First: Picture me, in a Rio de Janeiro hotel room, rolling my eyes.Courier-Post Publisher Walt Lafferty told the staff in a memo this afternoon that a senior Gannett human resources representative would visit the troubled New Jersey newspaper a second time, next week, as a probe into allegations of overtime abuse continues.
In a copy of the memo sent to me, Lafferty says "we expect'' managers to abide by "rules'' about overtime.
Where do I begin? How about being more forceful -- and accurate, Lafferty? Demand that Courier-Post managers follow the law. Period. These aren't rules. It's the law. If you don't understand that by now, it's time to take your worthless Gannett stock options and resign.
Here's the text of his namby-pamby memo: "An anonymous letter sent to me and to others at the Gannett corporate headquarters has alleged that overtime policy isn’t being followed in our newsroom. We expect our managers to abide by the rules governing payment of overtime. However, we have asked a senior HR representative from the Gannett Newspaper East Group to visit the newsroom for a deeper look at the issue. To that end, Dolores Pinto, who was here earlier, will return next week to continue our review."
[Image: today's Courier-Post, Newseum]
Hi Delores!
ReplyDeleteJust in case you didn't know... if you find no physical lash scars on the backs of workers, it does not mean that human abuse did not occur. Forty hours is what people are paid for and people work better and smarter when they have time on their side (like a 40 hour week--hint, hint... ).
OH, maybe... this is the POINT! Maybe newspapers wouldn't be declining rapidly and their stock be in the Port-A-Let IF ONLY Gannett had been smart about managing PEOPLE? What a thought. Of course, it is 10, 20 years too late.
I wish you the best Delores. Can't wait for the report. Hope it is honest but I accept that Gannett is your employer.
Non-exempt workers are as much to blame for this as anyone. Work your 37.5 hours. Charge them for overtime or take off the extra time. No one stands over us to count our hours. No one makes us punch a time clock. That's partly why we do this work.
ReplyDeleteSure, management loves it when a reporter piles on the bylines, appearing oblivious to the extra hours all that output must have taken, and rewarding the worker with accolades, better beats, stories, etc.
But, really, who can we blame but ourselves? Unlike Walmart, Gannett hasn't locked us in the newsroom. Our own ambition has.
Why wait for Gannett? And, for that matter, why do so at any Gannett paper?
ReplyDeleteIf accurate, complaints should be filed with New Jersey’s Division of Wage and Hour Compliance now. Individual employees will need to file as NJ doesn’t allow collective complaints. However, they do allow anonymous ones, other states do too.
Plus, state entities have more teeth as they’ll demand back wages, changes and significantly fine Gannett for any and all violations if found. Sure, Gannett may blame and fire a few managers, but having to pay significant fines – publicly, now that will send a much stronger message for improvement than anything that Delores or Gannett would do to themselves.
Translated: "We expect our newsroom staff to do the additional work we're heaping on them because we don't have enough people within an 8-hour work day and a 40-hour work week. Don't bother us with details such as it's impossible to maintain that workload in that timeframe for very long before you have a nervous breakdown."
ReplyDelete"PS: Since nobody mentioned the other departments in the building, We're going to assume its only a newsroom issue."
ReplyDeleteTo Cherry Hill: If you are not in the newsroom and are either mysteriously exempt or are also working unpaid overtime, make sure your voices are heard too. Don't let this become only a newsroom issue.
I doubt it's exclusive to the newsroom, just like I doubt it's exclusive to Cherry Hill.
ReplyDeleteThis is not unique to Cherry Hill. Being forced to work overtime hours was - and I'm assuming still is - a fairly common thing at The Asbury Park Press. It's an extremely insidiuous situation, one in which the reporters (often the young ones) who work long hours and crank out barely-readable stories are lauded AND GIVEN RAISES, while those who don't are either punished or simply snubbed.
ReplyDeleteOvertime was like a silly game at the APP. When you worked it and asked to be paid for it, the upper-echelon editors would come back to you with a number of hours that were "accepted." So, you worked six hours of overtime? We'll pay you for three.
What was preached to us is that if you worked extra hours in a week, you had to take days off WITHIN THAT PAY PERIOD. It was all about comp time, never overtime. But we all know, given the skeleton crews than man Gannett papers, that taking a day off when you're not horribly sick just fucks you personally, because all the work you have to do backs up.
But you know what? Overall, it isn't the overtime issue that's the real problem. It's the staffing issues at Gannett papers, especially at Cherry Hill and the APP. Not enough people are there to do the jobs that are demanded by the editors and their corporate god-kings in Virginia. That's the bottom line.
I think Gannettoids need to stop being cowards and come forward to report these abuses. Unionize. Resist. The only reason I don't sign my name to these posts is I still have friends at Gannett papers whom I respect - but people, please, you need to stand up and do something. You can't just let Gannett systematically run every fucking newspaper they own into the ground!
No one at the Courier Post is getting a raise for doing good work.
ReplyDeleteI knew Dolores Pinto when I was a Gannett manager and I know for a fact that she was involved in planning meetings when the "information center" concept was rolled out to other Gannett editors and HR directors. She knows what the newsroom, sorry "IC," pressures are and is one of the members of the "we have to work smarter, do more with fewer resources" Greek Chorus.
ReplyDeleteShe is a straight shooter who follows the law to the letter. But make no mistake, she is not on the side of the employees. She is there to represent corporate and make sure there is no blowback for this snafu on corporate types.
I predict that:
1) if there is unpaid overtime, it will be paid to the minute. But the careers (if there is such a thing anymore) of those who claim unpaid OT are over. They may not be fired, but they will never be promoted.
2) the mid managers, up to city editor, photo editor etc, who were responsible for supervising those who incurred the OT are toast. They are finished. If they had hoped for careers in Gannett their hopes have been dashed. They will be the fall guys for this. They may be fired.
3) The upper management, specifically executive editor and managing editors, publisher -- anyone at a corporate level -- will be absolved of any responsibility for what happened. Somehow it will not be their fault. They will probably get more Gannett Rings for handling a difficult situation with care and sensitivity.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Gannett Land.
I used to work for the bozo Lafferty when he was in Parsippany. He's a bean counter and has no clue about publishing. I never pooped there but I did leave a few SBDs in his wormy little office.
ReplyDeleteI was a FT hourly and was scolded many times about how if "they" wanted me to alter my hours to get other people's work done,they could without notice and if I wanted to work there, I'd better just suck it up. These suits have NO ethics.
I too worked in Walt's building up north. He seemed like a nice guy, but he's a boss so whatever. All I know was that there were many a week I worked less than 40 hours and was paid for 40. I guess it's a matter of perspective or something.
ReplyDeleteTHE ADVERTISING DESIGN SERVICES STAFF IS SUFFERING TOO! BUT OH, YEAH, GANNETT FIXED THAT BY OUTSOURCING OUR JOBS TO INDIA!
ReplyDelete