Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tuesday | March 24 | Your News & Comments
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142 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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First furlough!
ReplyDeleteGet used to the furloughs people......they will continue all year and you may even get whipped harder, you pyramid building slaves, the pharoahs deserve the fruits of your labors more than you! Haha, unions are asked and are not mandatory so what does that say to you? Shame on you for being so individualized and not collective bargained where you have an able chance against the company to get whats fair instead of being "raped" over and over and over.........and over again!
ReplyDeleteGuys, I know times are tough but things are turning around. It’s not evident now obviously, but advertising numbers are getting better and the severance payments for many of the laid off are ending. We will have no problem making debt payments and we still have decent income. By this, I mean we have successfully matched expenses with revenue. It looks like the economy is turning around faster then we had first hoped, and many lost advertisers are coming back. I know that’s not the popular believe but it’s true. Many advertisers have no better channel to advertise then our local papers. As was stated by management at the start of the recession almost a year ago, we have a good balance sheet compared to other newspaper companies. Anyone can see that. Yes we have debt, but we are managing that debt well. So, when the advertisers finally all come back, we will have expenses contained to the point that we can capitalize on our strong position. Then with business stable again we can proceed on the strategic path of Content One.
ReplyDeleteI know times are bad. I know people have lost their jobs. Good people. I also know that furloughs are tough for people. However, we have to keep things in perspective. In my opinion our stock slide is over. Advertising has started to stabilize. Content One is moving along nicely. We may not be exactly were we all would like to be, but we are in a good place to capitalize on the rebound. Focus on all the news from the industry not just the negative. We will come through this together.
Just a note about borrowing againts your 401(k).
ReplyDeleteIf you do, and then roll it over while you still owe on the loan, whatever is left of the loan is considered income for tax purposes.
What the f**k is Content One?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've gathered Contentone is just another way to eventually eliminate jobs as papers would be sharing content.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course Gannett would have to give it a stupid Gannett-oid name that makes it sound pretty and helpful and innovative.
This company can suck my d**k. I'm a highly valuable employee and have been begged to stay in the past when I was ready to leave, but I'm done. I'm giving my notice tomorrow. And no I don't have anything lined up, but my spouse is doing well and I can afford to take some time to do something new. I must say I think telling my managers "F**k You" as I'm walking out the door will be worth losing a paycheck or four.
I only wish I could say the same to Dunblow and Dick(ey)Head
isnt it funny that bad news for gannett and it's employees is good news for Jim.
ReplyDeleteyour misery is his ad revenue.
not that im complaining, actually im more envious if anything... wish I had thought of it first.
You think you'd stick around here if tomorrow gannett came out and said they were done with furloughs, everyone is getting a pay increase and they were hiring back all of the positions they laid off? I doubt it. you'd find something else to be entitled to.
admit it... you love to have something to complain about.
Maybe you can take a hint from jim's operation here and provide someplace for your newspapers' readers to complain. atleast you'd get more traffic.
---
side note: you know what really burns me.... craig getting paid as much as he does. Does anyone else think about what we could do with that money. Let's say he makes $20million a year (i dont recall the actual figure)...
you give me 1/20th of that.... 1 million dollars and the freedom to hire whoever i want and I could develop the next youtube, the next facebook, the next myspace.
you really think each of those sites had a million dollar R&D budget? yeah right. facebook was created by a college kid and his buddies. yet a whole company of self-proclaimed invaluable employees can't make a website the loads in less than 5 minutes.
instead of inventing the next household brand name, we're lining the pockets of a so-far worthless CEO and his spineless minions.
give me a break. That... THAT! is why a company like gannett will never be able to adapt, never find a place to fit into tomorrow's economy, too many layers of expensive, risk-averse management.
It makes me sad to think about what we could do with all the money we're paying our top management. such a waste.
Cough, cough. Think I feel something coming on. Might have to stay home Wednesday.
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ReplyDeleteSure, bad news for Gannett, is good news for Jim. That's what news is.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they used to say if it bleeds, it leads? Red ink or corporate corpuscles. Gannett is hemorrhaging
Bad news sells papers or pageviews.
12:37
ReplyDeleteGood point and right on
got stock? right now, the only thing it's good for is a chance to give dublow & co the finger:
ReplyDeleteVOTE NO ON EVERYONE and YES on the proposition the board opposes.
maybe -- just maybe -- enough no votes could make a real difference.
but even if it doesn't, giving them all a big, fat NO will make me feel better for a minute or two.
12:37,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote for a very long time, AND you behaved very nicely!
This is why Head Nurse gave back your computer room priviledges.
However, it is now Mr. McMurphy's turn to use the computer.
You may use the Arts & Crafts room until the meds cart arrives with your Haldol.
Then it will be time for you to see go see nice Dr. Miller, who is helping you with your delusional thinking.
Thank you!
