The Times' Vice President of Communications Nancy Sullivan sent us a statement from the paper about Monday's union protest:
Unfortunately, like other newspaper companies, the Los Angeles Times is not immune from the pressures of this difficult economy. Consequently, tough decisions were made that included reducing its workforce across the entire company, including the pressroom. From the onset, The Times has respected the pressmen's right to organize. In fact, despite this very difficult economy The Times and the union reached a 3-year contract agreement in December 2008 that was ratified by the employees. The company's actions have been completely in compliance with the contract.
SOURCE: Pandora
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Nancy Sullivan forgot to say how upset she and the other execs are that men and women that are 20 and 30+ year members of the Los Angeles Times family are being forced to leave the company. These men and women stayed with the company -- forgoing all the other opportunities such as education and training in other fields and with other businesses -- because the company made sure that there were huge incentives (a job-for-life and premium wages) to stay at the L.A. Times.
She forgot to include that all this talk of LAT pressmen being overpaid, under-worked, and ungrateful is hypocritical, self-serving, cynical management bullshit.
It's not the workers who should be shown the door here at the LAT -- NO -- it's the incompetent, good-ol-boy, lazy, under-achieving and imbred managers and VPs whose lack of effort and imagination have resulted in cut after cut after cut. ANY INCOMPETENT FOOL CAN CUT WORKERS AND MATERIALS. It takes talent, imagination, and effort to act as a good steward to the business that serves the public and provides for those who have invested decades of their lives to it. We all know that stewardship does not exist in the LAT management culture. Instead of good management practices and forward-thinking there is a short-term mindset and the priorities of personal ambition and personal power that rule the roost.
L.A. Times managers have a lot of nerve pointing the finger at the union and its supporters who are trying to preserve a decades-long relationship and commitment with the Times. For all these decades these pressmen have played by the rules set by the company, and now the company is just going to bail on them as if they have no alternative.
The creative alternative that would save jobs and turn the paper around TAKES EFFORT on both sides.
This terse communiqué from VP Nancy Sullivan is a timely example of the bad attitude, finger-pointing, and lack of effort and imagination that has brought this once great company to this point.
The contract was for two and one half years, not three. The Union gave management full rights to use employees and as they see fit. In other words they have the rights that they had before a contract. So much for respecting the rights of Employees.
As far as respecting the rights to form a Union, you did not. You did everything in your power to bust the union organising. And mangement is doing everything in it's power to destroy the Union.
The reason the Times is laying off so many employees and shrinking the paper is to pay for a massive debt that the company has incured do to Zells creative screw the employee financing. The Times is still profitable, but not the company with this crushing debt load.
Zell should have never been allowed to buy this company.
Hey, did any of the $700,000,000,000 DOLLARS Obama borrowed, make it to THE LA Times? We can sure use it NOW.
Wolf,
Your timing is way off, this is far from a laughing matter or for un-timely jokes.
A little compassion please.
Ron,
My statement was not a joke. It is an attempt to show people that we the tax payers of America have been forced to pay the income of Big Bankers, and certain big companies. The slap in the face is the political bull Sh%# that we have to endure as we loss workers in every industry, and yet the very same people that created this mess are getting bailed out! Hey why doesn’t Sam go to Washington and ask for a loan to get us over the hump like GM and all of these other companies? Seems to me that the real culprit here is the same government that is "protecting us from the big bad economy" is the one who is screwing us all, and is not preventing us from losing our jobs. Isn’t the News Paper Industry “Too Important to Fail”? Isn’t the first amendment jeopardized by the loss of so many News Papers and journalists across America? Or does Obama believe that the AP is fair and balanced? I know the Times is a Left Wing rag that I don’t care about, but once in a while they have good things to report, better yet, we should count our blessings that we still have a News Paper to read, because we know just how fair the Government Run Media is. Just look at what is currently happening with freedom in China and Russia just to point out a few examples. Are we next? This is no laughing matter. Our freedom is at jeopardy and no one is talking about that. We have become a selfish society.
So, Wolf.
How is our freedom at risk now, but somehow it wasn't during the Bush administration? The Patriot Act, the massive spending on questionable military actions, the doubling of the national debt, the deregulation of business and finance, eavesdropping, torture, the decline of the middle and working classes. You somehow condone these abominations of government while pointing the finger at an administration that has been in government for six weeks. Are you dumb? Or, do you believe that everyone else is as backward as you are?
You are either mentally retarded or a GOP bigot or a combination of both. The GOP is a party that supports the wealthy. You working-class Republicans(don't fool yourself by believing that you are middle-class) are some of the dumbest saps ever. If the ancient Egyptian slaves had supported the Pharoh you would have some history to point to, but it is hard to imagine those in bondage actually loving those who enslave them.
You really do love them don't you?You are a fool for the GOP and the elite class. They trample all over you and you continue to adore them because you don't know any better.
Just to clear the record, I never gave the GOP any credit, in fact they are just as responsible as the current administration. Funny thing is the current Administration did not learn anything from that Dumb ASS Bush. Osama Obama is worse, he has managed to commit 2 trillion dollars in 6 weeks!!! Holy sh&t!! What will the deficit look like after 4 years? Now...who drank the Kool-Aid?
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