Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Post your Gannett pension plan comments here
I'm working off my iPhone right now, so can't write much. Frankly, I'm amazed this big whack at the pension plan didn't happen sooner. Still, I want to know more about what specific impact this freeze has on management's own retirement benefits. Post your comments below. I'll write more tomorrow.
69 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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Take a whack at the fortunes of the retired Corporate execs. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would please me more...call it retribution. To think of those poor souls who had to put up with Curley, Watson, Stier, Collins, et al, there would be justice.
ReplyDeleteSweet justice. Sweet meat.
Under $26 a share today. Will the BOD lower the target price for Craig to bail out? Who would then hire him? Nada, none. Maybe work for Congress...another broken promise of Americana. Send him to India to become a graphic artist for $10 a day.
ReplyDeleteLove the spin on the "improved" 401K ... giving employees a dollar of stock for every dollar contributed (instead of the current 50 cents).
ReplyDeleteImproved? With the stock price nearing decade and all-time lows? Me, I'd rather have the cash, even if it were just a nickel. At least then I'd still be ahead and wouldn't have to take the time to move the match to another segment of the 401K that actually earns something.
Craig won't need another job, no matter what. Any exit he makes, even if kicked out the door for running his company into the ground, will leave him a very wealthy man. In Bush Amerika, CEOs all have something in their contracts called golden parachutes. It won't get frozen, either.
ReplyDeleteDo the math. Now a more level playing field with other bankrupt American companies. Ask Craig if his pension will be frozen too?
ReplyDeleteAnything to put more incentive on the employee to put dollars into the 401k...and build up HIS stock incentive bailout.
Necessary, maybe, but I smell a rat. And the other regional officers that have stock incentives written into their overall compensation plan.
More reason to find a new career.
Sincerely, oh please. Kiss my ass.
ReplyDeleteOn the cusp of decisions? Take the lump sum payout now and exit.
ReplyDeleteDO THEY THINK WE'RE STUPID....
ReplyDeleteI love their comparison of the old 401K and new 401K. Their chart is based on 5%. The old plan is 6%. If you actually did the math in their chart the yearly difference would be $500 based on a $50,000 salary (not the $1250 they show).
And why do some employees get a 2% payout just because they're older. I've been with this company almost 20 years, but because of my age won't get one dime. Someone that is 50 and has only been here for 10 years will get more. Guess that shows you being young and stupid out of High School will only get you pissed on. And they talk about SPECIAL ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS, but give no rules for what constitutes getting this additional money.
It's all horse shit...
What can I say? Yeah, I'd like to know if Dubow is losing out on his benefits. So, what are all the bigwigs going to do when they've off-shored all the work and there's no one in the U.S. left to manage? Guess all the execs will have to move India.
ReplyDeleteIt just seems that power and corporate greed are destroying this country, its people and our economy. Gannett is still a profitable company! Come on execs, you give up something! What's the matter? Can't drive a Honda instead of a Mercedes?
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteLove the spin on the "improved" 401K ... giving employees a dollar of stock for every dollar contributed (instead of the current 50 cents).
Improved? With the stock price nearing decade and all-time lows?
Couldn't have said it any better.
What a joke! This company adopts more and more Mafia techniques. The stock is in the cellar and now we need the employees to bail the company out. But the upper echelons don't need to worry, because they're money is safe based on years of service and monthly paychecks. I hope they choke on it! They loose nothing, compared to the working stiff! It's time to leave this company and forget them. This is a nightmare without end!
6/11/2008 6:22 PM
Gannett with 46,000 employees saves $2,760,000,000 in future pensions. $2.7 billion. Assuming a $50,000 salary, a pension of $500, over 10 years of retirement. The additional contributions to the 401k cost them $23,000,000 per year at the new ratio. So, without inflation, assuming any accuracy at all, means that equals 120 years of savings for Ma Gannett.
ReplyDeleteGive or take. We are talking real dollars. Even for McClean, Virginia. Take it, or leave it.
I'm in Detroit and we're special, I guess, because we get a cash match in our 401k rather than Gannett stock. I've heard it's because of the JOA. But our match had been only $.25 on the dollar up to 4% and they're taking us up to a $1.00 match at up to 5%.
ReplyDeleteIt still sucks because I was told in a meeting today that in the new retirement plan/401k structure we'll be getting 10% to 20% less overall at the time we take the retirement benefit than if the plan had stayed the way it was.
