February 11, 2009: Forty-three former workers at the Minneapolis Star Tribune will get their full severance payments, with an outcry from union members playing a significant role in the outcome.

Story by Rick SatherThe former workers, who left the newspaper during the last year, had earlier been notified by the Star Tribune that their severance payments would be cut off.

The decision to pay the workers, who had been laid off or taken buy-outs, was made by a federal bankruptcy judge in New York. The judge had earlier ruled against paying the buyouts in-full.

The decision to pay the workers came after intense pressure by the unions and union employees who spoke out loudly when they learned they were not being paid. Some of the laid-off workers were owed thousands of dollars and had been unable to find work since leaving the newspaper.

The Star Tribune filed for bankruptcy in January. While the newspaper, largest in Minnesota, is making a profit, Avista Partners, the private equity firm that bought the paper two years ago, borrowed heavily to purchase it, and has been unable to make its debt payments.

A total of $436,478 of additional severance will be paid as a result of the court decision.

The Star Tribune told employees that it had always favored paying the severances in full, but the bankruptcy trustee and judge originally opposed doing so. Last week, the newspaper unions joined the company in urging the court to reconsider its decision and the court agreed to act.

“I’m glad we can pay our former employees as we promised,” stated Chris Harte, Star Tribune newspaper, who was quoted in his own newspaper.

Outcry from Union Members

However, it was the extraordinary outcry from union members, urging a wide-reaching campaign, that had as much to do with the decision by the company to press the matter and join with the unions in pressing the issue.

“We’re glad for our members and also we appreciate the company’s willingness to step up and push this issue in the face of the objections by the trustee,” said Graydon Royce, co-chairman of the Newspaper Guild, one of the unions whose members had been denied their full severance package. He was quoted in the Star Tribune. The 28 union and 15 non-union employees will get additional payments ranging from $3,000 to $52,400, according to the Star Tribune.

The company’s decision to support a full payment of the severances, while very welcome, does not indicate that the newspaper’s owners, Avista, have changed their stripes. They are still fully bent on ravaging the union contracts.

For example, the company handed the Teamster pressman’s union a proposal last month that every union person in the newspaper, not just pressmen, would find unacceptable.

Paperhandlers, one of the pressman units, would see their pay slashed to $18 an hour, a 36 percent wage cut. Manning provisions in the press room would revert to pre-World War II rules, allowing the company to send workers home who showed up for a shift, if the boss decided they did not need them. Currently, hard-won union contracts require the company to give a pressman member 24-hour notice.

Years ago, the pressmen gave up jobs and in exchange, the union won for its members an extra week of vacation. Those jobs are not coming back, but the company now wants to deny those members their extra vacation week. Other savage cuts were also proposed, including significant reductions in the wages of other pressmen workers and a huge increase in medical premiums.

Other unions are getting or can be expected to get proposals for major givebacks.

It will be important that there be a massive outcry to preserve the union contracts and decent wages and conditions. That will require mobilizing union members in mass action, and harnessing the Twin Cities labor movement and community, to rally in favor of good jobs and a quality newspaper. The unions, working together can create the climate that will demand a fair outcome in the bankruptcy proceedings.

By Rick Sather, Local 638, Minneapolis

This article is published on tdu.org, website of Teamsters for a Democratic Union. We are the rank and file movement to reform the Teamsters.

Click here to find out more about who we are, where we stand, and what we’ve won. Or call our national office at (313) 842-2600.

Rick Sather is a 30-year Teamster newspaper driver who retired in January from the Star Tribune and can be contacted at (651) 490-2957. He is a member of the Newspaper Union Rank-and-File Solidarity Committee, an independent rank-and-file group comprised of mailers, drivers, pressroom operators, custodians and journalists at the Star Tribune who meet weekly. It encourages participation by union retirees and is committed to building union solidarity.

January 29, 2009: When Teamsters found out their jobs were going to be outsourced at the San Francisco Chronicle, the paper told them to re-apply at the new facility. But when one 44-year pressman took the test, he was told he wasn’t qualified.

