It’s official. Bernie Lunzer and his Stronger Guild running mates, Carol Rothman and Connie Knox, have been certified as the winners in The Newspaper Guild’s international election.
TNG’s Sector Election and Referendum Committee released the official count late Thursday. Bernie Lunzer defeated incumbent president Linda Foley 3,611 to 2,864 and Carol Rothman defeated Scott Stephens for the postion of secretary-treasurer by a count of 3,834 to 2,460. Connie Knox defeated Lois Kirkup for Sector Chairperson 3,868 to 2,347 (Lunzer carried St. Louis 112-44, Rothman won 109-41 and Knox won 120-29).
Lunzer, Rothman and Knox will be sworn in during the convention of the Guild’s parent union, the Communication Workers of America, next month in Las Vegas.
“We are heartened by the support of Guild voters throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico,” Lunzer said on behalf of his team. “We argued for the need for change within the Guild, to strengthen the Guild with a focus on real member involvment. 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 when necessary.”
“The new administration will focus on problem-solving, and on reaching out to all workers in the industry so that they understand that a strong union gives workers a real voice and is the best way to ensure top-quality journalism and professionalism for all workers within the industry,” Lunzer said.
The Guild’s new officers also pledged to pay particular attention to improving media companies’ profitablity in ways that don’t harm workers. “Front-line workers are in the best position to understand what solutions can move the industry forward,” Lunzer said.
Lunzer said he felt that voters responded to the positive focus of A Stronger Guild’s campaign. He stated he also believes that the election-driven discussions of substantive issues helped re-engage many members.
The union’s new leadership team said they were eager to move forward immediately with plans to revitalize the union. Specific proposals would need to be approved by the union’s Executive Council, but current priorities include:
* Building a more diverse union
* Strengthening locals
* Developing a clear international strategy on collective bargaining
* Building a base of new involvement with existing members and reaching out to workers who may not currently understand how valuable a democratic union is.
Most of all, Lunzer said, “we’ll stand with our members. They are the backbone of the information industry, working harder every day to continue to deliver the news that fortifies our democracies. Yes, we know it’s a business. But we haven’t forgotten that this is also a very special business. In the words of the singer Iris Dement, ‘Sometimes the truth is the difference between sinkin’ and swimmin.’ We think preserving this union, and this industry, is also the difference.”
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Filed Under ( Events) by Shannon on April-29-2008
Friday, April 25 and Monday, April 28 were election days at the St. Louis Newspaper Guild. On those days Guild members cast their vote for their union’s International President, Secretary-Treasurer and Sector Chairperson. The St. Louis vote will be tabulated by the Local Election Committee (LEC) on Thursday, May 1 and then sent to Washington, D.C. for review and certification by the Sector Election and Referendum Committee (SERC). This process is currently being repeated in locals all across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Final results will become known after the SERC certifies election results on May 15.
Local 47 departed from its usual practice of mailing ballots to everyone; although some working in outlining areas, such as bureaus, still received their ballot in the mail. This year, to encourage as much particiaption as possible, voting occurred in as many worksites as possible. The thinking was that, since this election was so important and so much was at stake, we needed to do all we could to involve our membership.
At the Post-Disptach, voting inside the building had been approved but was recinded following a rather spirited newsletter protesting layoffs at the paper. Not to be discouraged, the Local secured the necessary permits from the city and then blocked off the street alongside the building. What followed was a strange hybrid; a sort of one-half exercise in democracy/ one-half street celebration, as members came down to vote, spend their break, eat their lunch and just hang. Music was playing and it was a nice time. At least on Friday…Monday was another thing entirely. Monday was cold. And wet. But neither our members nor our workers were deterred and we thank you all for being a part of this very important process.
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Filed Under ( Benefits) by Shannon on April-12-2008
After much discussion with the company, during which Post-Dispatch management heard from both union and non-union alike, there is now a process in place that allows for a Post-Dispatch employee (or retiree) to request an exemption when it comes to continuing to purchase maintenance drugs from your local pharmacy. The exemption will only apply when use of MedcobyMail would cost you at least $25 or more than using your local retail pharmacy.
So…if the total cost of all your prescriptions for a 90-day supply is at least $25 more at MedcobyMail than purchasing the drug(s) at a local retail pharmacy, you may be eligible for an exemption from the $50 local pharmacy charge.
To ask for the exemption send the following information to Lee Human Resources at hr@lee.net :
1. the name of the medications
2. the 30-day price you are currently paying at the pharmacy, and
3. the 90-day price being quoted by MedcoByMail
After review and approval, a temporary override will be issued, which will allow you to continue to use the local retail pharmacy for the meds which would cost more. All other medications must still go through Medco.
Your request must go to the email address above. Medco will not process these requests and will not be able to give you any information about the exemption.
All members are encouraged to keep this office appraised of how this exemption is working.
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Wednesday, March 12, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, citing delining advertising revenues and a decrease in call volume, informed the St. Louis Newspaper Guild that it was laying off 31 employees, 14 of which were members of the Guild.
In response to the layoffs, the Guild invites all affected members to a Rapid Response Meeting with representatives of the AFL-CIO Dislocated Workers Program and the Mo. State Division of Workforce Development (as well as representatives from the Illinois side of the river), from 9 am to 3 pm on Wednesday, March 26 and Thursday, March 27 at the IAM District 9 Building, 12365 St. Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton (near Hwy 270 and the Rock Rd). Attending this meeting will help our brothers and sisters learn of the resources available in our metropolitan area. They will also be able to get answers to any questions they may have regarding unemployment insurance, COBRA, home loans, job retraining and available tuition dollars for those desiring to return to school.