The Medical Staff
Could be worse.
ReplyDeletePeople turning 62 want an option. Giving them will help bottom line.
MBO bonuses doled out were odd. No one expected them but they came anyway. Why?
How many readers and advertisers will be lost long term because of the declining product and services due to furlough. Is that on a spreadsheet somewhere?
Vacations seem lost in all of this. A 4 wk vacation employee in now a 6 wk out of the office issue. And 90plusK employee just became a 7 wk. No impact on current initiatives?
Why would you ever ask any revenue producing employee to take a furlough? If they pull their weight, they pull their weight. It make little sense.
Big Bill Albrecht is reporting no more layoffs in St Cloud it just can't be done not enough staff to handle everything.
ReplyDeleteDear 12:37am, I mean Craig,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouraging note about our present condition.
There is another whole class of people corporate has just screwed, and that is GCI investors. Having just cut the dividend, corporate has also sent a hell of a message to investors by taking their bonuses in cash instead of stock. So those of you forecasting a rebound in the stock, think again. These greedy f*ks have sent a message to Wall Street that lining their pockets is more important to them than the future of this company. When corporate execs don't have enough faith in the future of the company they run to take stock in it, then you know what message that sends.
ReplyDeleteJim, when you deleted, a post, why do you have to tell us> Just leave the area blank.
ReplyDeleteRe: 12:37 a.m...
ReplyDeleteEven if it is true that Gannett has bottomed out financially and might be on a very slow but steady rebound, that doesn't make any difference to us worker bees. This company and those who run it are so fucking greedy that they will not stop with furloughs, layoffs and pay freezes until they have managed to drive everyone away. It doesn't matter how good the company is doing...they have gotten used to doing this and will not stop.
Economists are now saying that we may have hit a bottom last month and that they are seeing signs that the economy could be rebounding faster than we thought.
ReplyDeleteHome sales are already up and with Spring upon us they seem to think we could see a bigger boom in home sales than expected as a result of the $8000 credit for 1st time home buyers and the lower Mortgage rates for those looking to refinance.
I sure hope they're right.
Soooooooooooo ...
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight:
One of the REASONS a Gannett manager gets bonus "money" in stock options is as an incentive to do well, supposedly, and help the company's stock increase in value;
This held true, in the past, for the big shots at corp headquarters, too, obviously, since their performance has an even greater impact on the stock's performance;
So when the stock takes a frightening dive, everyone, INCLUDING the corp big shots, take a bath and loose the value of stock, right?:
However, NOW the big shots at corp will now get ALL THEIR bonus money in CASH, and zero in stocks???
So now the board is saying its worthless stock is no longer an incentive? Is it just the individuial managers at the newspapers who are taking a bath with worthless stock? hahahahah
Considering how many miserable excuses for pupblishers and EEs there are out there at the Gannett papers, I have sympathy for them... it is just ironic that Dew-bow and his cronies are now getting a cash-only payout...
Even THEY have no faith in their own company's stock.
12:37
ReplyDeletePut your crack pipe down. If we were on the bottom and everything is looking up why did Gannett just announce more furloughs and a good chance at more layoffs.
Not sure what your smoking at 12:37 but you may want to learn how to sell it.
NB
Does anyone REALLY think that when the economy turns around - and that will be sooner than later - Gannett will rehire those laid off?
ReplyDeleteOh sure, maybe a little "token" rehiring just for show, but once gone, always gone. Gannett will have permanently wrecked its community newspapers beyond repair.
All the talent is gone... and probably starting up competing, and more profitable, newspapers to run Gannett the rest of the way out of town.
Greed will out.
I'd like to hear some comments about the Gannett Culture that got us here.
ReplyDeleteI think it was the arrogance... certainly seen in the BOD behavior regarding bonuses... that helped to get us here.
Gannett drank the "monopoly in media" Kool Aid... and it helped to get us here.
Can someone come up with 10 positive things that can right this ship?
ReplyDelete12:37
ReplyDeleteWell wrote I agree revenue is on the way up its people like you we need for the long haul. Rest of these people well I say one more layoff get rid of some more dead weight
Why are we all suprised by what corporate is doing? Look at the history of this company. Neuharth cashed out everything and pocketed the money. McCorkindale cashed out everything and pocketed the money. So the current generation isn't waiting for their retirement, but cashing their bonus checks and pocketing the money. This is not a news company, it is a method used by a lot of greedy execs to line their pockets. If you don't think it shows, take a closer look at your newspaper today.
ReplyDeleteWISH GANNETT WOULD DO THIS!
ReplyDeleteby Erik Sass - MediaNewsDaily.com
Hoping to escape constant pressure from investors to show short-term growth, Cox Enterprises said it will buy back outstanding shares of Cox Radio and take the company private, with an offer of $3.80 per share, for a total buy of roughly $69 million. ...
