Hawaii Tribune-Herald Union News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

tribuneunion — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:08:31 +0000

Aug. 19, 2010

The Hawaii Newspaper Guild and the Hawaii Tribune-Herald have signed a contract after nearly six years of negotiations.

The two-year agreement covers all employees at the Hilo newspaper except pressmen, who are covered by a separate contract, and managers. The pressmen’s negotiations lasted as long as the Guild’s. The contracts are similar.

Both unions have bargained with the newspaper jointly for years, but the negotiations were prolonged this time partly because the company refused joint negotiations.

The contract provides the first wage increases for employees at the newspaper since Jan. 1, 2002.

During the negotiations, the Tribune-Herald was found guilty of 12 unfair labor practice charges by an administrative law judge of the National Labor Relations Board. The charges included the illegal firing of veteran reporters Hunter Bishop and Dave Smith, both of whom were union leaders.

The judge found that the company fired the union leaders because they were engaged in legally protected union activity, not because of any job-related violations. He ordered both Bishop and Smith reinstated to their jobs with full back pay and benefits. The judge also found the company guilty of illegally disciplining employees for participation in union activities and several other violations of employee rights.

Rather than implementing the judge’s order, the company has appealed to the NLRB in Washington, D.C. The appeal is pending.

Guild spokesperson for the talks and former Hawaii Newspaper Guild administrative officer Wayne Cahill said it was his belief the company had no intention of ever reaching an agreement, but that it had second thoughts because of the strong will of the employees, who were planning an island-wide consumer boycott against the newspaper if agreement could not be achieved.

Cahill said, “The employees and the full Big Island Labor Alliance made a strong statement at a rally in front of the newspaper on March 17. It had to be apparent to the company that it would have a hard time doing business in Hilo unless it treated its employees fairly.”

Cahill took over the talks in September 2009 after Guild sector representative Mike Burrell retired. Burrell had led the talks for the Guild for the first five years of bargaining. Cahill retired at the conclusion of the talks.

The Hawaii Newspaper Guild is a local of The Newspaper Guild, a sector of the Communication Workers of America. The Hawaii local also represents employees at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the Maui News and the Maui Bulletin.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

tribuneunion — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 07:10:17 +0000

HILO — Wednesday is St. Patrick’s Day across much of the world, but there’s not a lot of green in store for Union members of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Union members and their supporters will post an informational picket line in front of the newspaper at 355 Kinoole Street between noon and 1 PM on Wednesday, March 17^th to inform the public of conditions at the newspaper.

Big Island unions have voted strong support for the Tribune-Herald workers. These unions include: the Hawaii Printing and Graphic Communications Local 413/GCCIBT Local 501, International Association of Machinist & Aerospace Workers Local 1998, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260, Hawaii Government Employees Association, University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, Hawaii Fire Fighters Association, Plumbers and Fitters Union Local 675, Laborers Union Local 368, Operating Engineers Local 3, Carpenters Union Local 745, Hawaii State Teachers Association, United Public Workers local 646, State of Hawaii Organization of Police Workers, Hawaii Teamsters Local 996.

The labor leaders will hold a press conference during the informational picket at 12:30 PM in front of the newspaper.

Big Island elected representatives have signed letters of support. They include Senators Dwight Takamine and Russell Kokubun, and Representatives Jerry Chang, Faye Hanohano, Clift Tsuji and Mark Nakashima; County Council Chair J Yoshimoto and County Council member Guy Enriques.

Tribune-Herald workers have not had a pay increase in more than eight years. Last December newspaper management canceled the contract raising the threat of a lockout by the company, unilateral implementation of the company’s proposals, or a strike by union members or other action.

Wayne Cahill, the Guild’s administrative officer said, “we know the economy is bad right now, probably as bad as it has been in our lifetime, and many businesses are hurting, but this newspaper is doing very well. The company’s lead negotiator told us the Tribune-Herald is making lots of money. He said, the company can afford to give pay raises, it just doesn’t want to.”

Besides the economic issues, the company wants the union to agree to the hiring of subcontractors, freelancers and outsourcing work which would put long-term employees at risk.

Hawaii Tribune-Herald workers will wave signs and pass out leaflets. The action will not disrupt any member of the public from conducting business at the newspaper.

Tribune-Herald workers are represented by the Hawaii Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA 39117.