As usual, the rank and file that do all the real work get screwed again while the yahoo's at the top will continue to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, job or not. And for those of you that haven't thought about it, it's the group at the top that has gotten the company to where it is with the decisions that they have made. And lately, they haven't been very good decisions.
I've got 22 years with the company and turn 54 next month. Thanks to a lifetime of frugal living, an equally frugal spouse and some wise investing, I'm in a position to retire at 55. I had intended on working another three years and cashing out when I reached 57, because I still like what I do. But this gutting of our pension just took away any real incentive I had for staying. Come 2009, I'm outta here.
ReplyDeleteThis only means that Gannett has to put up an additional $500 per employee per year at the $50,000 salary. And where will the stock price be...assuming that there is a Gannett at all going forward.
ReplyDeletePension frozen, but a bigger 401k match -- in Gannett stock.
ReplyDeleteCan I get mine in Monopoly Money instead?
Take what you can now and leave. What will be left may be worth much less.
ReplyDeleteSuck ass company. Bunch of no-nothing losers.
ReplyDeleteMoving the match from 3 percent to 5 percent means more people buying Gannett shares -- propping up the stock price.
ReplyDeleteWhat really gets me is that 120 execs with supplemental retirement plans WILL NOT be affected by this -- just us rank and file.
This sucks -- and I think a side effect, no doubt intended, will be a mass exodus of people who no longer have any incentive to stay around.
da, da, da, da. Goodbye. Fix your problems with less people and lessor talent.
ReplyDeleteComments please: If you are covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement what are you being told regarding the pension freeze?
ReplyDeleteI believe CBA language trumps a unilateral freeze.
Is the ad salesman from Atlanta ever questioned??
Is there a connection here with the latest mutual fund purchase of AXA Advisors? Grease the goose. Or is that a pig? Buy on the "dips" and buy a big corporation. A big zero. How about $25 per share at the opening tomorrow!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, folks, some really questionable math out there. First of all, the fact that the match is Gannett stock means nothing, because everyone - EVERYONE - should be dumping the match into another fund every pay period, whether you work for Gannett or Google. Back me up here, Jim.
ReplyDeleteSecond, the CEO pay complaint is the most tired horse out there. I've written dozens of business stories for newspapers about companies that are tanking, and workers always complain about how much the top brass earn. I'm not particularly impressed with Dubow, but consider for a second if we pay him $50,000 a year and make him drive a Honda. Talent requires money. You pay to play. I have nine years at Gannett, and the future of the company scares the hell out of me. But it's equally frustrating to hear all the veterans around me piss and moan about the good old days, while they check their personal email every half hour and refuse to acknowledge the media landscape has changed.
The kicker of the memo was the enhanced 401k plan will attract employees who want the flexibility of these plans. First, Gannett is not hiring new employees so who are we attracting? Second, who would be attracted to an increased match in a declining stock, even if did not mean your total compensation plan is lower. Third, how much disregard is there for long time employees that the justification is we can attract new people by cutting from our current employees.
ReplyDeleteWow. This is the second e-mail from Craiger in a week, and in neither one did he threaten to fire me for being a slacker, as he usually does.
ReplyDeleteThis one however, makes me want to quit.
Is there any way to figure out who the fortunate 120 are?
OMG, the comment at 9:31 is right on -- why would anyone care if the match is in Gannett stock or Spanish doubloons? It only takes 20seconds to transfer funds online. Are people irritated by the sheer symbolism of the source of the matching funds?
ReplyDeleteExcuse me, but "Talent requires money. You pay to play." Obviously Dubow doesn't have that much talent or the company wouldn't be so far in the toilet. Obviously the Internet didn't happen yesterday, so if we're going to blame the state of newspapers on the Information Superhighway, then let's blame Dubow and his cronies for coming up with a better plan and doing it sooner.
ReplyDeleteBesides, no one said Dubow should be paid $50,000 a year. But you know what, I'm sure that he and the others could live well on a lot less than they're currently making. And I don't just mean Gannett. I mean all corporations who are sucking up all the wealth in this country.
And, yes, I'll piss and moan some more...and I'll still go to work tomorrow and eat more ****.
To the comment at 9:57. No, it isn't the symbolism, it's the fact that I'm getting less. What they are matching in company stock is less than what I'd get from my pension, and they've admitted that. I'm being penalized while the 120 execs are keeping their golden parachutes?
ReplyDeleteDid Gannett drop out of the pension funding business voluntarily or is something else going on? Anyone know the status of the pension fund? Any underfunding problems?
ReplyDeleteRe: the post at 10:01 p.m.