12:37a is Tara Connell. It wouldn't be Craig because there are too many mentions of Content One and Dubow does not know how to write (remember, he is a broadcast retard!).
ReplyDeleteAlso, even if it was Craig or Gracia, Tara Connell would have writtent it anyway!!!
9:54
ReplyDelete1st. get rid of Craig
However, we have to keep things in perspective. In my opinion our stock slide is over. Advertising has started to stabilize...Anon 12:37a
ReplyDeleteNice try Tara. You are now an economist, stock analyst, an ad exec and a PR peron all in one.
Give it up bitch. Your days are numbered as an employee singing the Coporate bullshit.
It appears that Craig Dubow and Craig Moon are the only two executives in the office this week!!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder who is running the company now that Gracia is out on furlough!!!
We are know Dubow takes commands from Gracia and that Dubow hates Moon as he is threatened by Mr. Moon.
I can't imagine the two of them are having lunch together this week.
They get their bonuses in cash, and we still get our 401(k) matches in stock. If they know it's worthless shit, why do they keep giving it to us? Oh yeah, it's Gannett...
ReplyDeleteI have studiously avoided the negative comments and overly hostile environment of the posts on this blog.
ReplyDeleteI have tried, over the course of a difficult year, to keep my chin up and hope for the best.
I have tried to give senior management the benefit of the doubt, even in the midst of chaos and crisis.
I have tried and tried and tried.
I'm done.
For the record - it wasn't the second week of furloughs. It wasnt even the pay cut for 'highly compensated employees' (try living in DC on $90k - you wont feel so highly compensated). It was the payout of $2 million in bonuses to senior execs while squeezing rank and file for every nickel possible.
It's not that I'm opposed to large salaries or huge bonuses - I'm happy to pay for performance. But the copmany lost nearly 80% of its total value last year. Key intiatives are either stalled or DOA for lack of folks, funds or focus. How can they justify such payments? How can they take those dollars out of our pockets and into theirs?
I know these people. I've worked alongside these people. I dont doubt their effort. I dont even neccesarily think they should be fired. I just dont think they should get $2 million in bonuses while I lose three weeks of pay.
7:51, I voted my shares. I had more than I realized (it adds up fast at this price), and it felt GOOD to throw that many withholds into the mix.
ReplyDelete12:37, of course our stock slide is almost over. How much farther can it slide? Two dollars and some change?
Going out together on a sick day is like high school. To stop these greedy f@@cks in their tracks , even if the company survives, the answer is to unionize your department! Stop these modern day annointed kings and pharoahs who believe they deserve the fruits of your labor more than you do! The pain will keep on coming, furloughs and lay-offs, down the road until they run this company into the ground! Greed is unsatiable and is currently in! We will never get back the workers laid off nor will we regain the raises back as long as these people are running the show like 12.37am. Kool-aid drinking hemmroid!!
ReplyDeleteLast week at the analysts' meeting Martore said the two waves of layoffs (August/December 2008) saved nearly $325 million in payroll expenses and it was said that cutting the dividend saved $325 million...so honestly what good comes from saving $45 million from furloughs ($20 million in first round and I assume around just a little more from second round). It seems like a relatively small amount compared to the $650 million they saved in other efforts. It is a temporary way to prop things up...so when the economy doesn't turn around by June...how avoidable will layoffs really be?
ReplyDeleteIf it's any balm on the wounds, Gannett isn't alone in this. 2 family members work for 2 VERY large Japanese electronics companies. One is just coming back from a furlough and the other was told one furlough per quarter, per exempt employee. BUT, BUT, BUT...their upper management bonuses AND perks were cut down to the bone and given in (mostly) stock, as per the companies own guidelines.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, don't get too lulled into a false sense of security over housing sales figures. Wait until we find out the jump is from foreign investors buying up our cheap real estate at pennies on the dollar. Sure, people can go buy a house in Detroit for $500. If they want to buy a gutted out shell in a crime infested neighborhood of squatters. BUT, a foreign concern can come in, buy up whole neighborhoods and wait out the mess. THEY don't have to LIVE there!!
12:37am
ReplyDeleteYou remind me of Rihannan going back to Chris Brown--'no, no they
won't do it again!'
Abuse comes in all forms and people who utilize it will do it again and again until the victim(s) leave.
Here is a dirty little secret:
ReplyDeleteGannett could save MILLIONS in its newsrooms by simply cancelling the tons of worthless, useless feature services it buys from content providers like Trib, Universal, NYTimes, United and the like.
ALSO, the company could save MILLIONS by cancelling much of their AP services. Cutting back to the minimum wire.
The only problem??? After all the layoffs and furloughs, many Gannett papers are now actually using this fluff crap to fill all the newshole.
If they would cut out the services and rehire staffers, they'd still end up ahead.
Has anyone seen the Newspapers re-org chart and what the final corporate structure is looking like?
