Tribune Co. sick time policy changes

From: AsktheBSC
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 9:48 AM
Subject: Your Tribune Benefits – Sick Time/STD Changes

Human Resources recently completed a review of Tribune’s policies regarding “sick time” and “short term disability” (STD) and has decided to implement two significant changes effective immediately.

Going forward, any unused sick time that you have remaining at the end of a calendar year will be converted to “Full Disability Pay Days.” These days can be used to supplement your STD benefit in future years. Employees may accumulate up to a total of 20 Full Disability Pay Days.

Full Disability Pay Days can be substituted for days you would have received STD pay and will be applied on a day-for-day basis. For example, if you are off work on approved STD leave and have accumulated five full Disability Pay Days, you may substitute those days for five STD days. This will enable you to earn your full pay on those five days, rather than STD pay, which is paid at either 40% or 60%. Full Disability Pay Days may not be used for any other purpose. Only full sick days (in 8 hour increments) will be converted to Full Disability Pay Days. Neither Full Disability Pay Days nor sick days will be paid out upon termination of employment.

In addition, effective immediately, you may supplement your 40% or 60% STD benefit with unused accrued vacation time. This will enable you to receive 100% of your pay while on STD. Such time will be applied on an hour-by-hour basis. For example, if you elected the 60% STD benefit and you work a 40 hour week, you may deduct 16 hours from your available vacation time in order to increase your STD benefit to 100% of your pay for the week. The decision to supplement STD pay with accrued vacation time is yours alone, and can be made at the time you are approved for STD leave.

For more detailed information on the company’s STD policy or any of your Tribune benefits, please visit the Benefits Service Center page of TribLink.

Mike Bourgon
VP/Human Resourses

Save Our Trade: 7 hour shift decision in favor of Local 140-N

Tony Hill (left) with Ronnie Pineda

By Ronnie Pineda

I received notice from our Attorney Adam Stern and Executive Vice President Denson early yesterday informing me that our Local won our 7 hour grievance in Arbitration. First of all I need to thank all of our members that voted to keep our Union and more importantly, your patience for this decision. Believe me, nobody wanted this victory more than our faithful Executive Board Members! This my Brothers and Sisters is what a Union is about, sticking together for what is right and standing up for the respect every one of in our trade deserves! CONGRATULATIONS!

Fraternally and in Solidarity,
President, Ronnie Pineda




Save Our Trade: 7 hour shift decision in favor of Local 140-N

Newspaper Printers at the San Francisco Chronicle

Newspaper printers talk about their craft in this promo for our in-progress video. We began filming more than a decade ago in an effort to document the changes that have made this storied craft obsolete. This clip is circa 2000.

Breaking News: Dan Lippiatt Leaves the LA Times

Dan Lippiatt (left) and Kal Hamalainen

Yes it’s true, after forty-two years at the Los Angeles Times Dan Lippiatt has called it quits and retired. What makes this so unusual is the downsizing that has occurred since the Tribune Company bought the Times Mirror Company, seems no one retires any longer due to buyouts, voluntary leaves, etc.

Here’s wishing Dan the best in retirement and the freedom to do as he pleases now.

Bummer.

But all those classes our kids are taking to learn computers (when they already know) are supposed to lead to stellar jobs, aren't they?  Or maybe not. Bring back the arts, humanities and vocational ed. At the very least, we need people who can fix things --like Pressmen.

From Media Life:

By Bill Cromwell
Jun 22, 2011

The recession is nominally over, but you wouldn't guess it from the news coming out of print media the past few weeks.
Another magazine, ReadyMade, shut down, putting 75 out of work, newspaper ad revenue hit a 28-year low, and now a major publisher is instituting yet more mass layoffs, citing lagging advertising as the reason.

Gannett confirmed yesterday that it is laying off 700 employees, representing roughly 2 percent of its workforce.

New Book: The Deal From Hell or "More Zell Hell" or Maybe 'Mea Culpa' was to apologize for the road ahead

"The Deal From Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers, was written by former Los Angeles Times editor James O'Shea. He skewers Zell and bankers at JPMorgan, Citibank and Bank of America for approving the Tribune Company's $8.3 billion acquisition of the Times-Mirror Company, which owned the Los Angeles Times."

Read excerpts and the review here: in the Atlantic Wire by John Hudson.

Then order the book here from Vroman's.

War Photographers' Retreat

Update: Our new website is here: War Photographers' Retreat

Sgt Marc Solowski, Sgt Tad Donoho, and Tim Hetherington in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Photo by Sgt. Santana Rueda

In April, LA Times' Reporter Ned Parker wrote one of the toughest (good) articles To Live And Lose in Misurata on the Kadaffi attacks on Misurata Libya. In his story, he detailed the death of two highly esteemed colleagues: Tim Hetherington & Chris Hondros.

