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July 9th, 2007 | Uncategorized
14 comments ↓
Whatever happened to the handicapped spaces that were located where Linda Lindus and Barry Winterland now park?
I just love how now that there is the threat of a union, the Pantagraph suddenly cares about us so much. We now have these monthly letters, talk of raises, and my personal favorite, the new employee appreciation plan. (Slave away here for 5 years and get a Visa card worth FIFTY DOLLARS! That’s right, that’s 10.00 for every year you spent here without a raise, congratulations!) Very touching, but too little too late in my opinion.
I find it VERY sad that this company, which charges so much for advertising, pays its employees so little (refusing raises, commissions, etc.). The Pantagraph has purchased nearly all (if not all) of its competitors in the Real Estate advertising market. When pressed for lower rates, the company has strongly refused all pleas for negotiation.
Now, I am not going to pretend to know the exact level of revenue generated by each department. However, for many years, I have been told by various advertising staff that the classified advertising department generates the second largest stream of income for the Pantagraph. The “Rental” section, supposedly, accounts for the second largest source of revenue within the classified advertising department. How, then, can the Pantagraph afford to lose this torrent of income? Sadly, that is exactly what is about to happen.
In response to the lack of cooperation from Loretta Vance and Linda Lindus, the local landlords have massed together to form a solution… a website that is available FREE OF CHARGE for ALL landlords to list their available units. Imagine the creation of a new one-stop-shopping place for all local residents to find their next home, FREE OF CHARGE. Neither tenant, nor landlord have to pay ANYTHING!!! While this non-profit group is NOT “boycotting” the Pantagraph, it IS offering a new alternative. What landlord would willingly pay ridiculously over-inflated advertising rates, when he/she can get more features and better results FREE?
You will notice that the website address has, intentionally, not been provided here. This is not an advertisement. It is simply an attempt to make a strong point about the poor decision-making abilities of the Pantagraph’s management. We used to share a somewhat symbiotic relationship. Now, due to your own stubbornness, you are being replaced. Biting the hands that feed your employees is not the wisest move for a company that claims to value its staff.
My question is this… If the employees are so under-paid, and they are not receiving the benefits that they should, where has all of the money gone that we have been spending on advertising for the last several years? I am sure that it did not simply vanish. Hmmm…
Ran across this on the web and thought it would interest all the Pantagraphers making $9.50 an hour. These stats are from 2004. Imagine what she’s making now! Anyone have stats on Linda Lindus? I’ll bet she’s not starving.
“Mary E. Junck is Chairman of Board, President and CEO of Lee. Her 2004 salary: $4,383,300.00
Base: $750,000.00
Bonus: $1.080 .00 milion
Other: $242,800.00″
My annual bonus was a $15.00 Schnucks gift card. I wonder how much grocery shopping Mary Junck did with her $1,080,000.00 bonus in 2005.
Check out the site below for all the details.
http://www.companypay.com/executive/compensation/lee_enterprises_inc.asp?yr=2005
i’m just tired of paying hundreds of dollars every week for a tiny little ad. can a union at the paper help with this? if so, can you tell us how?
You might want to check Linda’s handbag for the extra revenue. Just a hunch…
to Nick:
It was painful to read your note. As you might guess, we absolutely hate losing your business. I wonder if there might yet be room for negotiation and resolution, and I wonder if our executives both here and in Iowa realize that we are about to lose a bucket of money from our most reliable advertisers.
Our Guild pursues EXCELLENCE in business practice. Unfortunately, we aren’t yet fully established here, so I don’t see how we can intervene in this situation. But if you have suggestions, let us know.
To Just Wondering:
If you are in need of a handicapped space, I think we by law are obliged to establish one for you as a reasonable accommodation. I don’t know why they eliminated the one they had. Henry Bird put that in out of need, and if I recall correctly he shared his own parking spot, moving his car to the side of the building at the times needed to accommodate an employee. It was great PR for him, but at the same time there were laws guiding him.
What can the union do about it: Once established and recognized, we will be in a position to advocate the law and insist on reasonable accommodation for any employee and to work with management on a solution to a need.
Remember, gang, this isn’t a palace coup. But this is about forming a group that can bargain on certain issues while also becoming an advocate on others. It doesn’t have to be a big fight. But on an issue like this, there would be only one solution: Reasonable accommodation. We could call in authorities to enforce the law if management couldn’t find an amicable way to solve the problem. And, speaking of Mr. Bird, on his way out he redid the downstairs bathrooms — without giving us a handicapped stall. So much for PR.
-sa
Have recent changes at the paper, such as new pay grades, the removal of the story quotas and the time clock changes rendered the union issue moot? What’s left to fight for?
Bob,
Great point, but how long do you thing these changes are going to last? The Union is the only reason they came along in the first place. If the Union threat leaves, so do the changes, and you can welcome back the point system with open arms, cause it will show up again, this time to stay.
Besides, there are still several unresolved issues. They’re throwing the newsroom table scraps, trying to get them to shut up, probably because they see them as the biggest threats.
Other departments are still getting screwed. I myself haven’t seen a raise in 2 years. Oh sure there’s talk, has been since the Union showed up. Well, they can talk about it all they want, but it seems they have a very hard time putting their money where their mouth is.
It’s my sincerest hope the inclusion of a union in the paper’s decision making will help inspire it’s senior editorial staff to go after news that truely affects peple’s lives and ways of thinking. Let fluff stay buried in the back pages, and let hard news see the light of day on the front. If it need be AP, then so be. We can be a “player” in the world.
This all reminds me of an unruly horse I had out in my barn years ago. That ol’ nag stopped lettin’ me git up on her back, ’til I brought in my best pals’ gelding and placed him in the stall right next to the ol’ nag’s stall. Well, after that new horse got a few big carrots, and some lovin’ up, the ol’ nag would start to knickerin’ and bumpin’ her muzzle against her gear when I took her out of her stall. She welcomed the saddle like a giddy teenage girl wears a purty prom dress, an’ when I climed into the saddle, she bumped my posterior with her ol’ head as if to help me swing my leg on over.
She gave me the best ride I ever had, an’ she didn’t seem to tire out.
A few days later, when my buddy came to git his gelding, that ol’ nag watched the other horse being led away, and a calmin’ came over her. The next day she nearly took off my right index finger when I went to put her bridle on her, an bein’ a fool hardy cowpoke, I gave her another chance with the saddle. She threw me,……she threw me good.
CB
Yeah, Cowboy, reminds me of that, too. Exactly. (I guess?)
-JRose
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