Cahill and other Big Island labor leaders will be available to take questions following the press conference.

For more information contact: Wayne Cahill, Hawaii Newspaper Guild Administrative Officer at 808-295-5656.

Newspaper employees resume informational picketing during contract negotiations

tribuneunion — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:35:07 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Attention:

From 2002 to 2009 the average weekly wage in Hawaii rose by 26%

From 2002 to 2009 the national inflation rate increased prices by 19%

From 2002 to 2010 employees at the Hawaii Tribune-Herald received raises of 0%

Why?

Q: Is the company going broke?

A: No. The Hawaii Tribune-Herald is owned by Las Vegas-based Stephens Media, which is owned by investment bank Stephens Inc., which is owned by Arkansas billionaire Warren Stephens. As he told Forbes Magazine in a September 2009 interview, “We are expanding. We’re really expanding in all areas of the firm. … (T)his is the time to do it and we’re plowing ahead. We’re going to keep doing it.”

Q: Has the recession impacted revenue at the Hawaii Tribune-Herald?

A: Sure, the newspaper has been affected. But the company has never claimed an inability to pay, only an unwillingness to pay a fair wage. When a pillar of the community like a newspaper is owned by an investment bank, the money flows in one direction, and the community is worse off for it. At least, that’s what the company wants.

Q: What are employees asking for?

A: The Hawaii Newspaper Guild, Local 39117, represents most of the employees in the advertising, business, circulation and editorial departments. Their requests are simple: A fair contract, nothing less. The company has dragged out the negotiation process for years by offering ridiculous package deals designed to weaken the union and insulting pay raises; their latest offer is a wage freeze. Most recently, it canceled the collective bargaining agreement in place since 2004. This provocative act means that either side can now lockout without notice or go on strike.

Q: What are employees doing about it?

The first task is to let the community know what is going on. The first round of post-contract negotiations will be this week Wednesday and Thursday. Employees will be doing informational picketing in front of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald building at 355 Kinoole Street on Wednesday, January 20th at noon-1pm and 4:30pm-5:30pm. The union is not on strike and people will not be interrupted from doing their business with the newspaper. Employees will be donating their personal time to hold signs and hand out leaflets.

Informational picketing at the Hawaii Tribune-Herald:

When: Wed January 20 noon-1pm and 4:30pm-5:30pm

Where: 355 Kinoole St., Hilo

Contact: Wayne Cahill, Hawaii Newspaper Guild Administrative Officer, 808-295-5656

Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/History/cewqtr_01072003.txt, http://www.bls.gov/ro9/qcewhi.htm, http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

Pledge Your Support to the Union!

tribuneunion — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:40:57 +0000

CLICK HERE to download this pledge form

Hawaii Newspaper Guild forms picket line calling for community support

tribuneunion — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:03:58 +0000

December 21, 2009

For Immediate Release

HILO – Hawaii Newspaper Guild-represented employees of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald are boosting their efforts to make the community aware of their plight after the company indicated earlier this month it was not extending the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Their first step will be an informational picket line in front of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald at 355 Kinoole Street in Hilo.

Picketing will commence Monday, December 21, at 7:30-8 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m.

The public will not be prohibited from doing their business. Members of Hawaii Newspaper Guild, Local 39117, will be donating their personal time off to inform the public about the Stephens Media-owned newspaper’s cancellation of the bargaining contract, effective Dec. 22.

“Merry Christmas, the company says, as it gives a lump of coal to its own workers, many of whom have had their wages frozen for the last eight years. Ongoing negotiations have borne little fruit due to the company’s strategy of dragging out talks until one side gives in. This will not work.” said Wayne Cahill, Administrative Officer for the Hawaii Newspaper Guild.

“Advertisers should ask how many of their dollars over the years have gone to pay the Tribune-Herald’s union-busting lawyer Michael Zinser. Meanwhile, wages earned by Tribune-Herald employees stay on the Big Island to support Big Island businesses. The Newspaper Guild continues to work toward a fair contract on behalf of its members. The newspaper’s management needs to know that Guild members will not be cowed or bullied into accepting a contract that would gut the Guild’s ability and right to represent the members,” continued Cahill.

Rather than weakening the union, the contract’s notice of termination has energized it. Several more employees have signed union membership cards this month alone.

