July 31, 2006

 

EW IMAGING SPECIALISTS VOTE UNANIMOUSLY FOR GUILD

 

INSTYLE JURISDICTION CASE HEADS FOR ARBITRATION

 

On Thursday, July 20, five imaging specialists at Entertainment Weekly (EW) voted unanimously to have the Newspaper Guild of New York as their bargaining agent.

 

Negotiations are expected to begin soon on a contract for the imaging specialists, who are called production associates and assistant production associates at EW, which is separate from the Guild’s pact with the rest of the publisher’s workers. When the Guild petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for an election at Time Inc. for those five individuals, the media giant said that Time Inc. is not their employer. They’re employed by EW. We checked and EW is, in fact, a subsidiary of Time Inc., unlike TIME, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, FORTUNE, et al.

 

So the Guild said, “Fine, we’ll organize the production associates at EW.”

 

Time Inc. was once an organization that was friendly to employees and to the union that represents them. But that was many years ago. This time, during the EW election period, the company campaigned against the Guild, conducting meetings with the potential members and sending them e-mails attempting to trash the union. In the e-mails, the company pointed out, correctly, that the Guild can’t guarantee the new employees any specific pay increases or increases in benefits in a new contract that has yet to be negotiated.

 

But what did the EW production associates have to lose? They didn’t get any pay raise this year! And, of course, their job protection without a union is nothing, zilch!

 

The unanimous election vote is a positive sign for the five individuals, who are seeing atrocious job losses around them and for the Guild that is facing violent assaults on its jurisdiction by a shameless corporation.

 

The most recent demonstration of such attacks came with the closing of TEEN PEOPLE. The Guild received a telephone call an hour and a half after the staff of the magazine was given the news. TEEN PEOPLE was closing, the caller said; however, the union shouldn’t be terribly concerned, we were told. “It’s not a magazine that’s named in the Guild contract, the company spokesperson said; therefore, no union people would be losing their jobs.”

 

The only thing is, she continued, there are three imaging specialists at TEEN PEOPLE who were put on the Guild jurisdiction list. That’s the list that is provided to the Guild monthly by the company, listing everybody represented by the union. She said they were put there “by mistake.”

 

There would be a voluntary buyout offered throughout the People Imaging Group, she said, but, if there weren’t any volunteers, these three people would lose their jobs. (At the urging of the Guild, a Time Inc. official said buyouts would also be offered cross-divisionally. If anyone raises his or her hand, however, it will be totally up to the manager if a job swap takes place.)

 

The three individuals weren’t just mistakenly put on the category list, by the way. Two of them were on the category list for years when they were at PEOPLE and one at FORTUNE and they all remained on it while they worked at TEEN PEOPLE. And, while working at TEEN PEOPLE, they still do work on PEOPLE.

 

The three weren’t mistakenly put on the category list; They correctly remained on the category list.

 

The Guild has grieved the layoff. We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, if you’re part of Time Inc. that isn’t part of the Newspaper Guild, but you want to follow the example of the imaging specialists at EW and join the Guild, please contact Time Inc.’s Local Representative, Bob Townsend (212-730-1532) or Time Inc. Local Chairperson Alex Blanco (212-522-4187).

 

A similar case to the TEEN PEOPLE one is already headed for arbitration. When Time Inc. officials suddenly discovered in October of 2005 that six imaging specialists in the PEOPLE Imaging Group were spending 100% of their time working for INSTYLE magazine, they decided to yank them out of the Guild. Of course, this was years and years after they were working full-time for INSTYLE and they had never been asked if they wanted to leave Guild jurisdiction nor were they given any choice whatsoever in the process.

 

Then the same thing happened at REAL SIMPLE magazine.

 

The Guild grieved the theft of all of those individuals from our jurisdiction, and the grievances were denied. The cases were consolidated and are scheduled to be heard in arbitration on October 6.

 

IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

 

Time Inc. has been carving away at the most basic of our benefits.

 

It replaced profit sharing with Stock Options, then announced it was ending its Stock Options grants in 2005. The Guild is also arbitrating that case.

 

Time Inc. has decreased health benefits while increasing health premiums.

 

For too long, we have allowed management to take what it pleases from out paychecks – either directly in the form of minimal raises, or through the back-door, via our benefits.

 

Many employees work in Guild-covered jobs, but have never joined the Guild. It’s time for them to step up to the plate.

 

As a recent On Time reported, the Guild’s current contract expires on February 1, 2007. It’s very important for the union to have as many members as possible as it goes into contract negotiations with Time Inc. If you’re covered by the Guild contract but not yet a Guild member, please join. Give Alex Blanco a call at 212-522-4187 if you want to enroll and strengthen the union.

 

At an organizational meeting Sunday of the new ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY unit, George Sumerak was nominated as chairperson. If no opposing candidate files a nominating petition with Secretary-Treasurer Bill O’Meara by the close of business on Monday, August 7, George will be declared elected.

 

At the same meeting, the group discussed proposals for a first contract. We’ll keep you posted as these negotiations proceed.

 

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07/31/06