So I guess I have this right: the people who make our daily newspapers possible (not the owners, the worker bees) in this economy to say no to a raise right now in order to save the paper and cut costs? Pretty freaking amazing. Hope ownership appreciates and remembers this gensture. Diane Mastrull rocks. She's a real leader.
Posted on Wed, Aug. 27, 2008
In effort to cut costs, head off layoffs, guild for Daily News, Inquirer votes to postpone raise
By JOHN F. MORRISON
Philadelphia Daily News
215-854-5573
"Would you be comfortable seeing people losing their jobs?" Diane Mastrull asked a crowded membership meeting of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia last night. "Could you go home at night knowing that was happening?"
Mastrull, an Inquirer reporter and unit chairperson for the Guild, and other union officers appealed to the members to vote for a postponement of a scheduled $25-a-week raise, due Monday, as a cost-cutting measure requested by Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, which owns the Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The members responded, voting 197 to 79 to postpone the raise to Aug. 1, 2009.
Guild Local 10, which represents the newsroom, advertising and clerical employees, is the largest of the company's 11 unions, with 655 members eligible to vote.
In other recent union votes, the Mailers voted to accept the company's request, 110-43, while the Pressmen's Union turned it down, 38-32.
Earlier this month, Teamsters Local 628, the company's second largest union, voted 193-7 to accept the company request.
But will it be enough to keep the papers solvent?
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The internet is really hurting papers. It's a shame because the papers have some of the best journalists and columnists. I also think Main Line Life is great at writing stories that are important to the people and not just about the government. MLL does not do too much sugar coating about those who run The Kingdom in Lower Merion, as well as in other Main Line municapalities. I hope they keep it up. It will keep me buying the paper, and I hope others do as well.
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