Yesterday, Grimm, 54, ended 25 years at the Freep with a sweet thank you for his co-workers: "My assistant, Sandra Aceval, and I have arranged for a soft-serve machine, every topping the company has, umbrella tables, chairs, balloons, flowers and live music,'' he wrote on Poynter Online. "At 2 p.m., I plan to open my soft serve ice cream business in the Free Press' old lobby. But I will not sell the ice cream. I will give it away. People can't buy enough of something if it is free. When we run out of ice cream, I will close my first successful business, having nailed revenue projections and scored high customer satisfaction."Earlier: Poynter blogger says next buyouts won't be as generous
Afraid, his ice-cream stand, is no more> Sources at GCI (deep freeze) has told , me that Gannett, is going, start, their own stand. Their going to offer not one but Three kinds of soft serve> Hint, one of the flavors has nuts, in honor of the crazies that run Gannett.
ReplyDeleteI took a buyout from the Indy Star and here's the reality: The terms were great, 2 weeks pay and health care for every year worked. However, when we started asking questions, they either didn't know the answers, gave us false information or ignored us. HR did very little to help us out, and now, a colleague whose health insurance ran out last month is STILL trying to get new insurance in place. HR says we can't go to them, we have to go to corporate. Corporate jacks us around, says they'll get back to you, etc. This is HEALTH INSURANCE, folks, something we all need, especially us older geezers. So, while Grimm might have had all his ducks in a row, you're only as informed as HR wants you to be .... and guess how informed that is? Yeah, you've got it .....
ReplyDeleteI would advise you to think positively. The experience you got with Gannett will be impressive to future employers, since we all did three or four jobs at once. I was laid off, took 2 months to recover, and got a job in one month. And I'm over 50, so the formula that Mr. Grimm mentioned doesn't have to pertain. I love the new job and I think ... as everybody said .. things did turn out for the best. Don't be afraid to leave. The company has to do what the company has to do. It's not personal, it's business. Make it your business to be in charge of your life and begin your job search now.
ReplyDeletethinking positively may not keep you healthy when h.r.lets your insurance lapse. and if you already have a stress-related illness, worrying about how you'd pay for care could make you realy sick with no help paying the bills.
ReplyDeleteit is wrong for a company to treat staff the way h.r. in indy has done. one guy actually died before his pension mess was straightened out. you can't ever get a straight answer from anyone, and when you get an answer, it may not be right.
Has anyone contacted a place called The Pension Rights Center for help and advice?
ReplyDeleteWould any federal office under the Bush administration offer any pro-labor assistance? Team Bush/Cheney has politicized every federal office journalists have looked into, and dare I say some of us may have feared reaching into the DOL lest we get fired for doing so.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:32 PM
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty impressed with the grassroots efforts highlighted on the Pension Rights Center site. It's a not-for-profit rather than a government agency.
I'm amazed that J. Grimm had an assistant. That's quite a passe concept where I toil.
ReplyDeletePart of the discrepcy in packages is Union representation. We were able to negotiate a nice pack for our photo-engravers. Wendell and Randi weren't real happy about it, but now our folks are secure in their retirement.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the GCC/IBT Inter Local Pension Fund. It clobbers GCI's frigid fund.
http://www.ilpfgciu.org/home.htm
for more info call
1-800-411-9292
Ya gotta love the union mentality. They think they pulled one over on Wendell V!!!!! Pleasssssssssssse. Your people are GONE you fool. Keep up the good work. Let us know when you negotiate your own separation package.
ReplyDeleteDidn't say we got one over on dear old W.V.L. But, we did make him come to town and negotiate like a big boy,even though he did throw a couple of tantrums.
ReplyDeleteI remember back in the very early '80s when The Newspaper Guild filed suit against Gannett for taking advantage of correspondents (stringers) in Lansing. The two sides agreed on arbitration in which the TNG argued against good ol' WVL.
ReplyDeleteTNG won its argument, and Gannett had to pay the correspondents thousands in back pay (based on the hourly wage they should have received vs. the flat fee they did receive). In addition, Gannett had to put the correspondents on the payroll as part-time hourly employees with health insurance.
So, do unions look out for employees? Yes they do. In many respects they are the only watchdog / advocate remaining for employees.
Key phrase... "very early 80's". Gannett was a much smaller company then and technology hadn't made it possible to produce copy, composing and engraving 1000's of miles a way by mercenaries. Also, if they violated a wage and hour law or a CBA you have a chance of winning. If it's just incompetence related to communicating aith employees and how then handle layoffs by the time anything resolved legally it will be moot. Everything will be done. WVL hasa lot more experience and Gannett has a lot more resources and staying power.
ReplyDeleteAll: @3:43 pm's reference to "WVL" is to Wendell J. Van Lare, Gannett's senior vice president for labor relations -- a fancy title for union buster.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm unfamiliar with a "CBA." What's that?
CBA= Collective Bargaining Agreement
ReplyDelete