Guild to Scabs: Leave, Hon
(Plane, street banner fly our message)

This week a dozen Guild members attempted to deliver letters to Tibune employees who were flown to Baltimore for training to replace Sun employees in case the Guild and Tribune don't reach an agreement by June 24. The scabs-who have been training at the Sun since mid-April-arrive each morning at the Guilford entrance in a Tremont Hotel van. They are then escorted by Sun managers to locked rooms upstairs. (These are the Tribune workers you heard about who were promised their own salaries, plus the salaries of the Sun workers they replace.

Guild members tried to greet them as they arrived for work Tuesday morning, but Sun managers rerouted the van to the front of the Sun to avoid us. Guild members were waiting on Calvert Street as managers escorted the scabs inside. But they refused to take our letters.

We are also trying to get our message to the Baltimore community. A banner hanging across St. Paul Street at Mt. Royal Avenue reads, "Stand Up for Good Baltimore Jobs-Sun Workers' Rally-June 19 Noon." A plane flew over The Sun and Camden Yards for the June 10 Orioles game with the tribune-owned Chicago Cubs. Streaming behind the plane was a sign that read "Union to Sunpapers: Fair Contract Now."

At the ballpark, Guild members passed out more than 1000 orange fliers, building more community support, with the message: "Go Baltimore-Beat Chicago."

We will continue to get our message out in many ways in these last few weeks. And we will continue our attempts to deliver our letters to the scabs. Guild members interested in being "scab greeters" can contact your mobilizer.

Our letter is not threatening, but it is to the point.

It says: "We are not making outrageous demands of the Tribune Company. We just want to have a decent place to work. We have families to support and bills to pay. We are just like you.

"Imagine coming to work one day to find someone being trained to take your job. Imagine how it would feel after you'd worked long hours doing honest work for years. Some of us have worked here for decades. We are proud of The Baltimore Sun we have created.

"Whatever the company's managers have told you about your stay in Baltimore, we want you to know that you are "scabs," a not-so-nice word for "replacement workers" who take advantage of labor unrest to make an extra buck.

"Our Contract expires on June 24. While it's your choice, you still have plenty of time to reconsider your decision to come here and leave"

We hope they do.

We Make the Sun Rise, Not Them!