Threats & harassment of journalists

Dear CWA Canada members,

Journalism is a pillar of democracy. If journalists feel threatened doing their jobs, important stories may go untold, and democracy is undermined.

In recent days, many Canadian journalists, including CWA Canada members, have been receiving vile sexist and racist comments and threats, often through social media. Women and people of colour, in particular, have been targeted.

This harassment and hate must not be tolerated. We are working with journalism groups, the labour movement, academics, and employers, on a strategy to stop the campaign of hate.

Please see the attached note on your legal options in the event that you receive any threats or harassment. It is your employer’s duty to help and support you. If you do not feel you are being properly protected our getting adequate support, including counselling or other services or resources, contact your Local president and the union will advocate on your behalf.

In solidarity,

Martin O’Hanlon
President, CWA Canada
The Media Union

Postmedia pay cut would be ‘tough sell’ for unions

2020.04.28

Postmedia pay cut would be ‘tough sell’ for unions

Leaders of CWA Canada Locals at newspapers in three provinces will hold a conference call tonight to decide their response to Postmedia’s moves to cut labour costs during the public health crisis.

The company announced today that it will lay off 50 sales people, temporarily cut pay for employees, and permanently close 15 of its 95 community newspapers. The cuts do not affect any of the media union’s 281 members who work at nine of Postmedia’s 15 daily newspapers.

CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon said there was a significant error in the announcement by Postmedia CEO Andrew MacLeod. 

“He stated that all employees earning over $60,000 will be subject to a temporary pay reduction. In fact, unionized staff cannot be forced to take a pay reduction; that would have to be agreed to by the union,” O’Hanlon said.

“We will discuss the company’s statement and its request for a five-per-cent temporary pay cut. But it’s a tough sell given that Postmedia has been funnelling tens of millions of dollars to its hedge fund owners and paying millions in executive salaries and bonuses. Last year alone, it paid its top five executives a whopping $7.4 million while laying off staff and freezing worker salaries.”

CWA Canada has Locals at Postmedia papers in Montreal, Ottawa, Windsor, Kingston, North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and Regina.

MacLeod, whose total compensation last year was $2.4 million, said in early April that he would take a 30-per-cent cut to the $820,000 salary portion of that. Other executives and those in management ranks will see salary reductions ranging from eight to 20 per cent.

Postmedia is eligible for the 75-per-cent Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, which is intended to avert layoffs or to push employers to recall workers. It is retroactive to March 15 and provides up to $847 a week per employee.

The company will also be able to access labour tax credits under the $595-million journalism support fund, among other government support programs.

MacLeod said today: “While we are very grateful for these programs, no subsidy can offset the huge declines in revenues our industry is experiencing” due to the “unprecedented tidal forces” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advertising revenues at already-beleaguered newspapers across the country plummeted as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded and forced the shutdown of non-essential businesses, sporting and cultural events. Newspapers are heavily dependent on advertising from those sectors of a local economy.

On April 11, Postmedia reported a loss of just over $5 million in its second quarter ending Feb. 29, two weeks before the country headed into lockdown. That was a drop of 7.5 per cent compared with last year. Total revenue for the quarter was $145.7 million, with $110.8 million of that from print advertising and circulation; $28.2 million was derived from its digital businesses.

 

Challenger Schleuss wins re-run election for president of NewsGuild

Jon Schleuss was elected President of The NewsGuild-CWA on Tuesday, defeating 12-year incumbent Bernie Lunzer.

Challenger Jon Schleuss has won The NewsGuild-CWA election, unseating incumbent Bernie Lunzer to claim the presidency.

The unofficial tally Tuesday showed Schleuss, a Los Angeles Times graphics and data journalist, with 1,979 (56.7%) votes and 1,514 (43.3%) for Lunzer.

Schleuss, whose four-year term begins immediately, ran on a platform to reform and modernize the 87-year-old union.