ReplyDeleteWho is reporting in the newspaper chain of command? What positions are left and what positions will be filled.
I meant who is reporting to who in the newspapers chain of command?
ReplyDeleteTo 1:21 and anyone else thinking of leaving with the "F... off" attitude or statement. I know that feels satisfying in the moment, but it doesn't last long enough. Unless you're starting your own business or freelancing, you'll probably need some good words from your former employer when you interview somewhere else. When you give notice without having another job, your message is clear to those left behind. Frankly, leaving without having another job is letting corporate win: they cut the payroll, won't fill your job and you're the one without the paycheck. Corporate: 1. Former employee: 0.
ReplyDeleteUnless, of course, you're at the end of your rope and leaving is the only thing that prevents you from being committed to the crazy house. Only you, or your spouse, can ascertain that.
Do irreparable damage to the community division?
ReplyDeleteAre you freaking kidding me?
That damage has been done. Gannett has killed the smaller to medium-sized papers in Ohio, that's for certain.
RIP, journalism.
I remember the day Gannett purchased the newspapers in our corner of the world (hint: think cows).
ReplyDeleteThe big mission statement was put up about how the paper will be a voice for the people, shine a light on government to keep it free and open, provide investigative journalism, etc.
To which my response to my co-workers was..."pfft...the real corporate mission statement is to keep making as much money as possible for the BoD and stockholders. The rest doesn't matter."
I should have bet some money on who was right.
Jim: New t-shirt idea--
ReplyDelete"My CEO got an $875,000 bonus, and all I got was another furlough."
Of course, your gannetblog logo on the back.
10:40 is exactly right.
ReplyDeleteYou want to hurt these people? Are you mad as hell and don't want to take it anymore?
Join a union or form a union.
That would send a message that management would notice, believe me. And while I don't think unions are the cure-all to every corporate ill, they certainly offer you more protection than you have now.
When you join forces with other people, you have power. If you want to scare the folks in corporate, start taking advantage of this power.
Of course, I think that'll happen about the same time these greedy bastards return their bonuses. But I think it's fair to point out that you do have other options besides whining, holding your breath and calling in sick.
RE: 11:52
ReplyDeleteYup, and at least then the union could barter CEO bonuses for furloughs and layoffs. in other words.. "cut your bonuses and we'll talk furloughs".
"Not good enough? Ok, we'll all take an unplanned company-wide furlough next week until you decide what's best for the company."
Might as well - we all are getting a week with no pay anyway.
I am on furlough today...
ReplyDeleteWe all knew there be another round of furloughs but what about Q3 and Q4? Someone said that there is a law about furlough limits because it effects the salary workers? Can someone investigate this? I am glad to have a job but I think Gannett is taking advantage of us. And its not fair that union workers don't have to furlough.
If there will be 4 weeks of furlough this year, with my vacation and sick time, I will be off work 10 weeks, that's 2 and a half months! With all these furloughs, who will be running our papers?!
Is anyone else in this situation: Last year I got a measly 1.5 percent raise for a job well done. Well that crappy few bucks put me in the next salary band for my health insurance. It made my annual salary literally $60,005. Of course, the band for insurance costs changes at $60,000. I cover my entire family, so the change meant that my insurance cost me about $200 more per pay period. Ok, nothing I can do about.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to the furlough. When I lost one week of pay, it put well below the $60,000 band. I called HR and asked if now that my annual salary was BELOW $60,000 if I would then be charged the lower rate for my insurance.
Well, they acted like they had never heard such an absurd question. Our local HR person said she called corporate, who told her that no one else in the entire company had brought up this issue. Of course the answer was no.
Now that I have lost another week of pay, I am even further below the $60,000 line and it really burns me up that I'm paying the same for insurance as people making 2x what I make and there are people making more than me who are paying less. I can't be the only one in this situation. Has anyone else run into this situation? Advice?
Thanks for the input.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete12:37 -- Newspapers were in trouble before the economy tanked. That just made it worse. Even if the economy were to rebound healthily in the next year, GCI would continue to make cuts. Why? Becuase newspapers no longer work in a corporate model unless they are downsized and homogenized.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before and I'll say it again, we're going the route that radio did some years ago. Less staff, fewer expenses, more shared resources.
The chances of making a nice, middle-class income in this industry dramatically decreased during the past two years, and it is only going to get harder. So unless you feel you HAVE to work in this profession it would be wise to come up with a Plan B.
12.37am-----Union, Union, union!!! People it is time to send 12.37 a true message!!
ReplyDeleteSpot on, 11:29 a.m. Thank god our state is full of beer, too!
ReplyDelete12:27 p.m. I think you meant to say, With all these furloughs, who will be running our papers (into the ground)?!