This summer, the San Francisco Chronicle will outsource 200 union jobs to a new nonunion facility in Fremont, California run by Transcontinental, a large Canadian printer. Teamster pressmen at the Chronicle are members of GCC/IBT Local 4-N / District Council 2.

Teamsters who want to keep their jobs have to re-apply through Manpower, the temporary agency.

That’s what Bruce Carlton did. Bruce is a retired member of Local 4-N, and a 44-year pressman who decided to take the online team member assesment. After passing that he went forward with a group interview .

But in a one-paragraph email sent Jan. 19, Manpower told Carlton “your assessment does not correspond with the requirements we are now recruiting for.”

Other Local 4-N members have also applied at Manpower. So far, not one has been hired.

“I have 44 years on the job experience,” said Carlton. “Is Transcontinental trying to hire the best people—or is their real goal to keep the union out?”

GCC President and Teamster International Vice President George Tedeschi has promised his support to the pressmen. Now it’s time for action.

“If this facility stays nonunion, it threatens Teamster pressmen in a 100 mile radius,” warned Carlton. “We need to insist that those jobs are union.”

January 12, 2008: Labor unions at the Star Tribune have been given the royal brush-off by the company which has refused to negotiate seriously with the unions, setting the stage for the company to file for bankruptcy.

Concerned about the future at the Star Tribune? Click here to send a message to TDU.

Avista, the private equity firm that owns the newspaper, has indicated to the unions that it is likely to file for bankruptcy.

The proposals Avista made to the unions were so draconian, it was a virtual certainty that that the union bargaining committees would be obligated to reject the proposals.

In a statement to company employees, Avista blamed the unions for a failure to reach agreements with the company. The statement is blatantly untrue.

Bargaining committee members from several unions indicated it appeared the company was not serious about obtaining a settlement, but just going through the motions in an attempt to persuade a bankruptcy judge that it tried to reach an agreement. Union members know better.

The union committees worked hard to negotiate an agreement with Avista and several unions offered the company major concessions. But the company took a hard-line approach, demanding the unions accept Avista’s proposals which were tantamount to union busting. It seemed as if Avista wanted the unions to reject their proposals.

Avista’s concessionary demands would severely undermine all the unions, but target the blue collar unions the hardest. If Avista can break the craft unions, it could then bust the Newspaper Guild which depends on the craft unions for support. Avista clearly envisions a non-union future.

Need to reach out to community and other labor unions

There is a growing sense among some union leaders and activists that labor solidarity is imperative, as is the need for a labor mobilization to reach out to the broader community and labor movement, when bankruptcy is filed.

Under bankruptcy, union negotiations would be launched again and maximum pressure would need to be exerted by the unions, the labor movement and community to preserve decent contracts.

Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans continue to depend on the Star Tribune, which is the largest and most complete source of news in Minnesota. Many other media, including television, radio, wire services and Internet news providers, rely on the Star Tribune as a basic source of information by which they plan their own news coverage. The Star Tribune is a community resource which Avista has severely damaged in its quest for maximum profits.

Huge takebacks demanded by Avista

It is important that the public, as well as members of each union realize how badly Avista is behaving.

In the case of the Teamster Pressmen, Avista proposed 13 percent wage cuts that included slashing wages, rescinding a $1 an hour wage increase that took effect in December, and eliminating another $1 an hour increase, set to go into effect in a year. The Pressmen’s health benefits, 80 percent company-paid, 20 percent member-paid, would have dropped to nearly a 50/50 split. Also, Avista sought to cut the Pressmen’s work force by 16 members to 76, making them so weak, it would be increasingly difficult to win decent contracts in the future.

Teamster Mailers’ pay would have been cut to non-union levels, from $25 to $15 an hour. Many union members say it’s an outrage.

Avista wanted to eliminate overtime pay to assistant city editors in the Newspaper Guild of which there are many. By eliminating overtime pay, it would make it easier for Avista or another owner to get the National Labor Relations Board to declare them supervisors who don’t belong in the union.