Guild members should know that our union is working hard to ensure that the contract is followed in regard to seniority rights and wishes to remind our more senior brothers and sisters in those affected areas of a provision that exits in our collective bargaining agreement (Article 16, Section 2). That provision allows Guild members to volunteer for the furlough, should they be so inclined and, in so doing, receive dismissal pay based on their seniority. So, if there is anyone who wishes to receive layoff pay and leave (retire maybe?) well, now would be the time to take advantage of that.
As more information becomes available we will relay it. In the meantime, please keep our brothers and sisters in your thoughts and prayers. Times like these are never easy and you may be called to help raise funds on behalf of someone or something. If that does occur, please help all you can. We’re all in this together.
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ATTENTION ALL P-D GUILD MEMBERS:
A change to Lee’s prescription drug policy regarding the purchase of maintenance drugs - mandating that all such drugs no longer be filled at local pharmacies but, instead, purchased through Medco’s mail-order pharmacy - was recently announced via employee email. Failure to follow this procedure, Medco warns, will result in financial penalties and, as a result, substantially higher prescription prices.
The past few days, the Guild has received calls wanting to know what Lee was proposing if the change in the prescription-by-mail plan was adhered to, but resulted in an employee having to pay more in drug costs. If the new way of purchasing long-term drugs actually cost an employee more, would an exemption be allowed? After all, what purpose would it serve to have employees paying more via the mail for drugs that would be cheaper for them at their corner drugstore? Right now we don’t know the answers to those questions but we are attempting to find out.
It is natural to assume that Lee has some kind of volume discount language in their plan document whereby they get lower drug prices for higher volume. And that’s good - especially if the savings are then plowed back into the plan to keep (everyone’s) costs down. But we don’t know anything for certain at this point and we are particularly curious about reports coming in that say the three month mail-order supply might not be any cheaper. We obviously need to verify this but need your help to do so.
If you are taking a maintenance drug, please email us and let us know how your current costs compare versus the new procedure. If the mail-order purchase is going to be more expensive let us know. We have already begun talks with local management about our concerns and, once we have your information, we will let corporate know too. We cannot inquire about exemptions without knowing the particulars of your case. Don’t be shy. Talk to us.
You can, of course, always call the Guild Office at (314) 241-7046.
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Filed Under ( Events) by Shannon on March-10-2008
Forty-plus Guild members and guests got together on Saturday, March 8, to do a little bowling. The get-together was the brainchild of recent retiree Dennis Cutter (P-D Sports), who explained that he wanted to have events that could assist in mobilization efforts; where members from all departments and all bargaining units could gather and get to know one another. “It’s easier to support another department or bargaining unit’s cause when you know people in that department or unit,” he said.
With the stated goal of membership outreach, the event was highly successful. Members from multiple areas within the Post-Dispatch were on hand, as well as the St. Louis Review and Labor Tribune. Local President Jeff Gordon welcomed all who came - including Guild International President Linda Foley, who flew in from Washington DC. Prizes were awarded for high games (Tony Birkenmeier and Karen Deer) and attendance prizes were also handed out.
Afterwards, many made a point of saying what a wonderful time they had and asked why the Guild doesn’t put on more such events and, since there were quite a few Executive Committee members present, that could very well come to pass.
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In an effort to improve communication between Lee corporate and The St. Louis Newspaper Guild, Guild representatives sat down this week for an informal meeting with Post-Dispatch VP Human Resources Astrid Garcia; Post-Dispatch Publisher Kevin Mowbray and Lee Chief Executive Officer Mary Junck.
The discussion covered a variey of topics, including the future and direction of newspapers in general and the P-D in particular.
While the subjects covered were broad and did not concern personnel issues or grievances, The Guild feels that the meeting was a successful first step in establishing good lines of communication with both our current management here in St. Louis as well as with our corporate parent.
We all agreed to continue to meet periodically. We will keep you posted on our discussions.
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It happens Friday, January 25, 2008 — click here to download a PDF of the flyer.
- When: Friday, January 25, 2008
- Where: Holiday Inn Select, Downtown Convention Center, 811 N. 9th Street
- Doors open: 5:30 p.m.
- Dinner: 6:30 p.m.
- Meeting: 7:15 p.m.
- Prizes: 7:45 p.m.
- DJ: 8 to 11 p.m.
- Open bar: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
- Cash bar: 9:30 to 11 p.m.
- Open to Guild members & a guest
- RSVP: by Jan. 16 to 314-241-7046 or contact your shop steward
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Terry Hughes was 36 when she died of breast cancer on July 22, 1991. A columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, her writing was clear, witty and descriptive, with a flair for portraying society’s underdogs. Some of her columns chronicled the bouts with canceer that she and others faced. One column was credited with helping persuade the Missouri Legislature to approve a bill forcing insurers to pay for mammograms.
One of the many readers who wrote to the newspaper after her death described her work this way: “Her columns were full of real life stories that touched us all and even changed our way of thinking or even our lives.”
The St. Louis Newspaper Guild has established a writing award in the name of Ms. Hughes. The award is intended to honor a journalist whose writing shows the talent that she displayed.
Any journalist in the metropolitan St. Louis area who has written for a daily or weekly newspaper or for a magazine is eligible.
Single articles of extraordinary merit will be considered. Preference will be given to entries of between three and ten articles that display the writer’s range of talent.
Articles must have been published in 2007. There are no formal applications. Anyone may submit a nomination by sending cipies of articles to:
The Terry Hughes Award Committee
St. Louis Newspaper Guild
1015 Locust Street
Suite 1040
St. Louis, Mo. 63101
The deadline for applications is January 10, 2008. The award will be presented at the Newspaper Guild’s Annual Dinner on January 25, 2008
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