Workers trying to unionize MediaNews empire
By Bryan G. Pfeifer
Amherst, Mass.
The MediaNews Group, led by its CEO William
Dean Singleton, is busy attempting to smash a union drive at
the Brattleboro Reformer--a daily newspaper it owns in
Brattleboro, Vt.
But the workers are fighting back.
For years workers at the Reformer talked about forming a
union because of numerous grievances, mostly focused on pay and
benefits. Even before the MediaNews Corp. bought out the
formerly "family-owned" Reformer in 2001, journalists and other
newsroom workers made a pittance-about $20,000 a year despite
seniority.
Only five of the 170 newspapers Media News owns are
unionized. The wages and benefits at the five show the
difference: average wages are double that of the non-unionized
newspapers.
In mid-spring 2003, 41 Reformer newsroom staff decided by
card vote to join PACE--the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical
and Energy Workers Interna tional Union. After the regional
office of the National Labor Relations Board scheduled a June
26 election, a campaign of harassment began which, according to
Reformer workers, included captive audience meetings,
retaliation against PACE supporters, intimidation and coercion.
In the most egregious action, the principal union organizer was
fired on May 16.
According to the Boston Globe, Reformer journalist Eesha
Williams says he was first suspended indefinitely and then
fired because he informed his managing editor on May 12 that he
supported PACE and the union drive.
Charles Kamen, MediaNews Group's vice president of human
resources, claims Williams was fired "for a breach of
journalist ethics," because Williams called Sen. Jim Jeffords
seeking support for the union drive. Williams says the call was
made from his home and that he left his home phone number on
Jefford's voice mail.
MediaNews has retained the notorious, union-busting,
Nashville-based law firm King and Ballow, which has sent
various "representatives" to Brattleboro.
According to the May/June 2003 Columbia Journalism Review,
the $55-billion privately held MediaNews Group is the
seventh-largest newspaper corporation in the United States,
with 48 dailies and 121 non-dailies amid various other media
properties in 11 states.
The most widely known newspapers in MediaNews are the Denver
Post, Los Angeles Daily News and the Salt Lake Tribune--which
Singleton recently bought with the help of the Mormon
Church.
Although small compared to the "Big Five" U.S. media
monopolies, MediaNews was one of the principal lobbyists for
the recent FCC gutting of ownership rules.
MediaNews plans include massive expansion in the U.S. as
well as in other countries--including formerly socialist
countries.
In June 2002, Singleton--then chairperson of the National
Newspaper Associ ation (NNA)--led a delegation to the former
USSR as part of the Russian-American Media Entrepreneurship Dia
logue which he helped form. At the June conference, Singleton
was accompanied by National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
President and CEO Edward O. Fritts and two capitalist media
executives.
Singleton delivered his remarks before George W. Bush and
Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Media cannot be independent
without economic viability. And that viability must come
without government participation," said Singleton
(www.naa.org). Judging by his company's record, this means the
unrestrained right to exploit the workers.
The Reformer workers and their allies are continuing to draw
support. A May 31 rally of more than 125 at the Brattleboro
Common was sponsored by the Vermont AFL-CIO and endorsed by
dozens of local unions and community organizations.
Before the June 26 election, Reformer workers are asking
supporters to sign their petition at www.vtlivablewage.org/vwc/reformer.html
or to download the form, obtain signatures and send to:
Reformer Union, 111 Dutton Farm Rd., Brattleboro, VT 05301.
For more information, call(802) 254-2531.
Reprinted from the June 19, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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