On December 10, after an intense anti-union campaign by Lee Enterprises, operations employees at The Pantagraph voted against forming a union.   The vote was delayed for months while Lee and their union-busting law firm led by Michael Zinser forced unnecessary hearings and appeals to the NLRB to buy additional time to harrass employees.   

Since the campaign began, management waged relentless anti-union attacks on their employees.  Two workers were fired, another was suspended and pushed until he quit.   Employees were subjected to a constant stream of letters home, containing veiled and overt threats to jobs during these tough economic times.   Management continually told workers that they would never get a contract with Lee Enterprises.

Employees were called into meetings regularly with the boss, with their bosses’ boss, and with the lawyers.   Some of these meetings were held in groups, but many were one-on-one or with several members of management meeting with one union eligible worker.   The management team, decked out in NO Guild buttons, was ever-visible in the operations department during shifts.  Anti-union posters covered the walls of work areas, the screen savers on the computers had an anti-union logo—there was no escaping the employer’s campaign while working at The Pantagraph—and this continued for over a year.

The employer paired the threats with promises, and even delivered on a few of them.   Raises, unknown at the Pantagraph for years, suddenly were being given with evaluations.  The service awards program was reinstated, part-time employees were made full-time, working conditions were improved, and the publisher was replaced.  In the weeks leading into the election, nearly every shift was provided with a free meal brought in by management.   

At the time of filing, an overwhelming majority of workers signed union cards so they could gain a voice on the job.   Eventually Lee Enterprises could delay a vote no further, but the vicious anti-union campaign resulted in an atmosphere of fear and mistrust and ultimately a vote against collective action. 

The situation at The Pantagraph is one of far too many examples why we need to refom US Labor Law.  If the Employee Free Choice act were law, workers could have made a decision without the employer intimidation paid for by Lee Enterprises and would have an expectation of good faith bargaining and achieving lasting gains on the job.

http://www.week.com/news/local/35780099.html

By WEEK Producer

From the inside:

The company is constantly talking about dues. Their website is “theywantyourdues” in St. Louis. There are inflated numbers being thrown around–according to management, you might send half your check somewhere and never see it again.

Yeah, right.

What are union dues? They are 1.6% of your pay. Which isn’t really all that much to have a voice on the job. But more importantly, nobody is paying dues now and nobody will pay any dues until there is a first contract. A contract that a majority of workers approve. Do you think a majority of the workers at the Pantagraph would approve a contract that doesn’t significantly improve things? Of course not.

Let’s talk about ’sending’ dues off, anyway. The Pantagraph has shown it will do anything to fight organizing. It will take a big investment of time, energy and money to get things done and get a good contract in Bloomington.

Guild members in St. Louis and around the country have been willing to put resources into organizing at The Pantagraph because we are committed to building a union wherever workers want one. There have been big issues at the paper, and many of them are improved now because you organized. People have gotten raises, there is a new and more responsive publisher, and so on. The Guild is proud that we helped to make improvements and we believe that many more things will be improved through bargaining.

Those union dues the company is warning you about? The company is so concerned because the dues will likely come out of the raises The Pantagraph isn’t giving you. All the money spent on union-busting lawyers is coming from somewhere, when it could be spent on saving your 401-K match or raising wages.

Union dues may sound expensive–even though they really aren’t–but having a say in your workplace? That really is priceless.

Finally, an election at The Pantagraph.  For months, management has delayed an election as long as they  could.   They filed bogus charges and argued that operations employees had nothing to do with one another so there shouldn’t be an election at all.  Then they added graphic design, thinking that the union support was so weak that bringing additional folks in would be a problem.

Recently, the publisher sent a letter accusing The Guild of delaying the election.  (Here is the letter, on the company’s ridiculous website:  http://theywantyourduesinstlouis.com/letter1015.html )  This is, like so many of the accusations in Pantagraph letters home, completely untrue.

Those Nashville lawyers, despite being so expensive (we’ve been told they are costing at least SEVEN HUNDRED dollars an HOUR!), lost every one of the silly arguments they were using in the labor board hearing.  All six of the contested supervisor positions will be able to vote, and the Board found that the operations department is a suitable unit.

So the Board ordered that an election be set.   All non-management employees in operations will be eligible to vote.  The election will be held on December 10, 2008.  There will be two shifts for voting, 9:30-10:30 am and from 11:30 pm until 12:30 am (12/11).   Voting will be held in the Merwin Conference Room.

Please contact us with any and all questions.  We’re almost there!

Also, additional information is available on our Local’s website:  www.stlouisguild.org

Don’t forget, nobody pays any dues until the membership at The Pantagraph ratifies a contract.  Until you are working under a contract, you won’t pay anything.

After many months of delay tactics on the part of The Pantagraph and their Nashville lawyers, the National Labor Relations Board is prepared to set an election date. The NLRB election will be held one day during the week of December 8-12. As soon as we have more specific information, we will let you know.

Cathy Sherwin

Organizing Coordinator

(314) 452-7945

All Operations employees will be able to vote to join the St. Louis Newspaper Guild.  The Pantagraph’s legal stall tactics may have worked to delay things for awhile, but we should have an election date set very soon.  More to follow!!  We’re almost there!

At the November 5, 2008 meeting of Bloomington-Normal Trades and Labor, labor leaders and activists reaffirmed their support for Pantagraph employees. It was back in August 2007 that dozens of supporters from local unions and community organizations rallied outside The Pantagraph in support of the right to organize.

Since that time, as workers continued to organize, management has actively opposed employees building a union at the paper. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is currently investigating the termination of two activists on the organizing committee.

At the meeting, it was clear that the B-N Labor Community is outraged but not surprised by the blatantly anti-union attacks by The Pantagraph and Lee Enterprises. When the election date is set, we will be able to count on local and regional allies that can help take us to victory.

Election Night at the Pekin daily Times

At the same time that workers at the Pantagraph have been organizing, employees of the Pekin Daily Times have been building a committee at their workplace. As in Bloomington, employees worked with Guild staff to prepare for an election. Also similar to The Pantagraph, management made it clear to employees that the bosses did not wish to see the paper go union. Unlike Lee Enterprises and The Pantagraph, the Gatehouse owned Times did not attempt to delay the election or harass employees.

What a difference it makes when workers are simply allowed to make an informed choice. The St. Louis Newspaper Guild filed for an election in August 2008. (This is over a month after we filed at The Pantagraph.) The unit included all non-management jobs at the paper, which we call a wall-to-wall unit. An election date was set for October 6. During the weeks leading into the campaign, there were spirited conversations on both sides of the issue, but no direct threats or other illegal behavior.

When the votes were counted, nearly 80% of Pekin Daily Times employees voted Union Yes! The National Labor Relations Board certified the election a week later, and the St. Louis Guild’s newest unit is preparing to bargain a first contract. Last Saturday the Pekin unit members elected their stewards and officers.

During this time, no one is paying dues to the St. Louis Newspaper Guild, and will not do so until there is a first contract which has been approved by the majority of workers. All of us at The Newspaper Guild, in St. Louis and elsewhere, are so excited to welcome our newest members. Although Lee actively opposes anything that would give a say to the workers at The Pantagraph, if we continue to work together here we will send a strong message to the bosses and win in our struggle to build a union in Bloomington.