Readers of this blog might remember that Hetherington's film Restrepo took up a good part of 2010 for me, when I worked on it as the military outreach coordinator. His death came as a huge blow, but fortunately I had spent enough time with Tim to know that one must continue on. Shortly after, David Emerson of The Trauma Center in Boston wrote to me, asking if they could have a retreat in Tim's honor.

The result is The War Photographers' Retreat, a four-day, free event exclusively for photojournalists whose work takes them in and out of conflict and war zones. The WP Retreat will be held 25-28 August in Cambridge MA. The offerings will be four free days of yoga, massage and acupuncture in the company of other war photojournalists. There is no charge for the event, which is limited to ten participants.  Application directions are on the "About" Facebook Page.  This is an all volunteer-effort, and the organizers are even arranging free homestays for those who do not have the resources to pay for a hotel.

The Dart Society has joined in as a sponsor and to help us spread the word. I would like the assistance of the LA Times Pressmen to do the same. If you know of any conflict photojournalists, please share this link with them.

Free Riders

Free rider problem

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In economics, collective bargaining, psychology, and political science, "free riders" are those who consume a resource without paying for it, or pay less than the full cost of its production. Free riding is usually considered to be an economic "problem" only when it leads to the non-production or under-production of a public good (and thus to Pareto inefficiency), or when it leads to the excessive use of a common property resource. The free rider problem is the question of how to limit free riding (or its negative effects) in these situations.

The name "free rider" comes from a common textbook example: someone using public transportation without paying the fare. If too many people do this, the system will not have enough money to operate.

Politics

A common example of a free rider is someone who chooses to not pay his or her share of taxes, which help pay for public goods that all citizens benefit from, such as: roads, police, water treatment plants, fire services, the military and food safety inspectors.

Lysander Spooner, an individualist anarchist argued, however, that competition between mutual insurance companies, voluntarily patronized by property owners, could provide a practical alternative to government monopoly on protection over a particular territory.^[1]

Bargaining

When involved in bargaining, players may often bid less than they are prepared to pay in the hope of improving their own position. This creates problems because it is impossible to discover the players' true demand payoff curves, and therefore inefficient allocation of resources is likely to result.

In the context of labor unions, a free rider or freeloader is an employee who pays no union dues or agency shop fees, but nonetheless receives the same benefits of union representation as dues-payers. Under U.S. law, unions owe a duty of fair representation to all workers that they represent, regardless of whether they pay dues. Free riding has been a point of legal and political contention for decades.^[2] In Canadian labour law, the Rand formula (also referred to as automatic check-off) is a workplace situation in which the payment of trade union dues is mandatory, regardless of the worker's opinion about the union.

Example

Suppose there is a street, on which 25 small businesses are run, and which suffers from a serious litter problem that detracts customers. It costs £100 annually for each business to keep the front of their store clean. If a storeowner decides to keep the front of their store clean, all businesses on the street will have improved sales. Suppose every business on the street will have a £10 increase in annual sales for each business that decides to keep the front of their store clean. If more than ten businesses clean their storefronts, then all of the businesses will make more money, including the businesses that clean. If some businesses clean but fewer than ten do so, then the businesses that clean will lose money, while the businesses that do not clean will gain money.

If everyone were to keep the front of their store clean, every business would benefit: a £250 increase in sales with a cost of £100 yields a £150 gain. However, an individual business could save £100 by not doing the cleaning, yet suffer only £10 for their defection, yielding a £240 gain, which is greater than they would have if they cooperated. Despite the fact they may be prepared to contribute £100, they can avoid doing so in hope that others in the street will clean anyway, and they receive the benefit for no personal expense.

Thus, under these assumptions, at any given point, any businesses will benefit more by not keeping the front of their stores clean. As a result, it may happen that no business will clean the street in front of their store. Such a situation would be the Nash equilibrium. This is despite the fact that allocative efficiency would be improved if they had cooperated.

Solution

One common solution to the problem is to contractually bind the 25 businesses to make them behave like a single entity. A vote could be taken so that if the answer is yes, everyone will be forced to pay regardless of their individual support. Contractual obligation in this problem provides the same function as a government in providing public services like military defense.

Problems

The solution suggested above is not without its problems. In most real-life scenarios, the utility for the 25 businesses varies from one to another, each benefiting incongruently. In some cases, such a good may even be considered by some to have negative utility. Further contributing to the payoff asymmetry, cultural norms of social reciprocity may influence one's willingness to cooperate or defect in a public goods game. In other words, one may value the actual act of cooperating with their neighboring businesses to a greater extent than they value the additional money they would get for defecting.

Los Angeles Press Club Friends of Journalism Auction

The Los Angeles Press Club Auction Is Officially Open!

