Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators have withdrawn a contract proposal to schedule reporters or photographers to be “on call.” As originally submitted, the plan would have allowed the company to pay some staffers a $40 premium to be available for 12 hours on weekends or holidays, without being in the newsroom. But anyone who was called […]

On Tuesday, Journal Sentinel Inc. announced it had cut its staff by 92. This reduction included the permanent layoffs of 34 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom employees represented by the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild, as well as the voluntary buyouts taken by 32 members of our bargaining unit and five managers. It was the largest layoff and […]

Negotiators for the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild and Journal Sentinel Inc. tentatively agreed Wednesday to keep current contract language on drug testing and union membership. The drug-testing deal ends a lengthy effort by the company to weaken contractual provisions that protect our bargaining-unit members’ rights when they are suspected of drug or alcohol abuse. In exchange, […]

Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators are proposing a new system that would let newsroom managers schedule some reporters and photographers to be “on call” on weekends and holidays instead of working in the newsroom. With a shrinking staff, the company wants more flexibility in scheduling personnel, management bargainers told the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s bargaining team Thursday. […]

Journal Sentinel Inc. is offering another round of buyouts to newsroom employees — the fourth in less than three years. And management negotiators have told the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild that the company could lay off an undetermined number of workers if not enough employees take the buyouts. Managers declined to specify a target for job […]

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild is turning 25, and our union leadership thinks that’s a milestone worth marking. Local 51 was founded on June 1, 1984. Given all the industry turbulence that Journal Sentinel employees are dealing with, our local’s Executive Board decided a party might not be appropriate. Instead, the Guild is inviting members to […]

Journal Sentinel Inc. negotiators proposed this week that the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s next contract last just two years, through Dec. 31, 2010. Guild bargainers had previously proposed a four-year contract. It’s the first time in memory that the company is seeking a shorter contract than the union. The management team said their proposal reflects the […]

The Milwaukee Newspaper Guild voted Thursday to approve a 6.6% pay cut for the 191 Journal Sentinel Inc. employees it represents. The decision averts the layoff of 20 or more workers in our bargaining unit, which includes journalists and support staff in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom and JSOnline. Guild members approved the pay cut […]

For the first time in the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild’s history, members will vote on whether to cut their own wages, in exchange for limited protection against layoffs. The plan comes to the membership with no recommendation from either the local’s Bargaining Committee or our Executive Board, after two days of very difficult negotiations. If the […]

None of the 31 jobs eliminated at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in recent days came from the newsroom. Nor were workers represented by the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild affected by the 6% wage cut imposed on most other Journal Sentinel employees. That doesn’t mean we’re immune to cutbacks. We’re just proceeding on a different track, starting […]