Teamsters drivers’ pay would be reduced from $27.10 to $18.50 an hour. “It would cut my pay 32%, from $53,700 to $36,500,” said 30-year driver Rick Sather. “It breaks the union when those jobs are replaced by $13-an-hour, part-time workers who get no benefits.”

The company also sought major concessions from the Electricians, Machinists and SEIU custodial personnel.

“It shows the company sees its workers as more a liability than an asset,” said Doug Rzeszutek, a 30-year Pressman. “I’d like to see every union come together to support union and non-union employees and reach out to the general public for support.”

‘What they are asking for is unconscionable’

“What they are asking for is unconscionable,” said Greg Kujawa, a 30-year Teamster driver. “Avista does not care about the worker, the worker’s family or the community the family lives in. They are making profits of 9 or 10 percent from what I understand. They want the workers, in essence, to pick up the tab on their bad investment decisions.”

Said Bradley Hassel, a 36-year Pressman, “We all realize the company is in trouble, but they don’t give us a reason to vote for this thing,” referring to the concession-laden demands from Avista. Added Steve Pietrizak, a 42-year Pressman. “I think it is outrageous that the company is asking that I give up a third of my vacation time, that my medical insurance would be severely cut.”

“I’d like to encourage retirees from all the unions to step up and help their brothers and sisters who are still working,” said recent Pressman retiree Dan Ganley. “The company is trying to destabilize the unions with unilateral, unnecessary demands.”

‘Where’s my button?’

“Not only are all the union bargaining committees hanging together and not caving in to the company’s concessions, the members are also standing strong against the concessions,” said Sather. He said some 400 “no concessions” buttons and stickers have been distributed. “People are coming up every day and saying, ‘I didn’t get a button. Where’s my button?’”

If the company files for bankruptcy, the unions will need to continue to hang tough and the members will have to mobilize to get a fair shake. “We believe there is a lot of community support out there, a lot of labor support in the Twin Cities and we’ll need to harness it, working with all the unions at the paper to stand up for our rights,” said Chris Serres, a Guild member and reporter at the Star Tribune.

What do you think? Click here to send your comments about concessions at the Star Tribune.

Stay in the loop. Click here to get email updates from Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

January 12, 2008: Unions at the Star Tribune have been given the royal brush-off by the company which has refused to negotiate seriously, setting the stage for the company to file for bankruptcy.

Concerned about the future at the Star Tribune? Click here to send a message to TDU.

Avista, the private equity firm that owns the newspaper, has indicated to the unions that it is likely to file for bankruptcy.

The proposals Avista made to the unions were so draconian, it was a virtual certainty that that the union bargaining committees would be obligated to reject the proposals.

In a statement to company employees, Avista blamed the unions for a failure to reach agreements with the company. The statement is blatantly untrue.

Bargaining committee members from several unions indicated it appeared the company was not serious about obtaining a settlement, but just going through the motions in an attempt to persuade a bankruptcy judge that it tried to reach an agreement. Union members know better.

The union committees worked hard to negotiate an agreement with Avista and several unions offered the company major concessions. But the company took a hard-line approach, demanding the unions accept Avista’s proposals which were tantamount to union busting. It seemed as if Avista wanted the unions to reject their proposals.

Avista’s concessionary demands would severely undermine all the unions, but target the blue collar unions the hardest. If Avista can break the craft unions, it could then bust the Newspaper Guild which depends on the craft unions for support. Avista clearly envisions a non-union future.

Need to reach out to community and other labor unions

There is a growing sense among some union leaders and activists that labor solidarity is imperative, as is the need for a labor mobilization to reach out to the broader community and labor movement, when bankruptcy is filed.

Under bankruptcy, union negotiations would be launched again and maximum pressure would need to be exerted by the unions, the labor movement and community to preserve decent contracts.

Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans continue to depend on the Star Tribune, which is the largest and most complete source of news in Minnesota. Many other media, including television, radio, wire services and Internet news providers, rely on the Star Tribune as a basic source of information by which they plan their own news coverage. The Star Tribune is a community resource which Avista has severely damaged in its quest for maximum profits.

Huge takebacks demanded by Avista

It is important that the public, as well as members of each union realize how badly Avista is behaving.

In the case of the Teamster Pressmen, Avista proposed 13 percent wage cuts that included slashing wages, rescinding a $1 an hour wage increase that took effect in December, and eliminating another $1 an hour increase, set to go into effect in a year. The Pressmen’s health benefits, 80 percent company-paid, 20 percent member-paid, would have dropped to nearly a 50/50 split. Also, Avista sought to cut the Pressmen’s work force by 16 members to 76, making them so weak, it would be increasingly difficult to win decent contracts in the future.

Teamster Mailers’ pay would have been cut to non-union levels, from $25 to $15 an hour. Many union members say it’s an outrage.

Avista wanted to eliminate overtime pay to assistant city editors in the Newspaper Guild of which there are many. By eliminating overtime pay, it would make it easier for Avista or another owner to get the National Labor Relations Board to declare them supervisors who don’t belong in the union.

Teamsters drivers’ pay would be reduced from $27.10 to $18.50 an hour. “It would cut my pay 32%, from $53,700 to $36,500,” said 30-year driver Rick Sather. “It breaks the union when those jobs are replaced by $13-an-hour, part-time workers who get no benefits.”

The company also sought major concessions from the Electricians, Machinists and SEIU custodial personnel.

“It shows the company sees its workers as more a liability than an asset,” said Doug Rzeszutek, a 30-year Pressman. “I’d like to see every union come together to support union and non-union employees and reach out to the general public for support.”

‘What they are asking for is unconscionable’

“What they are asking for is unconscionable,” said Greg Kujawa, a 30-year Teamster driver. “Avista does not care about the worker, the worker’s family or the community the family lives in. They are making profits of 9 or 10 percent from what I understand. They want the workers, in essence, to pick up the tab on their bad investment decisions.”

Said Bradley Hassel, a 36-year Pressman, “We all realize the company is in trouble, but they don’t give us a reason to vote for this thing,” referring to the concession-laden demands from Avista. Added Steve Pietrizak, a 42-year Pressman. “I think it is outrageous that the company is asking that I give up a third of my vacation time, that my medical insurance would be severely cut.”

“I’d like to encourage retirees from all the unions to step up and help their brothers and sisters who are still working,” said recent Pressman retiree Dan Ganley. “The company is trying to destabilize the unions with unilateral, unnecessary demands.”

‘Where’s my button?’

“Not only are all the union bargaining committees hanging together and not caving in to the company’s concessions, the members are also standing strong against the concessions,” said Sather. He said some 400 “no concessions” buttons and stickers have been distributed. “People are coming up every day and saying, ‘I didn’t get a button. Where’s my button?’”

If the company files for bankruptcy, the unions will need to continue to hang tough and the members will have to mobilize to get a fair shake. “We believe there is a lot of community support out there, a lot of labor support in the Twin Cities and we’ll need to harness it, working with all the unions at the paper to stand up for our rights,” said Chris Serres, a Guild member and reporter at the Star Tribune.

What do you think? Click here to send your comments about concessions at the Star Tribune.

Stay in the loop. Click here to get email updates from Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

September 24, 2008: The publisher of The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., reiterated on Tuesday his threat to put New Jersey's largest newspaper up for sale next month if its drivers union fails to approve a new contract.

Star-Ledger Publisher George Arwady seemed to suggest, however, that a tentative agreement has been reached and awaits ratification. In a memo to employees, Arwady urged the union to "take the steps necessary to ratify their draft agreement by the deadline."

Click here to read more at Forbes.

September 12, 2008: Attempts by the Minneapolis Star Tribune to wrest major concessions from three Teamster unions, representing pressmen, drivers and mailers, hit more roadblocks on Thursday.

