Friday, May 30, 2008
Save Our Trade: Advertiser Letter
The following letter was mailed to fifty local car dealerships in the southern california area, from the Bargaining Committee for the Los Angeles Times Pressmen's Union.
Dear Respected Los Angeles Times Advertiser,
We, the presspersons of the Los Angeles Times are currently in negotiations with the company to bargain a first time contract with the newspaper. We chose to be represented by the Graphic Communications Conference / International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT).
Negotiations began on November 1ST 2007 with no significant progress and as of this date, we arrived at the conclusion that the LA Times management bargaining committee has absolutely no desire to negotiate fairly with its workers and our union.
We understand that all newspapers are currently struggling in this economic environment, but so are its workers. This newspaper continues to generate a profit, yet we gave concessions in the range of 1.8 million dollars last month. We do care about the LA Times and our ability to produce one of the finest newspapers in the world for both our subscribers and advertisers.
This letter is to advise you, our advertiser, that the GCC/IBT and its members may exercise their right under the National Labor Relations Act which includes the right to handbill in front of your establishment and ask your customers not to buy your product because you advertise in the LA Times.
This is certainly not what we would prefer to do, but this is a decision that the company is forcing us employees to consider making. We want the LA Times to respect us as workers and more importantly, recognize our contribution in providing your business advertising the quality printing you and your customers deserve.
The new owner wants nothing more than for us to continue to give up wages and benefits in an effort to increase corporate profits.
GCC/IBTBargaining Committee
Save Our Trade: Advertiser Letter
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19 comments:
You've got to be kidding me!!!!
This is like cutting off the hand that feeds you! Why!!!
Whose going to be the loser here?? Not the “fat cat” union dudes that’s for sure!!!
Sounds like it's time for a vote to de-certify the union!
As a non-union member I am sickened by the tactics that the Union will use to prove a point. With the stupid little stunt that they did, we should fire the Union and keep them out. I hope the Pressroom realizes what just occured. Never bite the hand that feeds you! Thou has broken one of the 10 cardinal rules of business. Union, you have no back bone, you have no brains, and you have no class.
Don't lose faith brothers and sisters. Anonymous said: Sounds like it's time for a vote to de-certify the union! I say not so fast. The fight hasn't even started and this guy is ready to throw in the towel. What a wimp. Wolf said: ....we should fire the Union and keep them out. He isn't even a member and he says we should fire them. As a non-member he has no say so. I know who Wolf is and if he loses his job at The Times, he would be lucky to be in charge of the pickles at the local McDonalds.
Right now the monkeys are in charge of the peanuts. It is time for the union to take over the peanut barrel and negotiate with autority and confidence.
Local 13 is the Longshore division of the Southern California Los Angeles / Long Beach harbors area. It is the largest local on the West Coast. The prudent thing to do is to take lessons from these guys on how to deal with those trying to denegrate the existing standard of living. Nobody crosses their picket lines and when they shut down, everything comes to a stop. Besides that, in the unlikely event of a strike, they wouldn't off load the newsprint coming in, and the Teamsters wouldn't haul it.
Decertify, and the takeaways would continue.
you know wolf your absolutely right ( yup ) then
russ can bring in part- timers , cut your pay , change your HRS, ( because they can as you've observed ) etc... etc.. yup your soooo right on the mark Oh by the way go check out russ new BMW it's really nice
You have got to be kidding !! The employees in the pressroom have it made. You make a great wage and you have great benefits. Just in case you have not noticed circulation is declining advertising is declining etc. The newspaper business is in survival mode. You should be ashamed of yourself trying to intimidate our advertisers. That is something to be proud of. When you get home from your picket are you proud tell your children what would you were doing earlier in the day???
All companys in the world need to make a profit or there would be no reason to be in business. If a company does not make a profit they start laying off people or they go out of business.Is that your goal?? Ronnie and all your ilk should be ashamed of yourself.
MR.OC
“Local 13 is the Longshore division of the Southern California Los Angeles/Long Beach harbors area. It is the largest local on the West Coast.”
Wow.... your equating the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to a company like the Times! Talk about apples and oranges!!!!
Get real.... again “accounting 101”..... if the Times has less money coming in and the company can’t pay their bills, what can they do?
Well, they can generate more advertising or charge more for advertising (the union's working on that). They can cut page count and save on newsprint and ink. They can reduce the size of the paper and save newsprint and ink. They can shut down a printing facility and sell the assets. They can raise the employees share of the benefit costs. They can reduce staffing with voluntary/involuntary separations. Or they can just close the doors and walk away and sell the paper to Dean!
You wanted a union and you got it! Are you sure you still want it?
Dear Rat
By reading your post I'm guessing r.a.t. stands for Really Asinine Thinking. Calling people 'wimps' this isn't grade school you fool we are talking about peoples lives.
You pressmen make 35 or 40 dollars an hour. You work 25 hours a week and have full benefits. Go out on strike and find out how fast the company can replace you.
rat said
'I know who Wolf is and if he loses his job at The Times, he would be lucky to be in charge of the pickles at the local McDonalds'.
Is this any better then the guy who has worked in the pressroom for 20 years and only knows how to work in the reel room? Would you like fries with that?