ReplyDeleteMake that: Let's blame Dubow and his cronies for NOT coming up with a better plan and doing it sooner.
Sorry...I copy edited all day, so I guess I'm tried. And I only checked my personal e-mail three times today: on my two breaks and my lunch hour.
A lunch "hour?" Slacker.
ReplyDeleteIt's 30 here.
in indianapolis, veteran workers 40 and older had to choose -- irrevocably, according to gannett -- between a lump-sum payout when we left or the traditional pension plan we'd enjoyed until when we were bought, and to which many of us had contributed. we also had a (voluntary) 401(k) with a 50% match of up to an 8% contribution -- in other words, big g would chip in 4% of a week's pay . . . in stock, of course.
ReplyDeletenow we're waiting to find out whether "irrevocable" only goes one way -- that we can't switch from pension to lump, but they can change the terms of the pension. my guess is that in bushmerica, yes they can.
i predict that they'll also dump more insurance costs on employees -- probably try an add-on for being over a given body mass index or something, too.
with luck, the stress of seeing our retirement funds and our current paychecks go to hell in the same handbasket will kill a bunch of us and cut their payroll costs, earning the dubowniks big bonuses.
if there's a hell, there's a nice warm corner reserved for gannett management past, present and no doubt future . . . probably not too far away from enron, worldcom and so many others.
anon. 6/11/2008 9:57 PM - I'm not upset at where it comes from, but the fact that they're making it sound like we're gaining so much more from this switch. We're not. They even have a line in the letter saying that everyone will be losing... And what I'm upset at is the fact that what they're "giving" out to employees just because they're older. Who cares. I've put more into this company than someone with 10 years and because they're closer to retirement then they get $7000 (based on the $50,000 example) just for being older. It should be equal across the board. I'm ready to get out of this company, but I'm not wanting to just give away what I've earned.
ReplyDeleteWho cares how often someone checks their personal email? Ever heard of multi-tasking? That's what every 20-something that Gannett hires does -- and succeeds -- because they know enough about technology to be able to open their personal email, read it and close it in 5 minutes. All the 30-year vets who still pine for the days of Atex barely know how to use a mouse, let along Windows or Mac OS. And that's why the company is tanking -- too much old thinking that insists on doing things the old way.
ReplyDeleteOK, so I am a few months away from 45 and have 21 years in the company. Does that mean that when I turn 45 I will start getting this extra 2% or am I screwed because I just happen to miss the parameter by a couple months?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the memo is Page 11, which has this delightful paragraph:
ReplyDelete"The company reserves the right to amend or terminate the Pension Plan and/or 401(k) plan at any time. This includes reducing or eliminating company contributions to the 401(k) plan in the future."
The headline on the page reads: "Legal Disclaimers." It needs the following subhead:
"F*ck you."
Today’s announcement isn’t all that monumental when you consider that the die was cast on the pension plan 10 years ago. That’s when Gannett decided to emphasize the 401(k) plan and significantly reduce pension benefits. Under the plan that’s been in place for the past 10 years, if someone worked for 30 years post-1998 (an unusually long tenure these days), he or she only would have been entitled to about 2 1/2 years of pay in a lump sum at retirement. That’s not enough to live on for 20 or 30 years in retirement, anyway. It’s also significantly less valuable than the traditional pensions provided to employees who retired pre-1998 and those who’ve retired since but were grandfathered. Even before today’s announcement, employees needed to be contributing to the 401(k) if they wanted any hope of maintaining their standard of living in retirement.
ReplyDeleteSo what today’s news really is is the next step in a monumental change that was announced 10 years ago. It further shifts the responsibility of retirement saving to the employees, but to a large extent, that’s been the case for 10 years already.
Leaving aside the issue of whether you think the company is well-managed or not, those who do their homework and consult the right advisers won’t be that much worse off than they would have been before the freeze. Personally, I’d rather have them give me the money now so I can invest it myself, and to some extent, that’s what they’re doing by increasing the match. I don’t want to have to leave to get it, nor do I want to wait 25 or 30 years for it. Anyone who understands the concept of the time value of money will realize that it’s better to get the dollars today than it is 30 years from now.
Anon at 6/11/2008 9:57 PM... That's exactly right.... If you're not 45 on August 1 then you don't get the special 2% per year... Lucky you... But look at it this way... You're younger... and have less wrinkles...
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how people post comments about how we should stop crying about the good old days and need to embrace the change. Obviously they just started working for Gannett and have nothing they're losing. I was the same way when I started. Funny how things come full circle. You don't complain about things until you're the one losing them.