Teamster officials representing the drivers in Local 638 notified the Star Tribune that a concession plan that members earlier approved was “null and void” because the Teamster pressmen voted down the giveback plan earlier in the week.

Officials for the mailers, represented by Teamsters Local 120, have also reportedly told the company that the concession plan has been voided as a result of the pressmen’s opposition to the deal. The concessionary packages included 10 percent wage cuts, elimination of previously negotiated wage increases, and major givebacks in other aspects of the contract.

The Star Tribune is owned by Avista, a private equity firm, which bought it two years ago. Minnesota’s largest newspaper remains highly profitable, but Avista has had trouble meeting its debt payments and demanded that unions at the newspaper reopen their existing contracts.

While bargaining committees for all the unions at the newspaper had agreed to work with the company to come up with acceptable deals, it appears that Avista became overly greedy. It demanded a level of sacrifice that would drastically reduce the standard of living of workers and seriously undermine the unions. Pressroom members said “no,” and many drivers and mailers now have similar thoughts.

On July 31, the drivers, mailers and pressmen each voted on the concessions demanded by the Star Tribune. At the time, Teamster Joint Council 32 officials said that if any of the three unions rejected the deal it would be dead for all three unions. The mailers and drivers approved the concessions by big margins but the pressmen overwhelmingly voted it down.

Teamster officials then stated that the concessionary package would remain in place for the mailers and drivers. That spurred petition drives by the mailers and drivers. Many said they wanted to join the pressmen in rejecting the original offer.

On Monday, the pressmen voted a second time by 80-29 to reject the concession package. The givebacks were very similar to the ones the Star Tribune demanded earlier.

A memorandum to the drivers was posted Thursday by Robert Moore, Teamster Local 638 business agent, and Mark Rime, the local’s secretary treasurer. It said this:

“As you are probably aware, on Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, the Pressmen of Local 1M rejected the company offer. It is our position with management that the offer voted on by Local 638 members on July 31, 2008 is null and void. The contract that you voted on in November 2007 is in effect and the wages, pension, health and welfare and all working conditions will remain the same.”

The memorandum goes on to state that Teamster officials spoke with Randy Lebedoff, the Star Tribune’s attorney, on Thursday. “At this time, she is not sure what the management at the Star Tribune will do in the future,” the two Teamster officials wrote. “She said she hopes to have some answers in the next few days. At that time, they will contact us and we will relay any correspondence onto the bargaining unit.”

Read related articles about the contract fight at the Star Tribune at the Minnesota Independent and MinnPost.

September 10, 2008: For the second time in a month, Teamsters in the Pressman’s Union at the Minneapolis Star Tribune voted overwhelmingly to reject their proposed contract.

The contract would have cut wages by 16 percent over the life of the deal and forced major concessions on the union.

“The company is asking us to slash our own throats to save their profits,” said Kevin Bialon, a union negotiator who has been a pressman for 27 years. “In return, they were giving us empty promises about a possible future. There were no guarantees that there wouldn’t be future cuts.”

The vote to reject the contract was 80 to 29. Five weeks ago, the pressmen voted 77 to 27 against virtually the same givebacks.

“They wanted us to give up contract clauses that we’ve won over the past 80 years and in return we’d get nothing,” said a second union member.

The Pressmen are Teamsters as a result of a decision by the Graphic Communications International Union to join the IBT several years ago. There are two other Teamster locals at the Star Tribune—the drivers in Local 638 and the mailers in Local 120. Members in those two locals voted to approve major concessions last month, despite significant opposition by some members. But Star Tribune Teamsters in all three locals were told by a Teamsters Joint Council 32 official that if one local turned down the agreement, it would kill the agreement for all of them.

But now the Joint Council is saying they never said that, and are insisting that the bad contracts approved by the drivers and mailers will stand.

That has led to petition drives inside both the drivers and mailers to protest the Joint Council’s position, signed by about half the members in each unit.

Teamster Solidarity

Rick Sather, a driver and member of Local 638, said there is a growing sense among the drivers and mailers that it was a mistake for them to vote in favor of the givebacks.

