Washington Post - Guild NewsJune 11, 2002 Guild Action Moves to Web SiteUnion Calls Halt to ‘Voluntary’ dotcom Duty |
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Friends and Colleagues: We have shown in recent months our strong determination to get a fair contract from The Washington Post. Yet our principled and patient bargaining with Post management since March has been met with management’s unbending refusal to find common ground.More than 700 of us, Guild members and non-members, signed petitions to Don Graham and Bo Jones telling them we found The Post’s contract offer to be an insult to our hard work and dedication. On June 5th and 6th, we showed an unprecedented level of solidarity when the names of virtually every reporter, photographer, artist, critic and columnist were withheld from the Post. Our growing demonstrations in front of the building have also attracted considerable attention, inside and outside the Post building. We are leafleting the Post-sponsored Shakespeare Festival and other community events, telling the public about the Post Corporation’s less generous side. And our membership ranks have grown by 260 in the last year, the Guild’s largest increase in a generation. Collectively we are stronger than ever. The Guild and Post bargaining teams are scheduled to meet -- with a federal mediator present -- Tuesday, June 18. WE ARE CALLING FOR A HALT TO WRITING NEWS STORIES SPECIFICALLY FOR THE WASHINGTONPOST.COM WEB SITE STARTING THURSDAY, JUNE 13th, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Now,more than ever, is important to maintain our unity and our commitment to getting a fair contract. It is crucial that Post management recognizes that we are serious about getting a reasonable deal, and that last week’s byline strike was not just a one-time symbolic outburst. It is time to move, together, a step further to keep the company’s attention and persuade management to agree to a decent settlement. |
Rally and Picket For a Fair ContractWednesday June 12,12:30-1:30 The Post,15 th and L Streets
Let Post management know where you stand.
1)
A pay raise in each year of a new contract
2) No take-back of saved vacation time 3) No Guild-crippling membership rule changes |
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Why the Web? The Washington Post Web site has consistently won awards for being the best in its field. Journalistically, one thing that sets it apart from other major players such as New York Times Online, is that we post new, news-breaking bylined stories all day long, while others post lots of wire stories until the evening or late at night, when their reporters file their newspaper dailies. Of course, it is our free labor that makes the difference. The currency of our compensation is essentially the affections of Tracy Grant and Lexie Verdon, charming editors with whom we have no gripe (indeed, both were loyal Guild members when they were still eligible). But the important point is that the Web site depends on our generosity, because -- as managing editor Steve Coll has repeatedly said -- it is Post policy (for now, at least) that Web writing is voluntary. Web work is not the only new work that The Post has added to our job descriptions without any negotiation or consultation. Throughout the commercial departments, ad sales people and others have been told to do more and more work -- even as The Post slowed and then halted new hiring. Suburban news bureaus have been forced to shoulder the large additional burden of the expanded Extras, with no form of compensation. We have always shown a willingness to do what is asked of us, and we are all proud of The Post’s fine Web site. But Post corporate management has cynically taken advantage of us. If the Post were offering a fair contract, our extra work would not become an issue. But that’s just not the case. So we say: “No More.” The Fine Print: The Post has the right to send our stories across the river, so the Web site can still carry our work after we file our regular stories written for the newspaper. Reporters who are paid to conduct online chats or who are paid to write extra columns are, of course, free to work as they choose. Some Metro reporters are regularly called upon to send “feeds ”to their editors on early (afternoon) deadline, and those editors then craft stories for Web-site postings that carry their bylines. We want to remind those of you in this position that writing for the Web site is voluntary: The Post never negotiated with the Guild regarding this significant change in your job description, and the issue is now on the bargaining table. Moreover, this protest has nothing to do with our feelings towards our editors, many of whom have quietly expressed their support as we struggle for justice. But if you feel that you must or should continue filing feeds to your editor for the Web site, then the Guild is asking that you insist on invoking your contractual right to withhold your byline from your work for at least the next week as we head into negotiations. By withholding your byline you will be doing your part to make the Web site devoid of early, uncompensated, bylined stories. In cyberspace, as well as at the printing plant, the old truism holds true: We Make The Post. The byline strike brought that home in a very visible way. Management now knows that we are not bluffing when we say we are unified. Working together, we can look forward to settling a fair contract soon. --
Peter Perl and Rick Weiss
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Washington-Baltimore
Newspaper Guild, Local 32035 TNG-CWA, AFL-CIO/
1100 15th St., NW, Suite 350 Washington,
DC 20005/ 202-785-3650 /Fax: 202-7859 Copyright © 2002 Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild |
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