Thursday, August 31, 2006

Mark Kurtich to Pressroom Employees

Operations Department
Inter-Office Correspondence


DATE: August 31, 2006
FROM: Mark Kurtich
SUBJECT: Enough is Enough
TO: Operations Employees



ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

The union supporters are back, telling you that if at least fifty percent of you sign cards for the union they will file a SEVENTH PETITION (in the past 16 years!) the NLRB. Before you sign anything, think about this.

Since 1990 the union has filed six separate petitions to represent pressroom employees. Five elections were scheduled and every time the union claimed that a majority of employees had signed up for the union. We have no way of knowing whether this was true but because unions usually don’t file a petition unless at least half the employees have signed cards, we’ll take the union at its word. So what happened?

In October of 1990, the union filed a petition. Two days before the scheduled vote the union withdrew because, according to the union, "there [was] very little chance the Union [could] win the election scheduled for January 31."

In May of 1993, the union filed for an election, ballots were counted on August 5, 1993, and the union got only 28% of the vote.

On April of 1997, the union filed another petition, ballots were counted on May 23, 1997, and the union lost again, receiving 36% of the vote.

On December 30, 1999, the union filed once more, ballots were counted on February 11, 2000, and the union received only 25% of the vote.

In December of 2001 the union filed for an election only at the Olympic plant and that petition was dismissed by the Board. In June of 2002, the union filed for an election in the traditional multi-plant unit. Ballots were counted on July 26, 2002 and the union lost yet again, receiving only 27%.

A couple of things are very clear. First, pressroom employees have repeatedly and resoundingly rejected union-representation. Second, it seems obvious that aggressive peer pressure is a big reason for all of these petitions getting filed in the first place. We conclude that many employees who never intended to vote for the union nonetheless signed cards, often just to get the union supporters off their backs. Third, we have all wasted an enormous amount of time, energy, and money because of this.

Enough is enough. Clearly and for good reasons most of you don’t want a union. So don’t let a minority with their own personal agendas push you around. Stand up to them and tell them to their face what you’ve told them at the polls: you don’t want a union and won’t sign a card. Break the cycle.

Mark Kurtich is Senior vice-president of Operations Department for the Los Angeles Times.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Enough is enough. cutting the fifth week of vacation for those whom spent 25 Years at the times. Makeing Pressroom persons pick all ther time off four mounths in advance! V.P. Russ Newton telling Us We are Under Paid ! Dosnt like like Russ missed a meal. Yeah enough is enough.
UNION YES! Ps X vally presspersons Get on board or the train will leave Your station.

Anonymous said...

and what has happened since then mark ?? huh ..Oh and by the way congratulations on the promotion ( you were jr vice president before ..... right ?? )

Anonymous said...

dont forget those " captive meetings " mark or your union " buster " lawyer ( you know the redhead )

Anonymous said...

Yup.......

And nothing has changed in the last five years?

Ya, right!

Anonymous said...

Hey, you guys should organize the newsroom too!

Anonymous said...

Do you remember this famous phrase...

"Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy" it was spoken by American Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator Dan Quayle during the 1988 vice-presidential debate.

To you Mr. Kurtich I would say…..

TRIBUNE, YOU ARE NO TIMES MIRROR! And you are right “Enough is Enough”.

Anonymous said...

Enough is enough I agree.. Nothing ever seems to be enough for the people in the pressroom. Mgmt tried to save jobs the best way possible when the Valley closed. Yes it was sad to see so many of our fellow employees be let go , but would the UNION have saved there jobs? Remember the grocery store workers how well did the union represent them? They ended up with less after the strike .. did the UNION reps go without there paychecks during that time. They want the dues paid thats all that matters to them . Did the biggest UNION in the USA save the jobs for Ford , GM , Delphi , Intel,etc...? They are closing down manufacturing plants what makes you think it will be any different for you? Oh I forgot you are special , you are the pressroom. Do us all a HUGE FAVOR vote the UNION in I cant wait to see you all end up with less just like the grocery store workers. You make 60k to put tape on paper.. and to read your novels in the reel room. Just try to stay AWAKE when Kurtich comes by to buy you lunch. Mr.OC

Anonymous said...

I agree enough is enough! I was hoping to read some intelligent responses to Mark’s letter. Imagine my surprise when I read the first comment. Is this person kidding me? How many spelling/grammatical errors can you count? Let me guess... you are one of the guys that will represent me and my family at the bargaining table.

Let me ask a question. Why do you care if “V.P. Russ Newton is telling Us We are Under Paid?” Personally I think that’s great. If Russ thinks we are under paid, then we should be getting a raise real soon.

Anonymous said...

Huh.....I think russ said that we're over paid....Also I'll take the guy with the spelling errors over "mark" any day ...his record speaks for itself