So what are you waiting for?...Bid Now! Place Your Bid. Whether you're looking for something unique for yourself, searching for a gift for a special someone, or looking to add a little adventure to your life, you're sure to find something in our auction. Every bid helps support our cause. Tell Your Friends. The success of this online auction depends on spreading the word to as many people as possible. We need your help. Please Refer a Friend and encourage them to participate so they don't miss a single moment of the fun and excitement. View All Auction Items ENTER TO WIN AN APPLE iPAD 2 Donate $5 or more to your Los Angeles Press Club and you're automaticaly entered in the Apple iPad 2 Sweepstakes. Just click on the "Donate Cash" button on your right! Support serious journalism in the Southland. Winning Bids Support 53rd Annual SoCal Journalism Awards View All 39 Items Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Laker Autographed Jersey Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers Autographed Basketball Jersey. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity from Zindlers Sports. Donated by: Zindlers Sports Collectibles Value Priceless Current Bid Bid Now! 5 Day/4 Night Escape to Cancun, Mexico An amazing vacation awaits you¿ Spend 5 days and 4 nights in the Mexican Caribbean. Cancun is a place like no other. Whether you are seeking adventure, fun, or a relaxing vacation, you are about to experience it. White sandy beaches, clear turq... Donated by: Premier Cancun Vacations Value $1,048.00 Current Bid Bid Now! GALA AWARDS SHOW & BANQUET TICKETS Sunday June 26 in the legendary Crystal Ballroom at the historic Biltmore in downtown LA Non-Member Banquet Ticket, preferred seating Two of American TV¿s most distinguished reporters, 60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl, and NBC News Senior F... Donated by: Los Angeles Press Club Value $800.00 Current Bid Bid Now! $150 Gift Certificate for Fikorus Jewelry You are bidding on a $150 Gift Certificate to Fikorus Jewelry (See Terms and Conditions) Every piece of jewelry from Fikorus Jewelry is hand made by Niina Karlsson. Niina only makes very limited series in order to keep her creations unique. Fikor... Donated by: Fikorus Jewelry Value $150.00 Current Bid Bid Now! View All 39 Items We Have Great Items Coming In Every Day Check in regularly and see the great items being donated. We'll keep you informed by email. And you can still donate items until Tues. June 21. Our online auction ends 5 pm Pacific Fri. June 24. SEATS AND TABLES GOING FAST FOR AWARDS GALA Call Diana at 310-210-1860 Lesley Stahl will receive the President’s Award for Impact on the Media. “She is a pioneering woman in television news whose career spans the era of Watergate to the digital age,” said LA Press Club President Will Lewis. Richard Engel, will be honored with the 2011 Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity. The Daniel Pearl Award was created in 2002 by the LA Press Club and the family of Daniel Pearl in memory of the slain Wall Street Journal reporter. The Los Angeles Press Club is proud to announce its first Public Service in Journalism award. It’s for reporting that results in improving the civic life of a city or region in California . LA Times reporters Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives have been named the recipients of the 2011 Public Service award for breaking, and staying with, the City of Bell Scandal. The reporting led to criminal indictments and sweeping governmental reforms in the cities of Bell , Maywood and Vernon . Furthermore, it led to an examination of salaries of local government officials in cities all over California and the nation. “I feel truly honored,” said Times senior writer Gottlieb, “to receive an award from people I’ve worked with and competed against.” . The Press Club Board acknowledges the efforts of the LA Times to closely follow the Bell revelations and investigate irregularities and corruption in some of the smaller cities that make up Los Angeles County.

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Winning at the Race of Life

FUN event for the whole family sponsored by Full Gospel Business Men Fellowship International. Special guests, music, BIG RIGS, food, giveaways, raffles and rides in a stuntcar driven by Fast & Furious Hollywood stuntman Sammy Maloof benefiting surrounding communities and honoring Transport For Christ the men and women who drive millions of miles to deliver food and resources to our retail stores in this challenging economy. Join us for an inspirational message on how to
WIN at the RACE of LIFE!

Transportation Centers of America (TA) West
4265 E. Guasti Road
Ontario, CA 91761
Call: 951-858-9850

New Mobile Version of Blog Launched

A new mobile version of our blog has been launched, which is much easier to navigate while away from your regular computer. Give it a test drive to see how it appears on your mobile device.

Desertification defeated at the Los Angeles Times

After a two-day desertification election at the Los Angeles Times Olympic Production Facility the workers soundly defeated the, alleged management-backed effort, to eliminate the GCC/Teamsters from the workplace.

One hundred twenty-five press room employees cast their ballots, out of one hundred and forty employees in the workplace, with eighty voting to continue with union representation, forty-four voting to flee the union, and one vote challenged and not counted.

