In a May 13 letter to members, Dayton Newspaper Guild President Lou Grieco outlines the extreme positions taken by the company during negotiations.
Guild members at New York Times protest company’s plan to freeze pensions
Several New York Times staffers appear in a YouTube video describing how they would be affected by the company’s plan to freeze pensions.
Guild workers keep up the momentum during negotiations
The day after a successful community action, Guild members kept up the march for middle-class jobs.
Showing sustained determination, Dayton Newspaper Guild members and supporters marched in unity again on Thursday, April 12, between bargaining sessions with the company.
Guild members took to the sidewalk in front of the Cox Media Group Ohio headquarters for the third time in four weeks. The night before, members leafleted a company-sponsored community coffee event.
Rally-goers again protested the Dayton Daily News’ efforts to degrade working conditions in its newsroom. Among its demands, the newspaper wants unlimited power to use freelancers to replace the professional journalists who serve as the community’s watchdog.
Guild members were supported in the Thursday march by five members of the newly-organized 99% Spring Action group.
The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, web designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News.
DDN supplies the coffee, Newspaper Guild offers food for thought
Several Dayton Newspaper Guild members handed out leaflets and welcomed about 20 people as they entered the first community coffee with Dayton Daily News editors on Wednesday, April 11.
Ron Rollins, associate editor, asked readers to “come talk about what’s on your mind, but I’d like at least part of the conversation to be about media bias — something our papers are always trying to work on.”
The Dayton Newspaper Guild tried to jumpstart that conversation with a message focused on the company’s bias against its own workers and wanting the power to replace jobs that provide a living wage and benefits with low-paid freelance work.
Several people attending applauded the editors on the newspaper’s renewed attention to investigative journalism. It’s exactly this kind of intensive work that demands the skills of professional journalists.
A couple of readers also questioned the paper’s recent shifting of journalists away from covering Dayton’s vibrant arts community, which they noted is an important part of the economy and helps distinguish Dayton among cities of its size.
Dayton Informer coverage of coffee>
Enjoy the coffee, but here’s some food for thought
The Dayton Daily News will be holding its first community coffee Wednesday, April 11. Editors of the newspaper’s Ideas & Voices pages will be available from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Ghostlight Coffee, 1201 Wayne Ave., Dayton.
Ron Rollins, associate editor, has asked readers to “come talk about what’s on your mind, but I’d like at least part of the conversation to be about media bias — something our papers are always trying to work on.”
The Dayton Newspaper Guild may help get that conversation started.
Several Guild members will be outside beforehand distributing information and answering your questions regarding the newspaper’s bias against its own workers and coverage of its workforce.
Dayton Newspaper Guild members share our readers’ passion for solid reporting done in the public interest. We also believe that good jobs lay a foundation for a good community supportive of those efforts.
So please consider attending and enjoying a great cup of Ghostlight Coffee courtesy the Dayton Daily News. We’ll supply some food for thought.
Region’s newspaper workers to rally again for middle-class jobs as negotiations resume
DAYTON – The Dayton Newspaper Guild will again take to the sidewalk to save middle-class jobs at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, April 12, outside the Cox Media Center, 1611 S. Main St., as contract negotiations resume.
Following two successful rallies last month that each drew 50 to 60 Guild members and supporters, the Guild will again protest the Dayton Daily News‘ efforts to degrade working conditions in its newsroom. Among its demands, the newspaper is seeking unlimited power to use freelancers to replace professional journalists who serve as the community’s watchdog. This is a serious threat, as the newspaper announced last month that it also is outsourcing oversight of the delivery of its newspapers.
The newspaper also wants to end job security for its most experienced workers by eliminating seniority-based layoffs. And even while the company gives nonunion newsroom managers raises and bonuses, it continues to deny small merit raises for hard-working union employees who kept the newspaper profitable during the recession.
The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, website designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News.
To learn more, and to see photographs of the March 16 and March 28 rallies, please go to daytonguild.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Ben Sutherly (937-524-3264) or Lucy Baker (937-260-3799)
Standing united, workers show their resolve again
DAYTON – Showing greater resolve than ever to stand united in the face of unfairness, more than 60 members and supporters of the Dayton Newspaper Guild massed on the sidewalk on Wednesday, March 28, to rally for journalism and middle-class jobs at Cox Media Group Ohio headquarters.
Rally-goers protested the Dayton Daily News’ efforts to degrade working conditions in its newsroom. Among its demands, the newspaper wants unlimited power to use freelancers to replace the professional journalists who serve as the community’s watchdog. This is a serious threat, as the newspaper recently announced that it also is outsourcing oversight of the delivery of its newspapers – and outsourcing more jobs in the process.
The newspaper also wants to get rid of job security for its most experienced workers by eliminating seniority-based layoffs. And even while the company gives nonunion newsroom managers raises and bonuses, it is denying small merit raises to hard-working union employees who kept the newspaper profitable during the recession.