“Faced with the loss of an automatic payroll deduction for dues payments, members have signed up en masse to have a third party conduct an automatic bank account deduction. While this will preserve the union’s strength, the pressure will need to come from the community. We are calling on our community to sign pledge cards to cancel their subscriptions should the need arise,” said Cahill.

The Guild is now preparing for future challenges from the company by asking the community to support the union. Guild supporters can sign pledge cards in advance that would cancel their newspaper subscriptions, if the union deems such an action necessary.

Forms are available online at tribuneunion.wordpress.com and will also be distributed during the picket line on Monday. Supporters may also request a form via fax at (808) 585-6465 or email: unionhawaii@gmail.com. Completed forms should be returned directly to the union via mail, fax or email at: Hawaii Newspaper Guild, 475 Kinoole Street #102, PMB #172, Hilo, HI 96720-2900; fax (808) 585-6465; email:unionhawaii@gmail.com. Supporters will be notified that their subscription is being cancelled prior to the union submitting the forms to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

For more information, contact Hawaii Newspaper Guild Administrative Officer Wayne Cahill at (808) 531-5455 or 1-800-984-3484; e-mail:wcahill@cwahawaii.org. Future updates will also be posted on our website at www.tribuneunion.wordpress.com.

Hawaii Tribune-Herald cancels contract with Hawaii Newspaper Guild

tribuneunion — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:08:45 +0000

December 16, 2009

For Immediate Release

HILO – The Hawaii Tribune-Herald is terminating the bargaining contract of their union workers three days before Christmas. Publisher Ted Dixon earlier this month informed the Hawaii Newspaper Guild Local 39117 that effective Dec. 22, 2009, the company would no longer honor the written Extension Agreement (signed Dec. 7, 2004) to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

This means the bargaining contract will in all respects be terminated and expired, Dixon said.

This does not automatically mean that the parties will go on strike or declare a lockout. However, beginning Dec. 22 the Guild can legally go on strike or the Company can declare a lockout without prior notice. The Stephens Media-owned company is also trying to strike a financial blow against the union by no longer automatically deducting dues from paychecks and can now decide which grievances go to arbitration.

The Company has shied from declaring an overall impasse. An impasse means the Company can institute any of their proposals from the last negotiation. Wayne Cahill, Administrative Officer for the Hawaii Newspaper Guild said, “Should this happen, the Company will effectively declare war against its own employees and Guild members will take appropriate action.”

What does this mean for Tribune-Herald readers, subscribers and advertisers? “Nothing, for now. As long as neither side chooses the ‘nuclear option’ of a strike or lockout, then it will be business as usual,” Cahill said.

Cahill continued, “Business as usual means newspaper employees will endure the eighth year of a wage freeze.

“Business as usual means more of the same unproductive negotiation sessions since 2004 (there have been 59, by Dixon’s count) and more of the same onerus, bad faith ultimatums and unacceptable ‘package deals’ that, if accepted, would render the Guild powerless to represent its workers.

“Business as usual means that money will continue to flow from the Big Island to Little Rock, Ark., where billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens, president and CEO of Stephens Inc., maintains his fleet of four private jets, a $18 million world-class private golf course and a No. 97 ranking on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. One of Stephens Inc.’s private equity investments is a conglomerate of 40 newspapers called Stephens Media. Of those newspapers, only one has a union – and the company wants to change that.

“These are tough times for the economy, and for the newspaper industry in particular. But Stephens Media has never claimed an inability to pay, and its CEO has said recently that its newspapers are not in debt. So the issue is not an inability to pay. The issue is the Company’s unwillingness to give employees a fair share and to punish them for asking for anything that might detract from the money that the Hawaii Tribune-Herald readers, advertisers and subscribers give to its parent company.”

The Hawaii Newspaper Guild is asking the community to show their support of the union by signing Subscription Cancellation Pledge Cards. Subscribers of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald can opt to sign these union pledge cards which will cancel their subscription to the paper once the union submits them to the newspaper and the boycott is in effect. Pledge cards can be downloaded from www.tribuneunion.wordpress.com, requested via fax at (808) 585-6465, or via email at wcahill@cwahawaii.org. Supporters can mail their completed pledge cards to: Hawaii Newspaper Guild, 475 Kinoole St., PMB 172, Hilo, HI 96720-2900.