The latest Los Angeles Times appeal to reject the union

From: Kirk, Jim
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2017 8:57 AM
To: yyeditall
Subject: Update

All

As we move closer to the union vote, we remain committed to providing you with facts around unionization. As we have said in previous emails, the most important thing for our company is that you vote. Sitting out means you won’t have a chance to be heard.

There has been a lot of noise the last week, and once again, we feel it is important to set the record straight when it comes to understanding what unionization means and doesn’t mean. As journalists, we all know that facts matter more than hyperbole.

We also believe that an independent newsroom allowing managers and staffers to work together to produce the best journalism possible is essential to maintain the standards of excellence readers of the LA Times expect.

Our industry continues to face significant challenges. To be clear, unionization does not protect any company from making difficult decisions that sometimes need to be made to operate in a tough environment no matter what promises are made by union leaders.

So, as we head toward the Jan. 4th vote, we feel it is critical that you understand the facts about unionization and where the Los Angeles Times will go from here.

Some facts to consider:

Salary and Benefits: A union bargains for the collective group. What this means;

1. A third party will do the bargaining for salary and benefits for you.

2. A union does not give you a greater role in management decisions and cannot guarantee you a better salary, or even an annual increase. If the LA Times newsroom elects a union, all terms and conditions will be up for negotiation and the union may or may not be able to negotiate the same salary and benefits you currently receive. This is fact and you can look at its deals within the New York Times, Washington Post and others to see the facts. Until such a time that a new agreement is reached, the pre-union status quo would remain in place for terms and conditions while a contract is negotiated.

3. Unions historically negotiate set boundaries for compensation, and in some cases, have won raises. But unions cannot force a company to spend more and cannot protect against layoffs if a company does not meet its financial goals.

Executive compensation and Corporate Expenditures: Union organizers say that a union can “demand” that the Company redirect some of the executive compensation to the newsroom. Both sides can demand lots of things. However, executive compensation is not an item we have seen negotiated between management and the Guild in other newsrooms.

Work Rules: As part of the collective bargaining agreement, unions typically negotiate a set of work rules by which employees and managers must operate. Those rules often leave little room for flexibility for managers to work with employees to be creative in how news is covered. And many union contracts restrict supervisors from filling in for a union member and vice versa. In addition, flexibility around hours worked, time off and vacation time would all have to be negotiated.

We know that these are challenging times for our industry. We also believe that working on meeting those challenges head on can happen constructively with everyone in the newsroom. We believe that kind of dialogue should happen freely and openly.

Our newsroom is one of the best in the world for a reason. It is made up of individuals who are driven to do great, important work on a daily basis because they believe in the independence their work can do to right wrongs and make a difference in the community and beyond. Readers expect that from us and no one wants to change that.

Our doors are always open to discuss any question you might have around the vote on Jan. 4.

Best,

Lewis and Jim