Sunday Night rap-up
Hey Gang,
Just wanted to keep you guys posted on the latest news on the union front, which is to say: not much. But, given everything that's going on, that's a good thing.
Still no word on what form the proposed layoffs will take, but the latest I've heard (as of Friday) is that as time has stretched on, the picture has improved and that the number continues to shrink. While I still don't have a hard number or particulars, I was told that things weren't as bad as first feared and that cuts would be considered both out of management and the rest of us. I'm not happy to hear of anyone losing their job, but it makes me feel a little bit better to know that the cuts are being deliberated over, rather than just handed out on a snap basis.
Some of you guys may have seen the posting on Friday from our now-sister paper, the San Jose Mercury News, where the company is threatening 40 layoffs in the newsroom. LAObserved posted a warning to LANG employees in connection with this, and while I normally put a fair amount of confidence in his writing, I disagree in this case. I'm sure the Merc's in for some pain, but I think that their situation is completely separate from ours. It's probably not a coincidence that they're also in negotiations where the company is asking for significant takeaways from their long-standing contract. Whatever the case, while it's a good idea to keep an eye on them, I wouldn't worry unnecessarily about their situation.
In a related note, Kerry, Jason and I went down to the Western District Council meeting of Newspaper Guild locals in Long Beach this weekend. We met with our counterparts and other union activists, along with Guild president Linda Foley, to discuss the state of the industry all up and down the coast. Everyone's in the same boat, facing a changing business and tightfisted owners.
These are always useful gatherings and I came away with some good leads for added collaboration with the other folks at the Merc, Press-Telegram and other California papers. We had a lot of good discussion on the changing technological workplace and how to participate in it. The general consensus was to take on as much of the new work, be it podcasting, video, audio recording or blogging, as possible. By embracing the new technologies, we can prepare union workers to be industry leaders and innovators, rather than the guys who still clung to their typewriters and Speedgraphics. We even got some good ideas to bring back to our respective papers on how they can grow, so hopefully it'll be good for all involved.
And, as one final note, I wanted to share two different pieces of good news from the sports department. First off, please join me in welcoming Chris Wiley of the sports copy desk as our newest member. He's yet another of the unsung crew that makes the always lively section run day in and day out. Even before he joined Chris has been very helpful in the past in keeping an eye out for his fellow colleagues, so we'll be well served to have his support. Thanks, sir, we'll look forward to working with you.
And secondly, I'm glad to share the news of our old friend Richard Perkins, formerly of sports, has landed a job as a lead designer for the Riverside Press-Enterprise. In addition to being a passionate, devoted guy in his job, Rich was a great backer for this union and did a lot for our cause. I'll miss working with him, but am glad to see him off to better things. Best of luck out there, pal, keep up that fire burning...
Ok, my friends, that'll do it for one night. I'll be in touch soon.
-Brent
Just wanted to keep you guys posted on the latest news on the union front, which is to say: not much. But, given everything that's going on, that's a good thing.
Still no word on what form the proposed layoffs will take, but the latest I've heard (as of Friday) is that as time has stretched on, the picture has improved and that the number continues to shrink. While I still don't have a hard number or particulars, I was told that things weren't as bad as first feared and that cuts would be considered both out of management and the rest of us. I'm not happy to hear of anyone losing their job, but it makes me feel a little bit better to know that the cuts are being deliberated over, rather than just handed out on a snap basis.
Some of you guys may have seen the posting on Friday from our now-sister paper, the San Jose Mercury News, where the company is threatening 40 layoffs in the newsroom. LAObserved posted a warning to LANG employees in connection with this, and while I normally put a fair amount of confidence in his writing, I disagree in this case. I'm sure the Merc's in for some pain, but I think that their situation is completely separate from ours. It's probably not a coincidence that they're also in negotiations where the company is asking for significant takeaways from their long-standing contract. Whatever the case, while it's a good idea to keep an eye on them, I wouldn't worry unnecessarily about their situation.
In a related note, Kerry, Jason and I went down to the Western District Council meeting of Newspaper Guild locals in Long Beach this weekend. We met with our counterparts and other union activists, along with Guild president Linda Foley, to discuss the state of the industry all up and down the coast. Everyone's in the same boat, facing a changing business and tightfisted owners.
These are always useful gatherings and I came away with some good leads for added collaboration with the other folks at the Merc, Press-Telegram and other California papers. We had a lot of good discussion on the changing technological workplace and how to participate in it. The general consensus was to take on as much of the new work, be it podcasting, video, audio recording or blogging, as possible. By embracing the new technologies, we can prepare union workers to be industry leaders and innovators, rather than the guys who still clung to their typewriters and Speedgraphics. We even got some good ideas to bring back to our respective papers on how they can grow, so hopefully it'll be good for all involved.
And, as one final note, I wanted to share two different pieces of good news from the sports department. First off, please join me in welcoming Chris Wiley of the sports copy desk as our newest member. He's yet another of the unsung crew that makes the always lively section run day in and day out. Even before he joined Chris has been very helpful in the past in keeping an eye out for his fellow colleagues, so we'll be well served to have his support. Thanks, sir, we'll look forward to working with you.
And secondly, I'm glad to share the news of our old friend Richard Perkins, formerly of sports, has landed a job as a lead designer for the Riverside Press-Enterprise. In addition to being a passionate, devoted guy in his job, Rich was a great backer for this union and did a lot for our cause. I'll miss working with him, but am glad to see him off to better things. Best of luck out there, pal, keep up that fire burning...
Ok, my friends, that'll do it for one night. I'll be in touch soon.
-Brent
posted by Oxnard St. at 10:24 PM
1 Comments:
"LAObserved posted a warning to LANG employees in connection with this, and while I normally put a fair amount of confidence in his writing, I disagree in this case. I'm sure the Merc's in for some pain, but I think that their situation is completely separate from ours. It's probably not a coincidence that they're also in negotiations where the company is asking for significant takeaways from their long-standing contract. Whatever the case, while it's a good idea to keep an eye on them, I wouldn't worry unnecessarily about their situation."
Boy, were you wrong.
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