Wednesday, February 20, 2008
GCI confirms probe of Cherry Hill complaints
Gannett spokeswoman Tara Connell just told me in an e-mail that the company is now "looking into'' allegations by Courier-Post employees that many newsroom staffers are working overtime hours without pay. The employees had warned Publisher Walt Lafferty in a Feb. 10 letter that they would take their grievances to the U.S. Labor Department if their concerns weren't addressed by Feb. 22 -- Friday.
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Ooh! Gannett's looking into people not getting paid overtime. I'm sure that they'll get to the bottom of this right away. When I was at the El Paso Times, then a Gannett paper, they made me an assistant editor on a salary. For four years I had no supervisory duties, did the same exact work as the people under me and was expected to work 50-55 hours per week. They didn't care back then, so what's changed today?
ReplyDeleteTo their credit Gannett lawyers said that we had to be paid while we travel on assignment. The editor's policy was the person driving got paid. The passenger didn't. Despite the Gannett lawyer's advice we still didn't get paid.
Upper management hasn't said a word about this whole situation. Were they told to keep quiet? Do they even care?
ReplyDeleteI hope the Cherry Hillers go through with their labor complaint. Gannett and other newspaper companies have gotten fat for DECADES on look-the-other-way arrangements and the stay-until-it's-done code of the newsroom -- not to mention veiled threats and guilt tripping young and old reporters and editors alike if they ask for actual overtime pay vs. comp time. ("Why'd you get into this business, kid? It's not like you're punching a timeclock for chrissakes ...")
ReplyDeleteAnd don't even think about keeping track of the hours. ("So, should I talk with your accountant before I reassign you to night and weekend cops?")
Comp time in Gannett, as we all know, never equals hours worked, let alone time-and-a-half.
Let's face it: Gannett and others have been doing "more with less" in this way for years. The only thing that gets their attention (and that of upper management) is to try to hold them to the labor laws, which have been routinely ignored for (altogether now) years.
Unless a Guild contract covers the staff (and we know how few of those there are in Gannett), overtime simply - does - not - exist.
"Looking into" allegations? Don't hold your breath. At the very most, somebody might do his or her best impression of Capt. Renault in "Casablanca" and admit only to being "shocked, SHOCKED to find that there is unpaid overtime going on here!"
But don't count on it ...
In the end, nothing will be done. Period. End of story.
ReplyDelete