[Strike blog graphic shows displeasure with sending profits to U.S.]
National Union of Journalists members at Gannett newspapers in the company's U.K. Newsquest division have scheduled another round of two-day strikes, starting tomorrow. You can follow their progress on strike blogs for NUJ Darlington and Brighton Argus.
Employees are protesting Newsquest's plans to consolidate editing jobs at central hubs; impose too-small pay raises, and limit pension benefits.
They don't mince words, either; from the Darlington blog: "We hold no confidence in David Coates, managing director of Newsquest North-East,'' they wrote Dec. 30. "Members note his cowardice in failing to be present when fundamental changes to the production of the flagship titles in Darlington were announced. We would ask that if he cannot be there during one of the most important moments in the modern history of the Darlington centre, why does he need to be there at all?"
[Graphic: Steve Bell, via NUJ Darlington]
Strikes are better than a furlough.
ReplyDeleteGo British comrades, go!
ReplyDeleteHappy to see the depiction of the Gannet(t) eagle. Keep slugging away at Gannett and emphasize that it's an American company ripping off British folks.
A turkey buzzard might also be employed. In case that bird is unknown across the pond, it's a large, black bird that resembles a turkey and eats fresh kill along the roads.
Yeah, you go guys! Show them all how it is done! If everyone walks out they'll finally notice who has the power. Turkey Buzzard is a good one! I always believed Gannett in the last 4 years resembled more the Donner Party - as described by a blog reader last year. Oh, boy, was he/she right!
ReplyDeleteNow that is solidarity. Wish all the journalists at Gannett could follow their example.
ReplyDeleteGood for them! Why is it workers in other countries protest when bad things happen to their jobs? The US could learn something from them. We have become to eager to please rather than stand up for our rights and what we deserve as workers.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone notice they didn't spell Gannett correctly in the graphic? A real error or maybe intentional as a way of showing disrespect to the company?
ReplyDeleteKnowing Steve Bell, Gannet isn't misspelled, he's just deliberately used the spelling for the seabird - closely related to the Boobie.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what would happen if, through this blog, all Gannett's U.S. employees staged a one day strike? On second thoughts, Gannett probably has an insurance policy to cover that unlikely event - which they would report as a profit and award it directly to the corporate officers.
You can't win. Best to spend your energy finding employment with a media company that has a less funereal feel to it.
Sad to see that people posting on here (with the exception of one) don't seem to know the bird pictured is a gannet, not an eagle; that the name is purposely spelled like the bird rather than the company; that the gannet is common and well-known in the UK; and that the artist is making a purposeful swipe at Gannett using the voracious appetite of a well-known local bird.
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