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51: Fall/Winter 2010
Silverstein elected Guild president
Membership meeting
Guild fighting for wage restoration
Raising a glass to restoring our wages
Company freezes pension benefit accrual
We shared the pain, now restore our pay
Silverstein elected Guild president
Milwaukee Newspaper Guild members have chosen Tom Silverstein as our new president.
Silverstein, a Journal Sentinel sportswriter, is a longtime steward who was a member of our most recent bargaining committee.
At our annual meeting in September, members elected Silverstein to succeed Greg Pearson, who decided not to seek re-election. Pearson, a copy editor, served more than two years as president, after nearly four years as 1st vice president, the longest anyone had held our grievance chairmanship. He also has been a steward leader, board member and negotiator.
Members re-elected metro reporter Meg Kissinger to a second term as 1st vice president; copy editor Karen Samelson to a third full term as 2nd vice president, in charge of membership and mobilizing; metro reporter Erin Richards to a second term as secretary; metro reporter Amy Hetzner to a fifth full term as treasurer; and feature writer Jan Uebelherr and PolitiFact Wisconsin reporter Tom Kertscher to a fourth full term and a third term, respectively, as at-large board members.
Returning to the Executive Board, after an absence of more than four years, is former president Bob Helbig. He’s also been our vice president, our longest-serving treasurer, a board member, steward leader and bargainer.
Helbig, a deputy business editor, succeeds two at-large board members who did not seek reelection: metro reporter Mark Johnson, who served more than four years, and editorial writer James Causey, who served one year. A bylaws amendment adopted last year reduced the size of the board from 10 members to eight, effective with this election, and one seat had been vacant.
All of those elected will serve one-year terms, ending Sept. 30.
Moving to fill appointed posts, the new board has named Tom Content as a steward leader. Content, a Journal Sentinel business reporter, replaces Mary Louise Schumacher in overseeing stewards, contract enforcement, membership and mobilizing for the business news, features/ entertainment, photo and opinions staffs. Schumacher, the newspaper’s art and architecture critic, did not seek reappointment to a second term.
The board reappointed the other two steward leaders: copy editor Russ Maki, to a third term serving the copy, design, graphics and national desks and the sports staff, and metro reporter Tom Held, to a second term serving the downtown metro desk, Wisconsin news bureaus and JSOnline.
Also reappointed were page designer Zeina Makky as communications chair, Uebelherr as social chair, copy editor Jen Steele as newsletter editor, online producer Craig Nickels as Webmaster, metro reporter Larry Sandler as posting and exclusions coordinator, Helbig as wage data coordinator and assistant features/ entertainment editor Stan Miller as tech coordinator.
All of those appointed will serve one-year terms, until October. The steward leaders and vice presidents have been working to select stewards.
Also at the annual meeting:
- Members elected Silverstein and Kertscher as delegates to the international Guild’s sector conference, with Samelson and Helbig as alternates. Silverstein was also elected as our delegate to the international convention of the Guild’s parent union, the Communications Workers of America, with Kertscher, Samelson and Helbig as alternates.
- The membership renewed the "universal rebate" that keeps our dues at 1% of pay, for another year. An annual vote is required to maintain the discount.
Membership meeting
WHEN: Noon, Tuesday, Nov. 30
WHERE: Turner Hall
AGENDA: Wage restoration and other ideas from the new president
Lunch will be served.
Wear your wristbands!
Guild fighting for wage restoration
Good news! Journal Communications profits are up.
Now, where is that 6.6% that we agreed to give up to help get through the choppy waters of the past few years?
Restoring our wages is a top priority for the Guild. Our newly formed committee, aptly named the 6.6% Committee, has been meeting regularly to come up with a campaign to let the company know that we want our full salaries restored.
We hosted a party (free beer and brats!) the day after the third-quarter earnings were reported to let the company know that we shared the pain and now we want to share the gain.
To bolster our case, the Guild has surveyed newsroom staff members on how the pay cut has affected them personally. We’re also passing out spiffy wristbands with the word "Restore" on one side and "6.6%" on the other. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, see your steward.
Please wear the wristbands to let management know that we want our full salaries back. We worked hard for them.
We need them. The bills are piling up! This is a multi-layered campaign. So, stay tuned for more.
If you want to help, let us know. The more, the merrier.
Raising a glass to restoring our wages
With a theme of "You deserve a raise," the Guild invited newsroom employees to enjoy food and drinks at the Old German Beer Hall on Oct. 21 and discuss the 6.6% Committee's fight to restore wages.
Company freezes pension benefit accrual
The good news is that Journal Communications is lifting the freeze on the 401(k) match next year; the bad news is that benefit accruals in the company’s pension plan are permanently frozen.
CEO Steve Smith announced the changes to all Journal Communications employees in an October letter.
This is not something that the Guild can grieve; during our most recent contract talks, the company insisted on language allowing management to change the pension plan as long as any changes apply to all other employees.
The company is increasing the 401(k) match of 50 cents for every $1 that participants contribute from up to 2.5% of eligible pay to up to 3.5% of eligible pay. For those employees who opted out of the pension plan, the annual employer contribution will no longer be part of the 401(k) plan.
Bargaining-unit members are encouraged to look at the company’s October mailing to see what their pension benefit will be and to assess whether they need to make any changes in their participation in the 401(k) plan.
We shared the pain, now restore our pay
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| Tom Silverstein |
More than a year and half ago, Journal Communications asked for our help in its time of need. There was a strong suggestion that we would save newsroom jobs by accepting a 6.6% salary cut, and we responded by doing what we thought was in the best interest of our colleagues.
Despite our willingness to make this large sacrifice, a few months later the company executed an unprecedented workforce reduction that few of us could have imagined. The company knew that we would do whatever it takes to produce a quality newspaper and website, and they were right. We’ve won a Pulitzer Prize, earned national recognition for our coverage of community issues, beefed up our awardwinning website and retained far more subscribers than comparable newspapers.
We contributed far more than just part of our salaries. We made an investment of time and dedication that has paid off for the company. The third-quarter earnings report shows that Journal Communications is back on solid footing and making much more profit than a year ago. The worst appears to be behind us. That’s why it’s just and reasonable for our wages to be restored now.
As your newly elected president, I will make sure that the company does not forget about us. A Guild member at the Journal Sentinel for the past 25 years, I’ve advocated for the rewards that our membership deserves and will continue to do so.
The board and I are committed to achieving the goals you set for us, and it’s your involvement that makes success possible. Recently more than 50 of you answered a survey asking about how the pay cut has affected you and if now is the time to push for wage restoration. Your responses are guiding and supporting us as we pursue receiving a return on your investment in the company.
In the coming weeks, the Guild will become a larger presence in the newsroom, initially with the orange and black "Restore 6.6%" wristbands that we are distributing. We ask that you wear them as symbols of our unity and our commitment. We’ll be sponsoring more social events, too, so we can relieve some stress and get to know one another better.
As we look forward, we also acknowledge the contributions of outgoing president Greg Pearson and thank him for setting a clear path for us. Together, we’ll continue to represent the best interests of our membership and work hard to achieve fair compensation for a job well done.