Publisher Lee Webber told employees in a letter yesterday that mediation is a "reasonable" next step, and that The Honolulu Advertiser has offered a fair benefit and wage package, the rival Honolulu Star-Bulletin says. The Hawaii Newspaper and Printing Trades Council, which represents six unions jointly negotiating with Gannett, said GCI had previously rejected proposals for mediation since January. The company's latest offer includes a three-year freeze on wages and requires workers to pay twice as much for their medical premiums, the council says.The Advertiser development come as two dozen British Gannett employees today started a five-day strike in York, over what they've called "Dickensian'' working conditions. The National Union of Journalists says Gannett subsidiary Newsquest has offered below-inflation pay raises of 3% during contract talks.
[Image: this morning's Advertiser, Newseum]
Cut the size of the corporate staff, compensation included, and give reasonable benefits back to employees.
ReplyDeleteStrike til it kills them.
Bitching about 3% pay raises?
ReplyDeleteWTF?
We'd throw a party here if we got 3% a year.
mr Yesterday should rename himself...Mr dumbass. where in the world did you get 3% pay raises?? Gannett is offering us 1% bonuses and NO pay increase and on top we pay sunstantially more for our health care. Honolulu management is a joke. We have a small time ready to retire publisher with no "real" newspaper experience (the guy was pub in Guam for 30 years..the smallest paper in Gannett) and an Editor who writes our own one sided press releases. The fact is we are being told we have "no money" but just a couple of years ago we published news stories bragging that our ad director was just named the top ring winner in Gannett. The story went on to say from then SR VP Sales guy Jeff Green that we had the highest revenue growth in Gannett for two years running. We then went on to run promotion ads touting our guy as NUMBER ONE. So then the ad guy gets promoted to the top job, Green is named a publisher in Ashville (only lasted a few months...there's a mystery for you Jim) and our publisher gets promoted all in the same year...and oh by the way, 3 Vp's get promoted to SR. Veeps...Geezz, sounds like a struggling paper to me. Promotions at the top ususally mean that things have been going very well indeed. So it makes sense that after the promotion frenzy at the top we are now told the cupboard is bare?? Huh??
ReplyDeleteWell, of course the cupboard is bare. All the groceries were sent back to McLean and distributed to the Executive Committee's alma maters. Get a second job at Wally World if you want to pay your bills! ;-)
ReplyDelete