Hey 10:45 pm There are/were plenty of us "vets" around who embraced the new age in ways that the upper management in our places couldn't fathom, and just as many slacker 20-somethings who thought that having to work weekends was against everything they signed on for in journalism. I watched four 20-somethings get drummed out of the business because they couldn't cut it with those of us in our 40s who worked our asses off doing everything that was asked of us -- even though our families were suffering in the process. In fact, I succeeded at it so well that I was able to get out and take my hard-earned pension, my 401k and what remained of my sanity to a job where my talent and effort are actually appreciated on a regular basis. Just wait until you get s*** on for a few more years. Let's hear your tune then.
ReplyDeleteBut I'd say a big majority of people on this website want out and we're trying to take what we can get before we go...
ReplyDeleteFor me it's not about getting as much so that I can retire. it's about taking what I can get and leaving
The 120 most likely include
ReplyDeleteCorporate Officers
Division Heads
Gannett Management Committee
Corporate VP's
Regional Pres and Regional VP's in Newspaper division
GM's in the broadcast division
Selected Others such as the key talking heads in the TV newsrooms
can someone please walk me through the process of how to transfer the funds i have in gannett stock in my 401k. i've been meaning to do this, and just haven't done it. and obviously, i've paid the price.
ReplyDeleteThought I read in an interview a year or so ago during a meeting with brokers that GM said the pension fund was underfunded but it would be covered. At the time I thought they were going to make an effort to fund the difference with cash... at least that's how I read it. Well its been covered. Retirement just got much tougher and further away for a lot of people. I can't say I'm surprised by all of this, even though I am dissappointed. The business is falling off of a cliff. I assume the freeze means that new hires will not be eligible for the pension plan but only for the new steroid enhanced 401k (being facetious here everyone). I keep having visions of ENRON. Its interesting that by this action the actuarial shortfall for the pension plan is likely erased and at an annual 2% increase at most that simple interest on the accumulated funds are likely to cover the 2% and send funds back to GCI. Consider if the accumulated pension(non-401k part) earns 4% then the pension portion is funded and there is extra for the company to use to offset other expenses.In short if the accumulated funds are invested safety Gannett has either largely reduced or mostly eliminated its pension contribution over the next few years. It will be interesting to compare the income statements year over year for pension expense. I think this is a bigger savings than anyone realizes with the reduction or elimination of the shortfall and the possibilitry of pension investment overage being available for Gannett to divert elsewhere. I also assume that the $2-3 Billion that has been expensed over the last decade buying back stock has resulted in a pile of treasury stock which can be used for matching. This means that while the company has to recognize the stock matching as expense it has no cash outflow as it already owns the stock.
ReplyDeleteI second what someone above has said... Sell your matching stock as quickly as you can
You might wonder why Gannett doesn't offer lump-sum payments that you perhaps could roll into an IRA. Putting aside tax laws (I'm not sure if this would be OK with the feds), here's why:
ReplyDelete--Gannett freezes your pension.
--Gannett gives you a cost-of-living bump off the frozen sum every year -- but that might be, oh, 3%.
--Gannett keeps investing your money (and it is YOUR MONEY -- it's YOUR PENSION -- YOU EARNED THIS). Let's say that investment turns an average of 7% (a reasonable figure). What happens to the 4% gap between the cost-of-living increase and the money Gannett makes? Why, they keep it.
So: Gannett stops funding your future security and, as an extra bonus, uses your money to make more money for itself. You almost have to admire the stones it takes to do something like that.
If you can swing it with your management and still like your job, quit Gannett for a vacation period and then get re-hired (yes, I know everyone will say it's not worth coming back) to get control of both your 401k and pension money. You will be better off in the long term because you should be able to make a better return than the COLA and may be able to find better options for your 401k investments. Any financial incentive to stay with the company is gone for most people including middle management because the stock options are worthless and the stock grants are an almost certainly declining value.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder if there is potentially more than $30 million in opportunity cost based on the talent that could potentially leave based on this move.
What everyone should understand is that this is just another step on the changes that will be coming to the company in the next 12 months. Expect more shoes to drop. The feeling is that it is better to get these changes done with now, fully knowing that they will be disruptive and will cost morale, than allow the company to drip into oblivion. There will be many fewer Gannett employees in the near future. The business/operational model will be vastly different with much less local autonomy/staff. The CEO and the CFO have publicly stated as much.