ReplyDeleteTime to unite against the wage robber barons of gannett! Interested in perhaps leveling the playing field and organizing a "UNION"? Look here, http://www.ueunion.org/org_steps.html or here,http://www.unionorganizing.net or ask a shop steward in your company if there are any unions in your shop! You can make a differrence when collectively you bargain. Then you can tell them "no we aren't taking the furloughs" and "No, we are not taking the pay cut!!!" Please help yourself the company won't!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to SAY that I was the one calling the those furloughs................. I told YOU so.
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ReplyDeleteI hope you, 12:29 PM, stay on them about the insurance change they forced on you by making you take the furlough. IMHO, this could be blessing in disguise for you!!
ReplyDeleteJim
ReplyDeleteTake a look at 12:32 post. Suggests violence. You might want to get rid of it.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete3/24/2009 01:18:59 PM Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) proposes bill granting non-profit status to newspapers (apprx 2hrs ago)
ReplyDeleteWBAL Radio reports that Sen Cardin has introduced legislation to allow newspapers to become non-profit companies. The Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow the papers to operate as non-profits under 501(c)(3) status for education purposes similar to public broadcasting.
1:47pm
ReplyDeleteGannett should never be allowed to operate any of its papers as non-profit. This would be akin to the AIG bonuses.
I don't blame the suits for grabbing all they can pocket. This ship is sinking and it's everyone for himself. Our traditional advertisers have disappeared -- either gone out of business, or gone elsewhere with their ad budgets. The readers in our area no longer are interested in what we say since they have other avenues to find out what is going on. Teenagers and the under 30 generation are into whiz-bang devices that give them information faster and more completely than they can find in the newspapers. And, frankly, we are boring what is left of our readers with uninspiring stories that are poorly written and poorly edited. So the end is coming, and coming quickly. Take your cue from Dubow and Co. Get what you can now because tomorrow it won't be there anymore.
ReplyDeleteI don't quite understand top management's leadership with the furloughs. If they are in such dire need to cut expenses and have these furloughs (where many employees living paycheck to paycheck will struggle to pay rent) why have they just recently cut the dividend? They only saved roughly $20M from the furlough in Q1 and I would assume about $30M in Q2 as employees making $90k+ have to take 2 weeks off, yet when the market was crapping all over the stock in 2008 and things weren't looking good, they still issued a huge dividend in Q3 and Q4. These dividend payouts accounted for about $80M of expenses per quarter. I guess they could be using that cash right about now. There truly has been no foresight to the issues this company faces and there is no reason to see these reactionary tactics ending anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Gannett should start splitting off their assets...USCP,Broadcast, USAT, NewsQuest, Digital, Real estate, JOA's.
ReplyDeleteI am sure someone in management is thinking of this...I hope!
Fuck it!!!
ReplyDeleteLarry St. Cyr to the rescue!!!
I can't take it anymore.
2:37 pm: I'll make an exception to the rule, given the furloughs and all. But don't get any ideas!
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ReplyDeleteYou guys can forget about unions. John Jaske would be down your throat in about ten minutes. Management would just never recognize you, refuse to negotiate, and hire someone else if you went on strike. There - that clear it up for you?
ReplyDeleteYou should have organized in good times.
@3:19 - John Jaske has retired...
ReplyDeleteUnions are worthless and for the weak sheep. Work your own deal.
ReplyDeleteGood idea, 3:36.
ReplyDeleteHow's that working out for you? Enjoying the pay freeze? The furlogh? The layoffs? So far, so good, eh?
http://www.streetinsider.com/Insiders+Blog/Senator+Introduces+Bill+To+Make+Newspapers+Non-Profits+(NYT,+GCI,+WPO)/4509673.html
ReplyDeleteGCI to be non-profit?
Sartis is my word verification. Just sent you $10 Jim.
ReplyDeleteMy Latin is rusty but...
ne illegitimus carborundum and while you are at it keep the bastards honest as well
The company's "Kool-aid drinking hemmroidial trolls" on this website come out of the woodwork when you mention the word "UNION"! I wonder why that is so? HA, people, the union contract people don't have to take the furloughs nor the pay cuts!!!!! Thats why!
ReplyDeleteHA "Company kool-aid drinking hemmoroidial trolls"? Guess they would look like"Bart Simpsons' boss" with the specks on their head and hunched back greedy!!
ReplyDelete4:33 makes a very interesting point. I often accuse unions of running companies into the ground (Ford, GM, etc), but at least in this case they dont have to abide by the furloughs.....
ReplyDeleteRE: 12:29PM
ReplyDeleteI have not encountered exactly the same situation, however dealing with the HR people at the local papers has been really frightening! They are some of the most stupid, rude, uninformed and uncooperative people in all of Gannett. {The implications of that statement make me very scared}. You, Dear Employee, are an annoyance and a waste of their time. Once you are no longer employed, answering your questions correctly and helping you navigate the system are treated as absurd tasks-- to be dealt with slowly and inefficiently.
