Saturday, November 08, 2008
Saturday | Nov. 8 | Got news, or a question?
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46 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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Hola!
ReplyDeleteWhy should we volunteer for the lay off if there is any question whether we qualify for unemployment benefits? Our publishers/h.r. people should have figured this out before making the offer. I can't get a straight answer from anyone and the state's unemployment line has been BUSY for two days straight.
ReplyDeleteI would offer myself up but there's no way I'm doing it if there is even a chance I won't qualify for unemployment.
Jim, you have to go to the Westchester website and post a screen grab on your blog of the Metromix promo photo. It looks like something from GIRLS GONE WILD
ReplyDeleteI dunno; that photo looked kind of tame to me. My benchmarks continues to be Des Moines' racy baseball photos: http://tinyurl.com/6aawct
ReplyDeletehey jimmy jim,
ReplyDeleteSurprised not to see any buzz on your site about a famous journalism blogger who recently visited the Crystal Palace. He was seen eating in the cafeteria in the midst of your former USAT colleagues! Wonder what he thinks about Gannett's online efforts.
Tell us more, please.
ReplyDeleteRegarding unemployment in NYS. If employer won't oppose your application and you took buyout because you believed you would be fired. you most likely will qualify. just be careful completing the form. this is what others told me years ago
ReplyDeleteHi Jim,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think are the chances Gannett would sell a newspaper property to its employees?
Assuming the financial terms were acceptable, Gannett would sell any of its newspapers to anyone.
ReplyDeleteChances that employees would buy any of Gannett's newspapers? Next to zero. I've seen those attempts in the past, but I've never known them to succeed.
Anyone knows how to find out how much is in your pension...other then contacting HR?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any idea on where Classifieds is headed? It seems regular Classifieds is moving towards being done only through the website, but what about Employment? I'm worried that everything will be consolidated into another call center with a newspaper we are already "partnered" with. More like competing against within our own territories.
ReplyDelete10:28PM --Girls gone wild is how they run the place---no brains but goin wild !!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLet's get together and Buy the APP
ReplyDeleteWho of us at the APP has been able to save that kind of money with what the APP pays?
ReplyDeleteMetromix is only about sex. The only reason it exists is to get clicks. Everybody pretends that it's for restaurant information or for finding the latest events but come on people, the only reason people click there is to look at the young women dressed inappropriately. That is why there are always so many cheap pictures, taken with cheap cameras of cheap women.
ReplyDeleteI have a question for those eligible under the new 401(K) program to receive the additional bump for older employees. It appears, based on the info, that Gannett is making the additional contribution (or contributions, depending on the employee) annually and one “must be employed on December 31 of the applicable calendar year to receive them.” Has anyone been told whether, if you leave Gannett at any time during a given year, the additional contributions will be pro rated for that year or are you simply deprived them?
ReplyDeleteIn the northwest, I found out from the unemployment department that if you volunteer for the layoff and Gannett challenges this, you get nothing. I asked what are the chance they would challenge... They told me other papers have challenged. So I called a fw benefit lawyers and asked them... They said if you volunteer for the layoff, keep copies of everything from corporate. that way if they challenge your unemployment, you can hire a lawyer and possibly fight them. But if you fight, who has the deeper pockets...
ReplyDeleteBLM
In Wisconsin, Gannett will not challenge unemployment benefit filings, no matter whether the person left voluntarily or involuntarily.
ReplyDeleteI see lots of advice here to get out while the gettins good....I dunno.....people can decide to do whatever they want.....its a free country.
ReplyDeleteMe...Im going down with the ship because Im not a quitter. My site made plan last quarter and we have waaayy to many ads to stick inside a local section of USAT.
I will continue to bust my ass and do my best til Im handed my hat and shown the door.
Does anyone at this time have any leaks of how many and who are to be laid off and in which departments? Interested in the southern section of the country.
ReplyDeleteSo, Scripps is having a big layoff too.
ReplyDeleteGee, just the other day people said that the company and its papers were doing great and we'd be lucky to have Gannett papers bought by them. Wanna retract that statement?
Like I said in the first place: Name me a newspaper/media company that's not going to s**t right now. Just look at the journalismjobs.com
web site - it's sad to see how few jobs are listed daily.
Gannett may be leading the way on the road to hell, but everyone else is close behind.
IN NJ - we have one person manning the phones and everything else in our classified dept. It is almost impossible for her to get time off - yet the manager is off every time you turn around. This person will probably lose vacation time.
ReplyDeleteWhat if you let your boss know you want to be included in this round of layoffs but dont want to put it in writing so if you are let go you are not volunteering and can collect unemployment in nj without being questioned ?
ReplyDeleteI hope employees are told before the 3 rd of December. Another long week-end. Don't know how to handle this situation. If anyone has new info please drop it on line. Just want to work and do the job I love and was trained for and hired to do for many years.
ReplyDeleteSorry to harp on issues in the dreaded NJ Group, but the following questions just don't get any answers:
ReplyDelete1. If you take a "voluntary" buyout, knowing that they will eventually let you go anyway, will unemployment accept this? Or will you be rejected?