At 5:45 p.m. yesterday I crossed paths with the senior vice president of production, Russ Newton, said hello to him with no response, as I looked into his face something didn’t seem right with him as he had a frown. I asked Mr. Newton “Are you alright Russ?” not even thinking about what was occurring within the workplace. He answered, “I’m fine”, but his body language gave away the direction of the desertification.

The Tribune Company uses the legal system to it’s advantage by delaying legal proceedings time and again, just look at all the delays in resolving the bankruptcy, which was filed on December 8, 2008 and doesn’t appear anywhere near reaching an end.

Desertification of our union was yet another hurdle throw in our paths by the Tribune Company to delay union contract negotiations, resolving the fifty-five grievances filed for unfair workplace violations, and allowing the non-dues paying employees some hope they will not be forced to pay their dues on December 2, 2011.

As we move forward I urge all union supporters to begin building bridges of communication with our non-supporters, burning our bridges now will haunt us in the future.

THE DAILY MOTIVATOR - 6/8/2011

Positive thoughts
++++++++++++++++++

It is not easy to think positive thoughts when the world around you appears to be so negative. In fact, it can be as difficult as anything you've ever done.

However, it is absolutely possible to fill your mind with positive thoughts no matter what your circumstances. Doing so empowers you like nothing else can.

To think positively is to align yourself with the truth that you're immersed in a universe of limitless, growing abundance. To think positively is to graciously accept that your life is destined for meaningful and unique fulfillment.

Instead of placing a judgment on your situation, apply your most positive intentions to that situation. Instead of seeing the world as negative, see yourself as a powerful agent of the positive possibilities.

If you find yourself giving in to negativity, you are selling yourself short. The moment you feel the slightest twinge of a negative thought, stop and remind yourself how powerful you are.

Do the disciplined, intentional work to keep your thoughts positive. Because whatever you most consistently think, is where your life will surely and steadily go.

Ralph Marston

Delta Airlines Charges Fees To Soldiers Coming Home

Read more (and get the link to write to Delta) at:
The Kitchen Dispatch

Message from George Tedeschi, GCC President

Good Luck with the election. Let make sure you get out the vote. I just do not understand why anyone would give up their right to have a voice in there livelihoods where by law you can negotiate for wages and conditions of employment. Then you have the right to vote on them. Without the union the company and bosses decide everything for you without any worker input. Surly you have your own best interests at heart, not some corporate executive in Chicago . Without the seniority protection in your present contract many of you might not have survived the layoffs that happened these past years. Think smart and stay strong. Together working with the GCC/IBT you will be able to improve your contract. Vote Yes.

Fraternally,
George Tedeschi,
GCC President & IBT Vice President.

Monday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

Former Orange County Press Room Trainer Mark Blancas now working for Masthead

· Civil Court Update - Ronnie Pineda
· Times eliminates outdoors blog - Kevin Roderick
· Press-Enterprise Hit by Layoffs - Pandora Young
· Newspaper Ad Revenue in US Falls 7 Percent in 1Q - AP
· Tribune Co. execs keep jockeying for position - Time Out
· Press-Enterprise publisher announces changes - Gary Scott
· Amazing that this newspaper was delivered on time - Poynter
· NLRB vs CNN/Team Video Update - Broadcast Union News
· Ex-Tribune Execs Sue For Retirement Benefits - Media Post
· Quality newspapers that remain may not be on paper - Jill Abramson

Rest in Peace Bob Weide

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Marilyn Weide and the family on the passing of Bob.
Long time pressman at the Los Angeles Times Bob Weide passed away after a short illness. Bob began his LA Times career at the now shuttered Times Mirror Square facility, transferring to the shuttered Chatsworth Facility before retiring as a crew foreman.

Bob will be missed.

No additional information available at this time.


From the left Jerry Ash and Bob Weide

FaceBook Hallmark Card Fracas: When Maxine Fans Go Awry

This weekend, the normally quiet and happy Maxine facebook page was hit with some controversy over John Wagner's depiction of Hallmark Card's Maxine on Memorial Day.

The Kitchen Dispatch: When Maxine Fans Go Awry

Los Angeles Times John Walker leaving Pressroom

From: Russ Newton, S.V.P. Operations

June 1, 2011

Pressroom Employees,

Effective today, June 1, 2011, John Walker will resume his role as the Project Manager for the Operations department. John has significant skills and expertise in project management; we're looking forward to having John utilizing those skills with the D-8 color expansion, Digital Page Packs and AGV Replacement projects. Please provide John your full support as he transitions into this new role. At this time, Pressroom supervision will report directly to the Director of Operations, Greg Malcolm. The now vacant Pressroom Manager position will be posted this week and filled in the near future.

The Kitchen Dispatch: Free Range International: An Iconic Blog Folds

My send off for the best boots-and-tires-on-the-ground blog from Afghanistan.

The Kitchen Dispatch: Free Range International: An Iconic Blog Folds