Dayton Newspaper Guild members have been inspired in their fight for fairness by a tremendous outpouring of community and union support. Israel Castro, Teamsters District Council 3 representative for Local 128N, which represents the newspaper’s mailroom and pressroom workers, drove with his wife and two sons from Louisville, Ky., just to take part in Wednesday’s rally. In addition to mailroom workers, the Springfield News-Sun’s union-represented editorial workers also have rallied in solidarity with the Dayton Newspaper Guild. So have former Dayton Daily News workers, representatives of AFL-CIO, Occupy Dayton, Miami Valley Full Employment Council, Service Employees International Union and Putting People First. Rick McKiddy, who is running to represent District 6 in the Ohio Senate, also attended the rally
Chants at the rally included: “Guild Strong, Cox Wrong”; “C-M-G-O, Union-Busting Has Got to Go”; “Stop This Hypocrisy, Labor IS Democracy”; “Say it loud, we’re Guild and proud”; “Fair deal, not raw deal”; and “Hey, Hey, Beep, Beep, Cox Media is Mighty Cheap.”
The turnout was 20 percent larger than at the Newspaper Guild’s first rally on March 16, which about 50 people attended.
The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, web designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News. SNEA represents editorial workers at the Springfield News-Sun.
Dayton unified copy desk focus of newsguild.org story
“Quietly, strategically, Local 34157 stood its ground. Ultimately the company realized that its only Guild-represented newspaper – not that Cox ever mentioned the union – was a high-quality, cost-effective choice,” writes Janelle Hartman at newsguild.org.
Building on success, Newspaper Guild to rally again for journalism, middle-class jobs
DAYTON – The Dayton Newspaper Guild will rally again for middle-class jobs at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, outside the Cox Media Center, 1611 S. Main St., on the eve of resuming contract negotiations.
Following a successful March 16 rally that drew 50 Guild members and supporters, the Guild will again protest the Dayton Daily News’ efforts to degrade working conditions in its newsroom. Among its demands, the newspaper is seeking unlimited power to use freelancers to replace professional journalists who serve as the community’s watchdog. This is a serious threat, as the newspaper announced this month that it also is outsourcing oversight of the delivery of its newspapers.
The newspaper also wants to end job security for its most experienced workers by eliminating seniority-based layoffs. And even while the company gives nonunion newsroom managers raises and bonuses, it is again singling out hard-working union employees who kept the newspaper profitable during the recession, and denying them small merit raises.
The newspaper and the Guild have been in contract negotiations for weeks. But so far, the newspaper has shown little interest in compromising on key elements of a potential deal.
“It’s time the Dayton Daily News be held accountable for its unjustified assault on middle-class journalism jobs,” said Lou Grieco, president of the Dayton Newspaper Guild. “Newspaper executives have shown an unwillingness to compromise at the bargaining table that is far outside the mainstream. Their bias against the middle class must end. The Guild has tried to work toward compromise, but on key issues, the Company just wants to dictate terms.”
“Our members are shocked, angry and hurt,” Grieco continued. “They have been loyal during the toughest times in the Company’s history. They are working harder than ever, they have made sacrifices, they have successfully embraced change with genuine courage. And this is the thanks they get.”
Amidst a slow recovery from an economic crisis, the last thing any responsible media company should do is attack its staff of professional journalists whose work is dedicated to moving the region and the state forward, Grieco said.
“Ohio proved last fall, with the defeat of Senate Bill 5, that it still supports workers and collective bargaining rights,” he said. “The voters, and the company’s customers, have made this clear.”
The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, web designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News.
To learn more, and to see photographs of the March 16 rally, go to daytonguild.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Ben Sutherly (937-524-3264) or Lucy Baker (937-260-3799)
Rally for journalism, middle-class jobs
Workers represented by the Dayton Newspaper Guild and Springfield Newspapers Editorial Association took to the sidewalk on Friday, March 16, voicing concern about the plight of middle-class workers and the future of journalism as a viable profession in Dayton, Ohio.
About 50 Guild and SNEA members and supporters took part in the rally outside the headquarters of their parent company, Cox Media Group Ohio. They were supported by family members, as well as representatives of the AFL-CIO, Occupy Dayton, Service Employees International Union and Putting People First, a group advocating for affordable health care and fair employment. The event drew media coverage from WDTN-TV (Channel 2) and the Dayton Business Journal. It also drew crowds of Media Center workers to the windows of CMG headquarters to watch the protest. In an unprecedented move, CMG Ohio’s human resources department felt compelled to send workers an e-mail explaining the peaceful protest outside of its doors.
But CMG Ohio chose not to inform its own readers of the Dayton Daily News, viewers of WHIO-TV, and listeners of WHIO radio about the protest. The company likes to brag that it “covers both sides” and is unbiased. But it abandons that philosophy if it thinks news coverage might “hurt the company.”
The Dayton Daily News and the Guild have been negotiating for weeks, but newspaper management insists on terms that will continue to degrade working conditions for employees. For example, the newspaper wants unlimited power to replace professional journalists with freelancers to cover the news. The work that the newspaper wants the power to outsource is difficult, important work that is vital to democracy and keeping the Dayton region informed.
The newspaper also wants to dismantle job security for its experienced employees.
“It’s time the Dayton Daily News be held accountable for its unjustified assault on middle-class journalism jobs,” said Lou Grieco, president of the Dayton Newspaper Guild. “Newspaper executives have shown an unwillingness to compromise at the bargaining table that is far outside the mainstream. Their bias against the middle class must end. The Guild has tried to work toward compromise, but on key issues, the Company just wants to dictate terms.”
The Dayton Newspaper Guild represents more than 90 reporters, photographers, copy editors, web designers and editorial assistants who work for Cox Media Group Ohio, including the Dayton Daily News. SNEA represents editorial workers at the Springfield News-Sun.
