The Newspaper Guild at the Beacon Journal took a big hit August 22 when the layoff of one-fourth of the staff was announced. However, if the vociferous meeting of the Guild on Wednesday is any indication, the bargaining unit is far from giving up.
Guild officers were taken to task for not getting information to members quickly enough and were questioned for not doing something more. Officers were reminded that in the end it is the membership which has the final say. There was a boisterous debate about one grievance the Guild has filed on what seniority means. The company maintains that seniority means all the time a person has been employed by the Beacon Journal. The Guild, which is the bargaining unit that guarantees seniority rights, contends it is how long the employee has been a Guild member. The rub has been that some people in the Guild became “company” members when they resigned from the Guild and, therefore, the seniority should commence only when they rejoined the Guild. It is divisive issue in which some members thought seniority should include all the time they were in the Guild both before and after they became “company” employees. The layoff of some employees hinges on the definition.
Guild members are discussing ways they can keep the community informed to retain support shown by the community at a Save the Beacon Rally on March 28.
Resignations by some veteran staffers has been a concern and reporters are being asked to list their first and second choices on jobs they would like.
Nobody knows how it will all shake out until the notice period ends about Oct 21, but the Guild remains strong.
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