ReplyDeleteYou can do two things about what is obviously coming. You can either let it happen to you or you can take charge of your own situation. Ask yourself, is my job one that could potentially be consolidated? Do I work at a regionally significant location? If the answer to the first question is yes and the answer to the second is no, it would be worth your while to review your options and begin to make contingency plans. No one else will look out for you.
How to get your money out of Gannett stock:
ReplyDelete(If you haven't already been doing this every pay period, for crying out loud, start now, and do it every pay period.)
On payday or the day after, go to www.ybr.com/gannett. Sign into your account. (If you don't have one, what's the matter with you? Set it up now.)
Click on "Your benefits resources"
Click on "Transfer money"
Click on "Reallocate" or "Transfer Money to Individual Funds"
Pick "Percent," fill in 100%, click on "company stock" for "transfer out of" then click on whichever fund you like for "transfer to." Bonds is safe in these wild days if you're conservative. If you have a longer timeline (say, you're under 50 and expect to be at the paper for some years), any stock fund is likely to do far better than the company stock.
The only thing that may keep GCI out of free-fall, as far as I can see, is an out-of-left-field buyout offer. Could happen, but it's a gamble. Better to get your $$ out now, IMHO.
Do you honestly think we should sell at $25?
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to do. I've been working for a Gannett daily for 9 years and I have NEVER moved money out of my matching fund. This means I have A LOT in there. But if I sell now, I'll reduce my number of shares should there be a rebound...
The basic rule of thumb for employees who are not highly compensated is that you should never invest in the company that you work for. You are already dependent on the company for your paycheck.It is therefore wise to diversify your risk by having your investment funds in another investment vehicle.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you already have a sunk cost in any potential loss that you have accumulated in Gannett stock. I think it is probably a safe assumption that the overall cost averaging of the shares that you have been given in the last 9 years are probably under water at this time. As a sunk cost, you shouldn't worry about the loss from the Gannett investment and should look for a positive return with the funds available.
Sell now, 12:55. It doesn't matter how many shares you have. What's the total value? If it was worth $50 when they gave it to you last year, it's worth less than $25 today. If you wait, all it will do is shrink for the foreseeable future. If you're in it for the long haul (say 15-25 more years),and you want to roll the dice, move out 75-90 percent now and hold some as a long-term speculative play.
ReplyDeleteHow sly. Provoke a wave of early retirements without offering anything to sweeten the deal. Sick, but very Gannettoid.
ReplyDeleteI don't even know if I've processed this yet. I feel like every time I turn around more feces is trickling down from the top onto those of us on the front lines. I have no words for how scared I am for the future of our company and us peons.
ReplyDeleteSomeone alluded to it earlier, but it bears repeating:
ReplyDeleteGannett is under no obligation to continue matching your 401(k) contributions and can change the rules at any time.
It would be a monumental upset if they didn't return to 50 cents on the dollar for the first 6 percent within a couple of years. Or, they could go even lower.
Craig Dubow & Co. is cutting off pensions, then tells us to "take responsibilty" and buy more Gannett stock, "as much as you can to the improved 401K." Improved? I used to get a company matched dollar for dollar before Gannett bought the place. Most thought it pretty shifty of them to replace this with company stock... Still do. Sorry Craig, I'll get more of a return putting it in a mattress.
ReplyDeleteThe 120 folks that are on the old plan (a monthly pension) are folks that qualified to remain on it back in 1998 when the move was made to lump sum. If I recall, your age and years of service had to combine to a certain number, can't remember what the exact details were. Since then, many of those folks have retired, only 120 left.
ReplyDeletedon't you little peons worry about us blessed folks, we be just fine - get back to work and quite blogging ya slackers mwuhahahaaaa
ReplyDeleteThose of you who think you're going to have a pension plan in a few years might want to consider United Airlines' pension default in 2005. It was only the largest, but one of many that occurred then and more will likely come as the baby boomers retire.
ReplyDeleteAt least Gannett didn't walk away from the pension benefits - this time.