Going after advertisers in these economic times is suicide. If you can get enough advertisers to stop advertising in the paper....maybe we can have another layoff. I hope you are one of the next to go.
Anon said: - You should be ashamed of yourself trying to intimidate.... Oh wow, now you say the union is trying to intimidate. Not so, sometimes it is necessary to strike at the root, to bring forth new growth. The Times negotiators could easily put the advertizer at ease by writing them and stating they are bargaining in good faith and that they plan on bringing the negotiations to something that is agreeable to all. Not by saying that YOU START FROM SCRATCH AND EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE. All that was had before the union came in should be the same as after the union came in. The Times was non union for many years, and as a result of poor management and non stop takeaways, there was no option other than to bring in a third party for representation. Zell should clean house and fire all those responsible.
Anon said: we are talking about peoples lives. - I think he menat to say livelyhood. No lives are threatened. The only real threat to peoples livelyhood is the existence of scabs. If it weren't for scabs, there would be no threat. Threatening people with replacement scabs is real intimidation. They are a dispicable bunch.
Anon said: Ronnie and all your ilk should be ashamed of yourself. - I don't think so. The ones that should be ashamed are the directors and VPs who forced the hand of the worker.
I tried to think of some clever comment to make regarding this union stupidity, but could not. It speaks for itself.
Wolf - aka cry wolf said " Union, you have no back bone, you have no brains, and you have no class." Wolf. This also applies to you. On your recent blog related to equipment your comments showed you had no brains. Grandspud - aka mr. potato head made a gross error on the same blog, which he later retracted, and you would not publish my comment correcting his most absurd comment. This showed you have no back bone. Your lies show you have no class. Your crying wolf also shows you have no credibility.
"This letter is to advise you, our advertiser, that the GCC/IBT and its members may exercise their right under the National Labor Relations Act which includes the right to handbill in front of your establishment and ask your customers not to buy your product because you advertise in the LA Times."
"We have NOT asked our advertisers to take any form of action against the company."
NO.... just their customers not to buy their product!
BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!!
No matter how you spin it, this tactic does nothing to support your members or the rest of the employees of the LA Times. If successful it WILL generate another round of voluntary/involuntary separations.
I’m sure that those families that will be effected will THANK YOU!!!!
Any other time this tactic would be somewhat understandable but who ever made the decision to send out the letters must be inexperienced because they didnt take the current economic crisis into account. banks are cranking down on loans making credit almost impossible to attain and people are losing their homes and are more concerned about paying bills then buying cars thus causing the car manufactures to cut down on inventory creating massive layoffs (19,000 laid off from one manufacture alone this past week) I dont think these dealer want to jeopardize their business even more its easier and cheaper to pull out ads. Pulling adds means no revenue=no $ to pay employees (its elementary)
I dont know if pressroom employees get $35 - $40 an hour and I dont mean to sound insensitive to your cause but its sort of difficult to sympathize with you when you jeopardize my job too. I dont get $35 an hour and your actions can lead to me losing the job that I support my family with and that touches a nerve.
Unhappy with the language or disagreement about work hours it all sounds pretty petty compared to the repercussions of threatening our advertisers can and probably will cause.
Im having an even tougher time understanding why other press people are sitting back and letting these folks make such damaging decisions. I know I would be very mad if someone in my department just went off and did something that jeopardized my job and my familys financial stability.
I thought unions were formed when employers were treating employees unfair and/or when employees needed help improving poor working conditions. From all the blogs and comments ive read so far 7 hour work days (when the rest of the working world works FULL time 8 hours a day), lunch tickets (free lunch!), $35 to $40 an hour salary and the fact that a majority of negotiations are about language, Im lost. Don’t you already have all that? So you are paying the union for stuff you already have? Well if you are getting paid $35 an hour I guess you need something to spend that money on.
RAT?! A very appropriate name, need I say more?
This letter is ridiculous in so many ways. For one, notice how the salutation is in direct conflict with the message?
Dear Respected Los Angeles Times Advertiser,
.....to handbill in front of your establishment and ask your customers not to buy your product...
The last time I checked, bringing harm to another for your own personal gain was anything but a show of respect.
Grandspud aka mr. potato head said "The last time I checked, bringing harm to another for your own personal gain was anything but a show of respect." Eddo says - Look who is calling the kettle black!!! You use this tactic on a regular basis, just as you have in the past. You have nothing to say other than tripe. Every time I see your posts, little man, you personify the saying A DOG RETURNS TO IT'S VOMIT.
It's funny that you spoiled pressmen entitlement titty-babies haven't figured out that you are toast. Union or non-union, doesn't matter. It's over, Johnny. IT'S OVER.
Wolf said - RAT?! A very appropriate name, need I say more?
Rats are survivors - not an endangered species like you mr. pickle packer. iTS MR. RAT TO YOU.
Ok Mrs. Mickey Mouse. Whatever you say.
RAT.
I would like to thank you so much, for acknowledging your place in my life, and what I mean to you. I am your Mr. Pickle packer, and the fact that you give me that name implies that you know things other’s just aren’t privileged to, and in that respect I do want to recognize your wise way’s in putting things. Once again, thank you for the show of respect and acknowledgment of who I am to you.
Your "Pickle Packer"
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