2. If you accept your retirement benefits and directly roll them over into a qualified IRA, does un-employment make this an issue and deduct from any benefits you might get?
3. At any given time, how do you get an exact figure on what your pension benefits are?
This may well be annoying to the rest of Gannett, but in NJ it is seemingly impossible to get this information.
Can anyone who has already been through the process please take a moment and advise the rest of us?
2:42 I took the NJ buyout so I can't answer question 1 and 2 as I am still collecting checks and am still considered employed. However on #3: GO TO HR IN PERSON!! If you're at APP tell Lisa or Kathy you want your pension figures IN WRITING. It will take a few days for them to get the info from corporate but they have to give you the number. I asked for and received my pension figures before I left with buyout. About 30 or so days after I left, I received a letter from corporate repeating the same info. You have to be able to make an informed decision about the upcoming layoffs, therefore, they HAVE to provide you with the numbers. It's your money, you earned it. I repeat: if HR phone constantly busy, go there IN PERSON and make the request.
ReplyDeleteGood luck
If you take the buyout you cannot get unemployment because your departure was voluntary. Lie about this, and you can face federal fraud charges.
ReplyDeleteIf you take your 401K benefits and other pension funds and roll them over into your own pension plan, unemployment does not treat this as a salary payment. But be careful not to cash that check you will get because that makes your pension fund income, and you will have to report that, plus pay a 10 percent penalty on top.
ReplyDeleteHere's another unemployment question from NJ - can you collect unemployment during (at the same time)of your severance? Also, why don't they give an up front severance (all of it at once) instead of keeping you "on the payroll"? Or is that how they get around the unemployment claims?
ReplyDeleteAlso, why are we the hot topic state and why does everyone feel soooo sorry for us? What the HELL is going to happen here for us that's different from the rest of the company!?!? Are we having a mass layoff? Is the paper going to implode? We're already stressed enough! Heaven help us!!
A co-worker at APP asked the following questions in e-amil and shared the answers with those of us too timid to ask:
ReplyDeleteQ: Would volunteering interfere with colecting unemployment?
A (from HR) "Voluntary severance will not impact on receiving unemployment benefits after your salary continuation ends."
(I think that you can collect during the severance, but that's a question to teh Unemployment office.)
Also, People will be reimbursed for vacation days they are owed and medical benefits will continue for the length of the severance.
3:45 pm--
ReplyDeleteCirc is tanking at all of the NJ papers-- two papers had the biggest losses percentage-wise of all Gannett papers.
There is a pandemic problem at several NJ papers with work ethic (and ethics in general).
This went out in Rochester as FAQs.
ReplyDeleteFrequently Asked Questions
1. What happens to my health and life insurance benefits if I take severance?
Health coverage and life insurance would continue on the same basis as an active employee throughout the severance period. Any deductions for health or life benefits would continue to be deducted form the severance check. Coverage would end on the last day of the month in which your severance ended. Ex. If severance ends 04/04/09, health and life insurance coverage would end on 04/30/09.
If you are at retirement age (55 or older) and have at least 15 years of service, you and eligible dependents currently on your plan would be able to continue your medical coverage only (no dental or vision) through our retiree medical group until age 65. The cost of the retiree coverage would be at a different rate (usually higher) based on years of service and age. Also, if you have at least 15 years of service, as a retiree, you would receive a $10,000 life insurance policy for one year. Once you reach your one year anniversary of retirement, that insurance policy amount would drop to $5,000 and would remain at that amount.
2. How do unemployment benefits work?
Anyone who is laid off may apply for unemployment through the state. It is the state that makes determinations on unemployment, but we would not contest you receiving it. Typically, the state allows you to take severance, unemployment and pension (if at retirement age) all at once or string it out.
3. What happens to my 401(k)?
You can not continue to contribute to 401(k) during a severance period. You could contact YBR after your severance begins to discuss your options, such as rolling it over.
4. Who makes the decision on the voluntary severance request and how will I find out?
Department VPs are notified of your request for a voluntary severance and along with managers make a decision based on operational demands and needs. You should find out of the decision on your voluntary severance request by the beginning of December.
4:35 No you are wrong. You said
ReplyDeleteA (from HR) "Voluntary severance will not impact on receiving unemployment benefits after your salary continuation ends."
(I think that you can collect during the severance, but that's a question to teh Unemployment office.)
You are being paid a salary during that severance period, therefore you are not entitled to unemployment benefits.
Anon 4:38 - Which 2 papers in the NJ Group are you refering to? And why oh why should those papers affect the rest of the papers in the group - can't they stage a mutiny and become separate? If it's the ones I think you're saying, are they the ones with the work ethic problems also? I know most of the people at my paper still have a stong work ethic. Please explain further.
ReplyDelete4:38 and 5:38, I would say the work ethic problem is more a reflection of the continual beatdowns that were handed out -- at least to those of us in the newsroom. The publisher at the Home News is a brutal, nasty person. The comments made in another thread about that publisher having a hit list are reason enough to understand why the NJ group is a mess. The reign of terror continues to destroy families and careers and it's all because of his inferiority complex.