“We now have a stirring of wind at our backs, and we must build on our accomplishments,” he said in a news release. “It won’t always be easy, but our mission is to continue to grow the Guild and fight to preserve the future of journalism.”

Lunzer led the Guild through its greatest period of growth in decades, organizing 60 workplaces and 3,000 workers in the last four years.

The international referendum, in which all CWA Canada members were eligible to vote, was an unprecedented re-run of the spring contest. The union’s election committee determined that over 1,000 members had been effectively disenfranchised when mail-in ballots were sent to out-of-date addresses, mostly at the Canadian Media Guild (CWA Canada Local 30213). Locals are responsible for maintaining up-to-date member addresses.

The independent American Arbitration Association, which was contracted to conduct the election, reported that almost 3,600 ballots had been received by the Dec. 9 deadline. Each Local could choose whether to conduct in-person voting between Nov. 12 and 17 or arrange for members to receive mail-in ballots.

With more than 20,000 members, including 6,000 at CWA Canada Locals, TNG is the largest journalists union in North America. It is a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and is affiliated with, but has no involvement in governance of the autonomous Canadian union.

The two candidates were nominated at TNG’s 80th Sector Conference held in Florida at the end of January. Attending as a guest, Schleuss became a TNG member in good standing immediately prior to the start of the conference.

Schleuss, 32, was a key player in the successful 2017 campaign to organize editorial employees at the famously anti-union Los Angeles Times, where he has worked since 2013.

The 62-year-old Lunzer — who worked at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for 10 years, then as administrative officer of the Minnesota Guild from 1989 to 1995, when he became TNG’s secretary-treasurer — has been president since 2008.

2020 Union Plus Scholarships Available for CWA Families

The new 2020 application for Union Plus scholarships, open to current and retired CWA members, their spouses, and their dependent children (as defined by IRS regulations), is now available!

Over the past 28 years, more than $4.5 million in scholarships has been awarded to students of more than 3,000 union families, including seven CWAers who were awarded Union Plus scholarships in 2019. The deadline is January 31, 2020.

The application is entirely online, allowing students to complete their application over time and save their responses. Learn more and apply here: https://www.unionplus.org/benefits/education/union-plus-scholarships

CMG members vote 80% to ratify new deal with CBC

There was a lot to update in a collective agreement that had not changed substantially in 10 years

CBC workers who are represented by CWA Canada through its largest Local, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), have voted 80 per cent in favour of ratifying a new collective agreement with the public broadcaster.

The five-year deal contains wage increases of 1.5 per cent this year and next for the 4,300 employees across the country (outside Quebec and Moncton, N.B.) who are covered by the contract. Increases in the final three years of the agreement will be pegged to the Treasury Board rate that applies to unionized federal government employees.

More than 1,200 CMG members took part this week in online voting on the tentative agreement, which comes into effect on April 1. Official results released today show 977 in favour and 241 against.

Jonathan Spence, president of the Guild’s CBC branch, said there are several improvements with this deal. These include allowances for members in Canada’s North and those who do out-of-country work; relocation subsidies; and better terms for temporary workers to convert to permanent status.

“We’ve spent the better part of six months bargaining this agreement,” said Spence. “There was a lot to update in an agreement that had not changed substantially in the last 10 years, in an industry that has significantly shifted.”

CMG President Kamala Rao said, “Our bargaining team brought a great deal of goodwill and focus to the table. Members at CBC/Radio-Canada believe in the value of our work at the public broadcaster and we’ve succeeded in raising the floor for everyone who works there.”

CBC staff who work in Northern and isolated locations will see significant gains in their paycheques — in some cases as much as $20,000 annually — as a special allowance moves from 40 to 100 per cent of the rate paid to federal employees.

Spence said this amounts to $1 million in new spending by the CBC and represents a “real commitment … to improving working conditions in the North.”