“There are a lot of mailers and drivers who are congratulating the pressmen for taking their stand—voting ‘no’ twice,” said Sather. “Members are saying if the pressmen can reject these concessions, cutting wages and jobs, than we can, too.”

The pressmen have had a long tradition of maintaining good union standards and it has provided a livelihood for generations of workers. Fathers, sons, and grandsons have worked at the newspaper.

The current Pressmen’s contract does not expire until December 2010, but Avista, the corporate owner of the Star Tribune, pushed to reopen it.

Big Concessions on Jobs, Wages

Under the proposed givebacks, the pressmen would have lost about 60 of the 340 shifts per week, sharply reducing the workforce. Besides putting unfair production pressures on the members, it would endanger job safety.

The company also wanted to scrap long-time overtime provisions designed to make the company pay a penalty if it brought back pressmen on short rest. Currently, if a member of the union worked a shift within 12 hours of their last shift, it would pay time and a half. Under the givebacks, that would be given up.

Another long-standing provision is that any work over 7 hours in a day is paid at time and a half. Under the giveback proposal, no overtime would be paid until 40 hours in a week.

Another big issue is wages. Besides cutting members’ pay by 10 percent, union members would not have received scheduled increases of $1 an hour in December of 2008 and another $1 an hour in December 2009. In total, the givebacks would be a 16 percent wage cut over the next two years.

The Joint Council pressed all three locals to adopt the concessions in August, warning Teamster members that to vote against the deals would lead to the company going bankrupt.

After the givebacks were rejected by the pressmen in August, the bargaining committee was flown to Washington, D.C. to meet with company officials at the Teamsters’ headquarters, known as the Marble Palace. The company made slight changes in the big concession proposal before the second vote this week.

The bargaining committee did not support the concessionary agreement before the first vote. On the second vote this week, the committee did not urge members to vote “yes” or “no.”

“The company was asking the union for help, but they wanted to do nothing to protect our jobs, to get some job security,” said one member. The company wanted 18 buyouts of older workers, and rejected the idea that they be replaced with younger workers.

Currently, the union has 51 members who have lifetime job guarantees, 51 with guarantees for the life of the contract, and 29 without any guarantees. The union asked for more protection for current members, which the company rejected.

“They are trying to rape us,” said the union member. “It’s time to take a stand.”

Another concern of pressmen was that the bosses went after employees while they feathered their own nests. “Management wanted all the rank and file to take pay cuts, but they wouldn’t take them themselves,” said Bialon of the Pressman’s Union. “In fact, they took a partial bonus.”

Corporate Raiders Behind the Union Busting

The Star Tribune, the largest daily newspaper in Minnesota, with a Sunday circulation over 600,000, was purchased by Avista, a private equity firm, about two years ago. At the time, analysts stated and Star Tribune officials acknowledged that it would be a short-term purchase. The strategy of Avista would be to dramatically slash costs, then resell the company at a tidy profit.

Over the last few months, Avista has been leaking information that it couldn’t make its debt payments, though it has been widely speculated, with no denials from the company, that—as with other newspapers across the country—its profits are doing well. Still, with a faltering economy, advertising is down, and much of the classified ad revenue has migrated to the Internet. Avista allowed unions at the Star Tribune to look at the newspaper’s books, but pointedly did not show the unions Avista’s books.

Avista officials told the media earlier this year that the Star Tribune is in good financial shape and there is a widespread belief that its attempts to gut the unions is all about making as much money as possible for Avista’s investors, most of whom are unknown.

August 6, 2008: When the Star Tribune’s pressmen turned down management’s contract proposal last Thursday, they ignored a threat from their own leadership: without a “yes” vote, the company would “have a tough time” making a September debt payment, potentially another step closer to bankruptcy.

The Strib missed a quarterly payment in June; at the time, publisher Chris Harte told Strib columnist Neal St. Anthony the paper was hanging on to the cash to help restructure its debt. The next scheduled payment would fall in September.

Click here to read more at MinnPost.