August 20, 2003

Workers express concern
about quality of newspaper

By Lynne Stiefel
Pioneer Editorial Unit Chair

The Pioneer Press Editorial Unit of the Chicago Newspaper Guild, which represents reporters, photographers, editorial assistants and layout desk editors, has been trying to negotiate a new contract for the past 16 months. Our previous contract expired May of 2002.

Pioneer Press publishes 50 newspapers in 70 north, northwest and west suburbs of Chicago, from seven offices. Like the Chicago Sun-Times, Pioneer Press is owned by Hollinger International Inc., a publicly-traded company, whose chairman and CEO, Conrad Black, is facing shareholder unrest and allegations of insider dealings.

As if Lord Black isn't enough of a bad example, the publisher of Pioneer Press has his own agenda. Union bashing apparently is at the top of his list, and negotiations have been troubled, to say the least.

We recently received one of the worst company proposals we've ever seen since our first contract in the mid-1980s - which includes jettisoning a six-step system of raises for one in which the publisher decides who does or doesn't get a merit raise, allowing the publisher to offer any health insurance plan he wants and allowing the publisher to transfer all but a handful of senior employees to any office at any time for any reason. And get this - he wants all new reporters to also take photos and all new photographers to also write copy! As if we don't have enough to do after editorial staff was slashed 24 percent in the last five years.

In response, our unit provided community leaders and members with post cards expressing concern about the future of local news coverage and urging the publisher to negotiate a fair contract with us. We were pleased with how many were mailed in. Other strategies are in the works.

Frankly, we don't understand how a publisher can claim to want to serve communities with quality newspapers and be so contemptuous of the editorial staff that produces them. We don't understand how he can tout the local news and information his newspapers deliver and divorce that from the people who do that work.

"The quality work of our reporters, photographers and editors is reflected in the prizes and honors they receive each year in competition judged by their peers from around the country," the publisher recently wrote in a letter to the residents of his community, soliciting subscriptions. Apparently, prizes and honors from others are all we deserve, not a fair contract from our employer.