Guild-Sun Meet on Layoffs

More layoffs aren't contemplated at this time. That's what Dale Cohen, Vice President for Human Resources and Legal Affairs told Guild leaders when we met Friday, December 26, one short holiday week after seven Guild unit employees were escorted from the workplace in a layoff taking effect January 16.

But Cohen and Ann Barnes, Director of Labor Relations, had precious little else to say in explaining the reasons behind the December 19 layoffs.

Although Guild Administrative Officer Lori Calderone said we had called the meeting so we could understand, for one, the company's "needs for pursuing layoffs" and what objective the company is seeking, Barnes' response that the "Publisher has the clear prerogative to reduce the staff" left us wondering --- as we said across the table --- if the Sun were only laying people off because it had the right to lay them off. Neither Cohen nor Barnes disputed that.

Among the information we didn't get from them, for instance, was whether the Sun is under pressure from Tribune to deliver a certain dollar reduction to costs, including payroll. Or, if the Sun needs to trim its payroll by X-number of employees.

And, they wouldn't explain how the Sun decided it was employees in these job classifications who needed to go.

They wouldn't explain what happens to the work these employees used to do.

They wouldn't explain how they determined these employees were the least senior in their classifications, as the contract requires.

They also didn't explain why the employees were escorted out of the building instead of being allowed to work while the parties held the discussions as outlined in the contract.

Such discussions might be part of the grievance process, Cohen and Barnes said, but they chose not to talk about them at the December 26 meeting, which they said should be limited to Guild suggestions on how to reduce the pain of the layoffs.

The Guild suggested the layoffs should be reduced by the number of employees who voluntarily resign or retire in the next few weeks. And, the Guild suggested, layoffs might be avoided altogether through such alternative (and voluntary) cost-cutting measures as buyouts, job sharing and some people choosing workweek reductions.

In addition, the Guild said that, if the company does follow through on layoffs, it should meet with each of the affected employees to see if they might have the skills for jobs which are currently open, and should offer "outplacement" counseling to assist laid off employees in finding employment elsewhere. Cohen said the Sun would consider these suggestions and get back to us.

We are expecting to have follow up discussions with the Sun, and we'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, if you haven't yet contributed to the collection we're taking up for the seven and you'd like to do so, please see a unit officer.

- Connie Knox, Unit Chair