Setting it right on Mr. Winterland’s Letter

7-12-07 

 Setting it right on Mr. Winterland’s letter 

     BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Lee Enterprises anti-union machine is at it again, this time sending employees a letter littered with inaccuracy and a personal attack against a union official.  For sourcing, we probably are witnessing a first: Pantagraph General Manager Barry Winterland circulating an article from a left-wing newspaper. In trashing St. Louis Newspaper Guild Business Representative Shannon Duffy, Winterland sent employees copies of a Riverfront Times article. The issue that the RFT honed in on was Mr. Duffy’s hiring. (As background, note that the RFT, rightly or wrongly, criticizes corporate media, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)

     Bottom line: As the Riverfront Times itself notes through sources, the union heavily scrutinized Mr. Duffy’s background, including mistakes and miscues uncovered by St. Louis Post-Dispatch writers. He was not a major focus of a Post-Dispatch investigation, as implied by Mr. Winterland’s letter. He was on a fire protection board that was part of a sweeping investigation into behavior by public bodies.

     President Jeff Gordon is quoted as saying the union decided, all things considered, that Mr. Duffy was the right person, not a perfect person.(Jesus didn’t apply.) 

     As Mr. Winterland is an expert at hiring, he should know that the people on the committee knew a lot more about this hire than he does. So, for him to second-guess the selection, from half a state away, based on limited information, is a little peculiar to us. But it really is changing the subject. You will find many issues that matter to Pantagraph employees right now, right here. That’s why we have an organizing committee composed of Pantagraph employees, and that’s why we on the committee intend to proceed with plans for an election, an election victory, collective bargaining and then a contract. Currently, only our pressmen have a union. The rest of us must follow by dictate the wages, benefits and policies set by Lee Enterprises. Our jobs are at the will of the company.

About those dues

     Mr. Winterland correctly quoted our dues assessment. It’s 1.6 percent of gross pay. Omitted: Few of us realize this next part. Guild policy is, you don’t pay a cent until a contract is in effect. Yes, it’ll cost us something. It also will bring benefits. How much? Contrary to what Lee Enterprises is telling you about unions, the Guild refuses to make promises of specific rewards.

Outsider rehash

     Also in the letter, Lee Enterprises again plays the “outsider” game. So, we again respond. Every time Lee and Pantagraph executives characterize the union as a bunch of outsiders, they disrespect the employees from INSIDE this company who are working INSIDE to organize. Employees, know that you must run the union here. Don’t wait for St. Louis to do it for you; it doesn’t work that way. It will require our time and energy, especially if Lee continues its hostile response. Lee and its executives indirectly are reminding us again that they, themselves, are outsiders. Mr. Winterland is a long-time Pantagrapher, granted. But our company comes from Iowa. It imported the publisher from Decatur. It sends money to shareholders who don’t live here and to high-priced executives who don’t live here either.  We see an HR man named Vito, from Iowa, arriving to run mandatory anti-union training for managers. Readers have been chiding us about outsider ownership since the Chronicle in San Francisco bought us. On and on. So, by all means, Lee Enterprises, keep talking about outsiders. The union wins the point at every mention. 

Union info is public

     Mr. Winterland makes a point of noting Mr. Duffy’s salary. It’s $81,145.That’s a good living for a demanding job. Perhaps in Lee’s next letter home, it will inform us how much our CEO makes in Iowa. Or our publisher. How much do you make, Mr. Winterland?  Our union organizing is a functioning democracy which strives for transparency. Any interested person can access our report online from the United States Department of Labor and the report includes salaries. You should be warned – as you will soon learn – that the filing in winter means it’s a tad out of date. 

     Here’s a couple more points from Mr. Winterland’s letter that, as discussed by the committee tonight, need correction. Mr. Winterland writes: “One of the St. Louis organizers driving to Bloomington to try to persuade you and other Pantagraph employees to join the union (St. Louis Newspaper Guild) is business agent Shannon Duffy.”

    Setting it right: Mr. Duffy isn’t one of our organizers. He’s the business representative in St. Louis. As we have announced previously, our local professional organizers are Kelly Casey and Cathy Schwegmann. Their telephone numbers are listed on this site. Mr. Duffy has helped from the office somewhat. He has a lot on his plate. It matters as a way to explain why none of us know him on sight. Mr. Winterland writes: “Another one of the organizers, Cathy Schwegmann is not listed on this report as being employed by the St. Louis Guild, even though her business card states otherwise. She is really on the payroll of another union, the CWA, as a paid organizer. She does not work for Lee Enterprises. She is a contracted salesperson for the St. Louis Guild.”

     Setting it right: First, Communication Workers of America is the parent organization above The Newspaper Guild, which is above the St. Louis Newspaper Guild. So, it goes, CWA, then TNG, then SLNG. (Mr. Duffy signs himself officially as “Business Representative, TNG-CWA 36047.”) Secondly, Mr. Winterland refers to a report filed before Ms. Schwegmann came to work as a St. Louis Newspaper Guild organizer. She admits it: She has held prior employment. At any rate, we’re scratching our heads on the committee in search of an issue. Ms. Schwegmann was hired by the St. Louis Newspaper Guild in April. We thank the Guild for the hire. There is no scandal here, and if there was confusion, well, Mr. Winterland had her business card; he could have just called and asked her. 

     In closing, the committee poses questions to Lee: Did Lee’s out-of-state anti-union law firm help on this anti-union research? And, could you tell us in the next letter home what you are paying the firm hourly? Bet those guys make more than Shannon Duffy.