online producer, was elected to replace Ziegler as a board member.

Re-elected to one-year terms, starting Oct. 1, were:

- Jennie Tunkieicz, a Racine County bureau reporter, to her third term as president.

- Amy Rinard, a Waukesha County bureau reporter, to her third term as 2nd vice president, in charge of membership, mobilizing and communications.

- Kawanza Newson, a medical/science reporter, to a record third term (in addition to completing her predecessor’s unexpired term) as secretary.

- Amy Hetzner, a Waukesha County bureau reporter, to her first full term as treasurer. She had been elected this year to complete the unexpired term of Bob Helbig, who moved into management.

- Janine Ghelfi, a photo desk editorial assistant, to her fifth consecutive full term as an at-large board member. She has served eight full terms and a partial term.

- Dave Kirner, a photo technician and former Local 51 president, to his fifth term as an at-large board member.

- Jan Uebelherr, a features/entertainment reporter, to her second term as an at-large board member.

- Mark Johnson, a metro reporter, to his first full term as an at-large board member. He had been elected this year to complete Hetzner’s unexpired board term.

The board reappointed the other three steward leaders, naming Ghelfi to a record 11th term representing the downtown photo staff, features/entertainment, business news and the graphics/design day shift; Johnson to a fourth term representing downtown local news day reporters, Wisconsin news bureaus and MKE; and sports designer Jeff Maillet to a fourth term representing the downtown and Green Bay sports staff, JS Online and News Information Center.

Also reappointed were Waukesha County bureau reporter Mike Johnson, to his first full term as payroll coordinator; transportation reporter Larry Sandler, to his second term as Communications Committee chair; medical/science reporter Susanne Rust, to her second term as Health and Safety Committee chair; Milwaukee County suburban reporter Linda Spice, to her third term as Human Rights Committee chair; features/entertainment reporter Vikki Ortiz, to her third term as Social Committee chair; night copy editor Amy Rodenburg, to her first full term as newsletter editor; Jenkins, to her second term as Webmaster; and Kirner, to his second term as technology coordinator.

Date set for steward training

Two more training sessions will be held for stewards who did not have an opportunity to attend October sessions. The sessions will be offered Dec 5, the first from noon to 2 p.m. and the second from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Darren Carroll, an international representative for The Newspaper Guild, will lead both.

Those stewards who were not able to attend previously will be asked to select one of the upcoming sessions.

Let’s see some health care encouragement, not fliers

I recently wrote a check for $194. Think of all the great things I could have purchased with that money: a new coat, a cool pair of boots, and an extravagant dinner for two at a fancy restaurant or a one-way plane ticket to somewhere warm. Or less selfishly, I could have given that money to my favorite charity. But my money went to the Aurora Hospital Women’s Center. No, it wasn’t for some extraordinary medical test or procedure. It was just for my annual physical It got me to thinking about how messed up our health care system truly is.

Jennie Tunkieicz

Employers decry medical costs — and there’s no doubt medical costs are high. We, the employees, are usually the ones who get the blame.

They say we’re not “educated consumers.” We don’t ask enough questions about why we need this test or that procedure. We don’t shop around to find the least expensive brain scan or the most cost-conscious cardiologist. We are sucked in by drug company commercials to demand the “little purple pill” when the big white pill would do.

I don’t doubt that some of that is true and that it has some impact on the cost of health care.

But, seriously, what is one of the main contributors to high health care costs? Illness. What is the best way to combat illness? Prevention and wellness efforts.

How is “prevention” advanced in a system that has an employee pay $194 for a proactive measure such as an annual physical?

Apparently, Journal Communications thinks the road to “prevention” and “wellness” is paved with paper. I guess that’s not too surprising — it is a company that contains a publishing division.

I get e-mails and at-home mailings all the time from Humana about how I can prevent an asthma attack. I’m targeted because I have asthma and allergies. Note to whoever is responsible for sending this out: Save yourself the printing and e-mail costs. I already know that sleeping with my windows open will let in allergens that will aggravate my asthma. I already know I should dry my bedding on “hot” to reduce dust mites that could stimulate my allergies and aggravate my asthma. I might look like a moron, but it’s mostly just an act. So how can we really encourage wellness and aid prevention efforts?

Let’s look at a real example of prevention and wellness in action — Racine County, my beat, is expecting a ZERO increase in health care costs next year for its active employees. The county employs roughly 800 full-time employees. Racine County, like Journal Communications, is self-insured, so health care costs are driven by use.

Racine County is doing this without increasing premium costs to employees, which are a low 10% to 15% (depending on the labor contract) of the total premium. But don’t take my word for it. A county official said: “An emphasis on wellness is one of the main reasons the county has been able to reduce its health care costs.”

How do they do it? Incentives for exercise, supplementing Weight Watchers membership, to name a few.

So spare me the “healthy living” newsletter and elementary video message on health prevention. Let’s see some real encouragement, such as free annual exams, blood pressure checks and other health checks right in the newsroom, discounts on all weight-loss programs and health clubs for starters.

It’s simple, really: Healthier employees mean fewer high cost incidents, such as heart attacks, and that also means lower, overall health care costs. Trying to help people around that $194 out-of-pocket cost on the front end will save only more money — and lives — in the long run.