Hate to harp on it-- but if you find this to be untrue, you are not in NJ!!!!
Look, I'm no huge fan of unions, either, but that's the best way to get management's attention. This talk of calling in sick, wearing T-shirts, etc. etc., just makes them laugh. You have about 50 papers declare themselves open to union representation, let's see if Craig gets his big bonus then. It's worth it for no other reason than it will drive our corporate masters nuts. Nothing else will.
ReplyDeleteHere! Here 4.46 I second that motion brother!! "Greednet" will do the exorcist's version of Linda Blair if that happened!
ReplyDeleteJust confirmed:
ReplyDeleteApparently Content One has been delayed yet again. Dubow is having second thoughts on appointing Tara Connell king of the editors!
Maybe he is reading this blog so he can figure out how to run this company.
I also heard that Jennifer Carroll might be taking it over and Tara Connell will report into Carroll.
This would seem plausible as Jennifer is friendly with Kate M.
Jennifer would be a better pick!!
Many of the union or collective bargaining agreements also offer wage give backs. Most in the 10% range. However these were not imposed. There was across the table discussions. There remain rules regarding layoffs (yes folks more are on the way), severance (in our case 46 weeks for many) as well as benefits (health and welfare) retraining when applicable, mileage reimbursement (45 cents/mile) as well as many rules ranging from disciplinary procedure to vacation selection.
ReplyDeleteYes we pay a small portion of our pay for the representation but you never have to deal with many of the issues we see posted here as well as those unpaid overtime complaints.
Perfect NO. But at least there are negotiated rules for both parties.
It is good to see "Larry St. Cyr to the rescue!" Some things are just so comforting.
ReplyDelete5.01, Phoenix union brother here, nice to meet you! And proud of it! <~~~~~~~~ giving the bird to the trolls!
ReplyDeleteRead 5:01, everyone. Then ask yourself how well you're doing on your own. You do have options.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteGet back to work, Craig.
ReplyDeleteIf any layoff victims from December are still reading the blog, here's some pertinent COBRA info for you:
ReplyDeleteI already know Gannett is run by greedy, oligarchical, opportunistic capitalist pigs who have no compunction about sticking it to their workforce, evidenced by the endless rounds of furloughs, pay freezes, layoffs, buyouts, layoffs, etc., amid large cash bonuses for the jerkoffs at the top.
However,I was more than incensed to see not a single mention amid my COBRA literature (finally sent by Gannett more than two full weeks after my severance pay ended) about the Obama admin's stimulus bill subsidy to help laid-off workers pay this huge new financial hit for full price health care under the Gannett plan.
To the unwashed, PPO coverage under COBRA costs about $1,150 per month -- yeah, that's nearly $14,000 per year -- for a family of four. The coverage can't be legally discontinued for nearly two years if you want it and can pay for it (although forget about the life insurance you had before; that's gone).
So thank God Obama stepped up with a 65% subsidy for people like me. Doing the math, that's a savings of almost $9,000 annual. According to the law, ARRA, the savings should go directly to the consumer -- me -- and Gannett gets a tax break for the 65%. However, under the law Gannett has until May to start the subsidy and "make sure I'm qualified," and meanwhile is charging its layoffees (me again) full price for COBRA, promising a reimbursement later on. Of course, no problem there, what's an $1,200 check mean to a family of four with no breadwinner? (Let's see, what do we do without this month? Bread? Water?)
So fellow layoffees, keep in mind that just about any full-time employee laid off between last September and the end of 2009 is eligible for the 65% COBRA subsidy. (Go to the Dept. of Labor Web site for specific details or google this topic and you'll find plenty on it.)
Last, I have no doubt that Gannett will do whatever it can to hide this financial help from those who deserve it and need it. Not a word on the YBR site about it; not a word in the corporate literature sent out on COBRA. Just a full-price button to push, sucker.
Who knows, Gannett might be able to finagle it so they can collect the tax break even for people who don't know to claim the reimbursement. At this point, nothing about Gannett would surprise me.
Make sure to make them do this paperwork and cough up the dough, even if you have to yank their short gonadal hairs to get it.
The thought of a union gives me a rash. I was in a pretty big one at a former job, and it did nothing for me except take my money every two weeks. When I asked for help with a boss, they acted as thought they didn't know me.
ReplyDeleteI too saw no mention of the government subsidy in the COBRA packet I got from Gannett. Nor am I confident Gannett will reimburse me down the road. Gannett has stalled, mistreated, been sloppy every step of the way since my layoff in December. I just want to be done with that company, even if it means not being insured.
ReplyDeleteI hope non-Gannett people read this blog too. I hope it keeps people from ever wanting to work for Gannett, even when this recession passes.
