Ronnie Pineda brought this to my attention and thought all Tribune Employees should see it, I agree information should come from all sources.
Demand That Your Voice Be Heard
Real estate tycoon Sam Zell’s ingenious plan to control the Tribune Company by transferring billions of dollars of debt to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), while denying employees a voice in the governance of the plan or the company, puts our jobs, retirement security and families’ futures at risk!
The ESOP, which is governed by GreatBanc Trust Company, a sole trustee appointed by Tribune management, has already amassed more than $7 billion in debt and will need more than $4 billion more to close the deal. In order to secure the financing, the company had to agree to higher than anticipated interest rates and an accelerated repayment schedule, terms that could lead the company to sell assets and slash jobs. Without a voice, all Tribune employees are at risk.
We cannot afford to let Sam Zell, Tribune management or their “not-so-great” bank run our company into the ground. We must demand a seat at the table before it is too late!
Join the Tribune Employees’ Financial Protection Committee today, sign the petition and demand that your voice be heard.
Full Petition Text:
The proposed Tribune buyout transfers ownership of our company to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). A sole management-appointed trustee governs the ESOP which has amassed billions dollars in debt with high interest rates and onerous repayment schedules.
All Tribune employees, whether participants in the ESOP or not, carry the heavy burden of ensuring the survival of our company in an embattled industry now with billions of dollars of new debt. We will not succeed without a seat at the table.
We, the undersigned employees of the Tribune Company, are committed to the long-term success of our company and join together as members of the Tribune Employees' Financial Protection Committee to demand that workers have a voice in our company and our future.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
To view and sign the petition click here.
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3 comments:
Hi Ed,
I find it interesting that Ronnie now admits that Tribune is part of an "embattled industry". I wonder what he and his "comrades" will ask for at the bargaining table? Higher wages? Lower cost for benefits? More protection for the poor performers?
Wake up! Your job and your future are just as much in your hands as it is in Sam Zell's or the inept Tribune managemet team in Chicago.
Do more at work, look for every opportunity to save money, be more flexible, think beyond your long lunch and bust out.... think about the ones at home - your family- what are you doing to ensure their happiness and future?
Amen......
I'm glad someone lives in "the real world"!!!!
First let me begin by saying that I did not author this petition or the petition text. This action is being championed by The Capital Strategies Dept of The Teamsters.
In the "real world" you must do everything in your power to protect the people at home you mentioned. Our families happiness and future are the main reasons for wanting a seat at the negotiation table.
How much longer should we have trusted the, as you pointed out "inept" Tribune management with our families happiness and future?
We have all seen what has taken place in Los Angeles under Tribune's stewardship. Chicago has continued to breed millionaires at the expense of Los Angeles Times employees regardless of an "embattled Industry"
Again I ask, why are approximately 38 exectives going to share in a bounty of over $250 million dollars for doing their job to find a buyer when the sale of Tribune to Sam Zell is completed?
That's only a 100 million less than he's ponying up for an 8 billion dollar Corporation!
Why should top executives "PROFIT" from the sale? They own the company just as much as you and I. Some of them have agreed to for-go this "Bonus" as Fitzsimons has stated he will do, and others have agreed to take reduced amounts.
One executive agreed to accept $400.000.oo instead of $600.000.oo Big WOW! If decisions like these are suppose to appear as acts of sacrafice on their behalf, it is feeble at best. How would you like to have the $200.000.oo that this executive generously declined.
Could you afford to give up that much money? Didn't think so, but this individual can and that's what seperates us from them and they will never be able to relate to you or your station in life.
If they want to impress us, then they can share some of the treasure the will reap when they complete the sell-out.....oops, I meant sale of Tribune Corp.
We did "wake up" and you're absolutely correct that our future is in our hands just as much as it is in Sam Zell's or Managements. Previously it was "ONLY" in their hands.
This action is to have a voice in the decisions that effect our future. Why should we as employees suffer the burden of "leveraging" our retirement by creating a new ESOP so that Sam Zell can control this Corporation. How can it be an Employee Stock Ownership Plan without actually giving the "EMPLOYEES" a voice in how the ESOP is managed.
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