1. Principal executive and Chief Financial Officer Gracia Martore (left) has ordered layoffs across the board from U.S. Community Publishing to USA Today, Corporate and the Broadcasting division.2. On top of layoffs, salary reductions will happen in the broadcast division: a 10% salary reduction.
3. No new furloughs for the rest of the year.
4. Layoffs are scheduled for July 8. Estimated to be 4,500 for U.S. Community Publishing.
How long do Martore & Co. plan to keep the more than 40,000 Gannett employees in the dark?
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Proposed Indy guild changes, per Ruth Holladay's blog:
ReplyDeleteAttached to the file is a copy of the proposed contract. [Also, here's a round-up of the significant changes.]
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> + Permanent pay cut of 12 percent (8 percent cut July 1, 4 percent cut Oct. 1) for all Guild-represented employees.
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> + Employees whose pay would drop below the federal minimum wage with a 12 percent pay cut will be reduced only to the federal minimum wage.
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> + No pay increases for the term of the contract (two years from date of signing.)
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> + Minimum rates of pay steps remain in the contract but are reduced 12 percent and go dormant. Employees in the steps will not receive their automatic step increases during the term of the contract.
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> + Merit pool language remains in the contract but goes dormant. No merit pay increases for Guild-represented employees for the term of the contract.
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> + Regarding advertorial content, adds language to allow the Publisher flexibility to assign Guild members “traditional and non-traditional tasks.” Requires the Publisher to “be cognizant of and sensitive to its policy relating to ethics and conflicts of interest.” Side letter to the contract states in part, “the parties are in agreement that the Company’s current ethics policy does not allow editorial employees to produce advertorial copy.”
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> + In the event of layoffs, the company will consider seniority as the first factor along with individual skills and abilities and an
> employee’s performance and disciplinary history. The Guild gives up the right to grieve or seek arbitration on individual layoffs. We do have the right to grieve and arbitrate if the company ignores seniority or fails to use the criteria properly overall.
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> + Positions currently covered by the Guild contract (Graphics/Design: Day Design Editor, Night Design Editor; Digital Central, Calendar Editor) become exempt from all provisions of the contract.
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> + 10 positions become exempt from the overtime provision but still are covered by all other provisions of the contract (Cartoonist, Sports Columnist, Public Service Columnist, Conversations Central Columnist, On The Town Columnist, IU Sports Beat, Motor Sports Beat, Pacers Beat,Colts Beat, Sports Special Projects Beat.)
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> + On roundtrips of 100 miles or more, if an employee requests to use his/her own car rather than a company vehicle, the company will reimburse for actual fuel expenses only rather than the company’s fixed mileage rate.
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My thought is corporate is waiting for the final furlough week to end before announcing any layoffs. It might be difficult at some sites if the announcement was made and the publisher or other top positions were not available to answer questions.
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