ReplyDeleteEveryone received a report of their pension plan benefits in June. Corporate will no longer process requests for estimates as a result, so go dig out that report. It's the one they sent you announcing the freeze of the pension plan and the changes to the 401(k).
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure corporate can deny you if you request pension benefit information. They have to follow ERISA guidelines. You have rights in ERISA.
ReplyDeleteTo all NJ unemployment/severance questions, you can collect unemployment the day you are laid off. File immediately - the only thing that will affect it is if you have vacation pay or unpaid incentive. When your severance runs out and you receive a lump sum pension payment, the week you receive that payment you will not be eligible for that weeks' unemployment. I speak from experience. I was laid off in August and filed the first week in Sept. The company isn't going to encourage you to collect immediately as they hope that you will have gone back to work when your severance ends and not go on ui. Someone mentioned on this blog that the company doesn't pay for unemployment but that is not true. Gannett does have to contribute to payment of former employees unemployment. I did have to attend an orientation thing for unemployment and the faciltator verified that you may collect while on severance.
ReplyDelete8:20 Holy right on the head Batman! But the cool thing is he's a frightened little man that had to move and not disclose his new address out of security issue:) I never HAD to moved two feet out of my way for anyone my entire life. Probably because I don't screw people over. The funny thing is Gannett pats him on the back with a President's ring and promotions. The only thing I see is him destroying morale and the product (circulation at the Press anyway took a nose dive in his time at the Press). I'm sure he and his fellow suits can blame the industry, but he an his ideas fast-tracked the decline of the Press.
ReplyDelete8:20 The new "higher up" has a reputation for being extremely happy whenever he fires someone. He has brought a great deal of fear into HNT.
ReplyDeleteIt's very telling that as soon as the hitlist was mentioned here, the slackers who fear they are on the hitlist decide to take on as many assignments as possible -- and are friendly, cheerful and helpful to everyone... they are suddenly on the ball, always on time, and not high when they come into work.
I'm quite sure the slackers are known to all, based on the references to their so-called misdeeds.
And, what has happened to those who have always done more than their fair share? They are in fear of the backstabbing by the slackers. It's already happening... and it's sad. But some of the worst people are the slackers who have survived here the longest.
So, it's obvious the big frat party is clearly over and done here in East Brunswick. Remember what's ahead as the newsroom holiday bush is put up next month.
To 11:31 PM: It's amazing that all being said about slackers at the HNT. I work on the other end of the building, so I never see any of this. (Does not mean that it's not happening) But I do feel the misery in the air as I enter the building for my shift. So sad, the HNT use to be a home away from home, a nice place to work. Now it feels as miserable a place as the mothership (APP nep). Keeping my hopes and prayers for the hardworking people on both ends of the building.
ReplyDeletePeace
metromix is about SEX? REALLY? You guys need to get out more. It looks like five degrees cooler than People magazine -- but I guess compared to the newspaper, yeah...
ReplyDeletefyi 11:31, the guy who puts up the "holiday bush" is gone - so I wouldn't look to see it this year....
ReplyDelete3:45, be GLAD you don't get severance as a lump, because the taxes would be godawful. of all the things gannett has done with regard to layoffs, this is the only one that really benefits ordinary workers.
ReplyDeleteexample: you normally make $60/yr and have worked there long enough to qualify for the whole 26 wks of post-layoff pay.
if you get it pay period by pay period, your withheld taxes will change only to the extent that you can't contribute to 401(k), and thus will get a somewhat bigger check, depending on how much you were saving.
if, on the other hand, you had earned $55k through the end of november and suddenly got all of your severance money in december, your total income for '08 would be $85k, with a WHOPPING deduction held out of that $30k severance check. chances are, you'd be hit by the alternative minimum tax, especially if you have an employed spouse.
now, if you had another job to walk into on the morning after the layoffs, that might not be so bad. but most of us facing job losses aren't that lucky. taxes will be withheld just as they are now (with no-401k difference) instead of a huge chunk coming out all at once. and less will be taken out because you'll be continuing to "earn" the same amount, not getting a sudden $30k "raise," followed by $0 income in early '09.
in some cases, it might not hurt to adjust your w4 -- but do it honestly -- don't claim 7 dependents that you don't really have (LOL).
can someone from biz weigh in w/more tax-planning advice, like ways for those who itemize to shift more deductions into this year so next year's refund will be bigger?
jim -- how about a financial planning thread?
The reign of terror at HNT must be a mandate coming from above. The bosses in Morristown use the same bullying techniques. We swear their MBO's include MAKING he daily product fail. I'm sure there must be a bonus attached to how quickly they can eliminate the daily paper.
ReplyDeleteAs an employee, what can you do against the Publisher and his cronies? Go to HR and file a complaint? Ha, ha, ha...
Eliminate the paper and you force advertisers to go online only.
ReplyDeleteIt is the well thought out plan by Gannett.