You judge a company like you judge people...in tough times. Gannett failed us longtime, loyal employees in so many ways that it is obscene. I worked at Gannett, even though I had offers to go elsewhere when younger, because I thought my loyalty and eventually seniority would protect. Not only didn't it protect me, I was treated like crap after I was abruptly let go without a legitimate reason.
Unions are the reason so many newspapers are in trouble. The young and creative are the first to be laid off in a senority based shop. It leaves the lazy, the entitled and the inflexible. They want they're wage regardless of the economic situation.
ReplyDeleteI really like the solution over at the SF Chronicle.................LISTEN UP YOU PEOPLE.
The next round of layoffs will disregard senority!
If up to now you haven't made yourself a value to the company....................ITS TOO LATE!
Here's a question for the group.
ReplyDeleteIf the employee was laid off within the correct time frame and old enough to qualify for Medicare BUT their dependents were/are not, does anyone know if my family would still qualify for the Cobra reimbursement?
I'm still carrying full benefits on myself and family to the tune of $1200 a month.
I tried to figure this out from the website but this question wasn't answered.
Unions are a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteWork hard. Be a team player. Do a good job.
The company will take care of you.
6:18
ReplyDeleteAny coverage you had before can be continued, or dropped - each part of it, like vision or dental or dependents.
5:33pm. Are you saying that anyone who qualifies for Cobra after
ReplyDeleteMay 1st would only have to pay the 35% cost or is Gannett trying to make us pay full price regardless of when we are eligible? My benefits expire June 2nd & I am concerned about this also.
Please clarify.
I'd send the 35% COBRA payment and dare them to cancel coverage.
ReplyDeleteHere is some cobra info spelled out.
ReplyDeletehope this helps
http://www.ins.state.ny.us/cobra/cobra_federal.htm
630pm said...
ReplyDeleteUnions are a waste of time.
Work hard. Be a team player. Do a good job.
The company will take care of you.
I have to disagree. After 20 years of busting my ass for this company, I am finally starting to see the light. I could not even begin to calculate the number of donated hours over the years...ye Im salaried.
Every project that was put in front of me, I did, and did them very well.
Now I get my under 60 k pay cut while others make millions. This tells me that NO ONE noticed my hard work.
I have all kinds of awards and recognition, and it all means shit.
I am told to take furloughs and basically for a week, not to give damn. Well, I think I am going to adopt this policy for every week. Gannett has TAUGHT me not to care anymore.
Signed
One disgusted production person
Here's an article from today's S.F. Chronicle about Mother Jones operating as a non-profit for 33 years.
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/cbjvqj
Cost of switching to non-profit is exorbitant, according to the article.
No union worries ... Arlen Specter flopped back to the Republican side of house ... or some might say he's seen the light (at least he's seen the thousands of letters from concerned citizenry) and decided NOT TO VOTE FOR EFCA. WHOOHOO!
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ReplyDeleteIsn't 5:10 a little over the top?
ReplyDeleteSo, they are getting rid of the classified call centers. Thanks so much. What about my friends of 20 plus years, are you giving them a package craig? Or do they just get thrown out on the street? I hope you sleep well at night you SOB. You know what — what comes around, goes around. Some day the board will give you your papers too. No one's job is safe, even the Kool Aid drinking employees. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of being positive for Gannett. I go to work everyday with a freakin smile on my face. I swallow my pride everyday when I have to listen to some little idiot who doesn't have a freakin clue about how to design an ad or a campaign or branding and I have to say “ yes sir, you are right“ when I know in my heart he is a freakin idiot. I'm done with the whole corporate bullshit. I have proved myself over and over and over again. I don't have to prove myself any longer. I'm done. Let the poor folks of tomorrow do all the work cause I'm tired and old. Please just lay me off and let me move forward with my life. I'm tired of your corporate bullshit. Let the layoffs begin, so I can start a new.
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ReplyDeleteYeah 8:34p get off this blog. You want "G" rated shit, go rent Cinderella!
ReplyDeleteYEA, I am on furlough all week, and if it wasn't for this blog, I wouldn't know about the new wonderful furlough and wage freezes. And my verification word is galls. Everything Gannett does galls me these days.
ReplyDeleteMy, My... many of us have been censored for saying far less indelicate things than 5:10 PM. I must say that it made me blush.
ReplyDeleteI agree with every element of the sentiment, but goodness gracious......
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ReplyDeletePhil Curry to the rescue, dusting off the News 2000 Pyramid.
ReplyDeleteJim:
ReplyDeleteThis Gannett blog is very useful and at times entertaining and cathartic, but the best stuff I suspect are the posts that you remov as the website administrator.
Just for the fun of it, can't you repackage those into some sort of X-Files section and charge us $1 each time to take a gander and see what got knocked out. Like they say in Robocop, I'd buy that for a dollar!!"
Man, you really got me curious. C'mon, just one peak??? Please.
Jim:
ReplyDeleteHas Gannett tried to put you on furlough yet?