In my view, the pension controversy is only part of the problem. The problems in the newsroom at USA TODAY are almost beyond belief, even for a newspaper that has historically had its ups and downs. The level of disrespect is off the charts for older print staffers. The spinning by top editors about merging the paper and online site is almost laughable. Dissenting or even mildly concerned voices have simply been silenced in a variety of ways, including buyouts. Almost anything except the truth is condoned. Those being rewarded are those who play along, regardless of their talent levels. That is a bad practice for any business. At USA TODAY, the workload is also off the charts. The newsroom is a sweatshop with many staffers regretting that they didn't take or qualify for last year's buyout offer. A pension freeze hurts workers financially, but being lied daily to hurts the soul and spirit of everyone. The tricks that USA TODAY editors have conjured up (goofy awards, telling jokes at meetings, etc.) to try to address morale are transparent, phony and making a bad situation worse. There is nothing humanizing about these parochial management 101 tricks. It's disrespectful to treat people like they are idiots who will believe anything. So I can't get too worked up about pensions because far worse things are ahead.
ReplyDeleteCouple of pension points here. United's plan was terminated in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Gannett cannot do that without filing for bankruptcy. Even if that happens, the PBGC will guarantee some of the funds of vested employees; the general rule is about 33%.
ReplyDeleteSecond, in order to freeze a pension plan, under federal law, it must be fully funded -- unless Gannett gets special permission from Congress. Some of the airlines got that permission a few years ago but I am not aware that Gannett asked for it, or that it was granted.
To the person who posted at 12:55: a simple answer: DIVERSIFY. At the very least, get some solid financial advice. Enron should have taught everyone that investing solely in a company's stock is an incredibly risk strategy, especially in an industry like media.
ReplyDeleteSure you might miss an upturn, but what if Gannett ends up like Bear Stearns? You have to invest defensively. Nobody at the company will be looking out for your interests.
Has anyone considered that this is Gannett's way of a backdoor layoff plan?
ReplyDeleteBy freezing the plan, it knows a large number of people they'd like to see off the payroll (those with longer service and high salaries) to leave without looking like rustless business folk.
Getting those people out is exactly what they want and then replacing them with newbies who won't get a pension and be paid in Monopoly money (aka Gannett stock).
They might be setting themselves up for a buyout but who wants to buy a company dependent on inexperienced, underpaid, overworked, benefit depleted workforce?
I got out recently and couldn't be happier and more relieved.
Good luck to you and yours.
This is going to revolutionize corporate America.
ReplyDeleteWhen you need to shrink your work force, instead of rewarding people for leaving early (buyouts, early retirement benefits), you *punish them for staying*. It's a breathtaking strategy, when you think about it.
And who would have the guts to try it but bland, boring, inoffensive Gannett?
Making life miserable for workers in an attempt to get them to leave is also illegal. If you feel this is being done, please call the National Labor Relations Board. Be ready to go on the record with facts and have documentation.
ReplyDeleteTo the person asking about those covered under collective bargaining agreements:
ReplyDeleteThe employees at my Gannett newspaper, who are in a union, have a contract that we have a pension plan.
We never got the memo from Dubow. Instead, we had the changes handed to us with a note that said: "(You) did not receive this e-mail as the changes announced are not automatically applicable."
Instead, the union steward must meet with HR to negotiate the changes.
How can we get union representation at Gannett NJ?
ReplyDeleteRemember.... while you sleep with dreams of your hard earned pension dancing in your head, a team of incompetent flunkies are working 24/7 on ways to screw every last person out of their pension. That's how they achieve their bonuses. The only thing the hard working Gannettoid has going for him/her is that the idiots working on screwing them are the totally incompetent H/R team. There is hope!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI guess if you try to put all this into perspective, the "Big G" is just a reflection of the evolution of capitalism, greed and the inevitability of poor decisions. Attitudes are not different in our company than they are in most. The "working stiff" is always going to take the hit when management fails. That is understood to be a previlege of management. It "is" a dog eat dog world - that's not just a worn out cliche. "Fair" is only a concept when we are threatened (which is a relative term when you consider leaving a career with millions of bucks in the bank)- even if it is our fault. And don't be so naive as to think that there is someone with more power than you have who will be your advocate (except for God of couse). Powerful people are part of the culture that brought you to where you are - and they too are mostly interested in their own survival. So, as a member of the excumunicated worker bees, I make this suggestion: Cut your losses and move on! Life does!
ReplyDeleteConsent to all of you!
ReplyDeleteIt's been interesting to glance through the posted comments and to see that everyone who works for Gannett gets fucked.
ReplyDeleteHa, and to think I was the only one they were really fucking over for so long.
At least I dumped all my Gannett stock at $86 a share, and I regret that I didn't buy back 25,000 shares when it was below $2, to dump it again at 12 or 15.
There is only one media empire in the world run by bigger cut-throats and assholes than Gannett, and that's Murdoch's shitty organization.
Gannett is a cancer on Journalism, and it's at stage 5.