Many years of a stagnant allowance meant CMG members were struggling with basic costs like housing and food. The beefed-up pay is expected to also improve employee retention and, in turn, help with workload issues.

Another area in which the CMG made significant strides involves temporary employment and precarious work.

The agreement includes a commitment to create 41 new permanent jobs, which will be distributed across the country and concentrated in news, radio and regional stations. Some of those new jobs will be as a result of conversion from temporary to permanent status.

The team also negotiated freelance rate increases in line with the across-the-board wage increases for other members. In addition, there will now be more clarity to distinguish between the various types of freelance engagements.

Other provisions of the agreement include:

  •  For the first time, members will have access to a new program of conditions when they take a position outside of Canada. It also applies to foreign correspondents.
  •  There is now a fair and transparent approach to covering the costs of moving when members are asked to relocate within CBC/SRC.
  •  Employees will not be required to use their own phones or tablets to perform work. If a mobile device is needed to do the job, it will be provided.
  •  Confirmation that CBC employees are entitled to credit for their work, on every platform, where feasible and reasonable to provide it.
  •  Union and management will conduct a joint review of compensation for maintenance and IT workers. There could be adjustments if it’s determined they are paid less than market rates.

A joint union-management committee is to meet this spring to review pension and benefit plans, which cover all CBC employees. Up for renewal is a 10-year-old agreement on pension surplus sharing and a benefits fund that expires in 2019.

Two vying for presidency of NewsGuild-CWA in spring election

President Bernie Lunzer chaired the NewsGuild’s 80th Sector Conference held in Florida at the end of January.

An activist with a new Local has emerged as challenger for leadership of The NewsGuild (TNG) that will be decided in a spring election in which all members of CWA Canada are eligible to vote.

Jon Schleuss, 31, is running against President Bernie Lunzer, 61, who has held the position since 2008. 

TNG, a sector of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), is affiliated with, but has no involvement in governance of the autonomous Canadian union. (However, CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon is a voting member of the TNG executive board.)

Each CWA Canada Local will determine whether ballots are cast in person on location or by mail during the April 10-15 election period.

The two candidates were nominated at TNG’s 80th Sector Conference held in Florida at the end of January. Attending as a guest, Schleuss became a TNG member in good standing immediately prior to the start of the conference.

Jon Schleuss, 31, is running against President Bernie Lunzer, 61

Schleuss was a key player in the successful 2017 campaign to organize editorial employees at the famously anti-union Los Angeles Times, where he has worked as a data and graphics reporter since 2013. 

Lunzer — who worked at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for 10 years, then as administrative officer of the Minnesota Guild from 1989 to 1995, when he became TNG’s secretary-treasurer — is counting on that lengthy experience in his bid for re-election.

On his campaign website (BuildingTheGuild.org), Lunzer says that he and his team have “propelled the Guild to the highest level of organizing in years and have bargained strong contracts for new members.” 

In a speech at the sector conference, Lunzer said he would continue to fight within CWA for resources to double organizing efforts, which have resulted in adding more than 2,700 members in 51 workplaces since 2015.

Speaking at the same conference, Schleuss acknowledged that “I clearly have a lot to learn, but I think that’s healthy. When we started the movement in Los Angeles two years ago, we had a lot to learn.”

According to his campaign website (JonForPresident.com), Schleuss is running for TNG’s top office “because we need a modern, energized and more democratic union that will protect our members, strengthen our contracts and grow our numbers — even as we meet the challenges of the rapidly changing media landscape.”

Schleuss, who became online editor at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2009, later worked part-time as a reporter and weekend host at an NPR station. In addition to his current work at the Times, he serves as an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Southern California.

CWA Canada members who want more information or have questions about the election process should speak with their Local’s executive.

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candidates were nominated

Contested race emerges in election of TNG-CWA president

organize editorial employees at the famously anti-union Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times newsroom votes to go union amid growing corporate tumult

BuildingTheGuild.org

JonForPresident.com