Just kidding . . . sort of.
Is Jim OK? hard to believe he is monitoring this blog at all right now
ReplyDeleteSome things to consider:
ReplyDeleteLet's protest big-time at the annual board meeting, April 28, 10 a.m., at Gannett headquarters, McLean, Va.
How about a class action suit regarding no-OT payments?
Are we calling in sick for the national day off from Gannett?
Watch who has to take 2 weeks of furlough for they are the big bucks people.
Let's post salaries of overpaid employees.
from ClarkKentGannett@aol.com
Ah, just like the old days on here. It's good to laugh again.
ReplyDeleteDon't you love idiots like 8:47. "I am smart, everyone is dumb, I wish they would lay me off." If you ever got calle dinto the office to be laid off you;d sit down like a 3 year old boy and cry for your mommy. Big talk on a blog.
ReplyDeleteProduction has been consolidated in upstate NY. Three from Elmira went to Binghamton, and all of Ithaca have been cut. And they just sold the building in Binghamton, so they only have temporary workspace and no phones. The rest of Elmira production was done on Friday-shout out to Lisa and Jeanette- makes me want to throw up and at least they had the decency to name the new ad sending machine after one of the departed in her honor. That made me want to throw up more. But the black hole in Binghamton will eventually suck up all of Ithaca and Elmira into it's elitist vacuum of nothing. Binghamton get over yourself, they just sold your building so they can make it into a parking lot or restaurant for the university across the street and you'll be set up in some back alley b rate rental space. I hope your office has a nice view of a graffiti covered brick wall Sherm.....To Bing-Your not smarter than everyone, your not better than everyone, your not more valued than anyone-You just have less spine then everyone....out!
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand is how the die hard union folks can still sit there with a straight face and talk about how great the unions are. Everyone one of them has caved, they still take the union dues, and tehy have absolutely no clout. There was a time they had a role, no more however. The last stand was made in Detroit and quite frankly Jaske kicked their colelctive arses. Sorry, but that is the truth. why would you lemmings continue to pay dues to an organziation that USED to be effective but has had no impact in more than a decade.
ReplyDeleteLosses:
Detroit
San Francisco
San Jose
Indie
Wilmington
Seattle
Phoenix
Louisville
Los Angeles
Cinci
and the list goes on and on
I know, I know, thanks for coming Craig! Sorry if the truth hurts.
Can we count on the board to do the right thing and give their bonuses back to the company?
ReplyDeleteI know one union @ the CJ in Louisville that hasn't.
ReplyDeleteI just voted my "withholds" andProp in favor of proposal 3. It's a small victory, but feels good, nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteI urge everyone to vote their proxy this year. You have a voice, use it.
Hey Jim, big layoff at the Newseum, which is now acknowledging it the endowment is depleted. Latest is 13 are gone. This is another GCI-related property that is going to be belly up before long:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032301698.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE52N67F20090324
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. A bill for newspapers to be non-profits. Not CONGLOMERATES that also own TV and radio. Sorry Gannett!
9:58 pm: Thank you for asking; I am very well.
ReplyDeleteWhen you wrote that comment, it was 6:58 pm here in San Francisco, and Sparky and I were just leaving for dinner.
Ordinarily, when I'm offline for extended periods, I re-set the blog, so no one can publish comments while I'm away.
But during periods like this, when there's lots of news-related demand for commenting, I let it rip. I'm now going back through several threads to do clean-up.
Looks like Card Check is dead in the Senate. Small business can get back to creating jobs in the Journalism Industry! We have hope! Local Journalism is the key!
ReplyDeleteVictory for the good guys, a valuable defeat for socialism, and a big loss for Teleprompter Jesus.
Jim:
ReplyDeleteI think it's time for you to get on 60 Minutes. You've earned it. I'd even settle for The View.
Union workers in Wisconsin are taking furloughs.
ReplyDeleteFurloughs!? We don't need no stinkin' furloughs!!
ReplyDelete11:18 The Newseum's only ties to Gannett are that Neuharth hi-jacked the Gannet Foundation years ago and absconded with the funds. I'm just glad that Neuharth has lived long enough to see it vaporize. Unfortunately he's looted it for 15 years.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was through with furloughs once I got out of the Symbionese Liberation Navy.
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ReplyDeleteJim, the X files post is a good idea. What the hell ... I mean heck. Give us a chance to wade through some deep spleen.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, 3:18 pm; sounds uncomfortably close to a bloopers page. If I can't publish comments here, I can't publish them elsewhere. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at this place. I was laid off last December so I've been AWOL from the website. Co-worker told me about the furlough so I thought I'd check things out. Is Dubow and the board on crack? How can you honestly accept an $875,000 bonus in addition to what you are already making at the same time you are telling employees that they need to take a furlough and even some pay reductions. I just don't get it. I know I should be used to it by now. Just don't understand it.
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