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Lots of big news in the Frontier Reporter Spring/Summer edition
You won’t want to miss this bigger-and-better spring/summer edition of the Frontier Reporter. If you’ve been living in a cave and need to get caught up to speed on all major Buffalo Newspaper Guild news since early this year, including some worthwile reflections on the final, negotiated contract with Lee Enterprises and The Buffalo News, it’s all here in one place. Be informed!
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Guild members ratify new 3-year contract with Lee
7.19.24 – Buffalo Newspaper Guild members overwhelmingly ratified the tentative agreement with The Buffalo News and Lee Enterprises in a 57-3 vote that was tallied Friday afternoon.
Sixty out of an eligible 86 members voted, a solid turnout of nearly 70% of membership. Voting occurred in person and virtually over the course of three days, wrapping up at 2 p.m. Friday.
Of those who voted, 95% voted in favor of ratification.
With the three-year contract ratified, members will get wage increases of 3% in each year of the contract, with the first pay bump coming Aug. 1.
In addition, there will be a one-time bonus of $600 for full-time members and $300 for part-time members, payable in the first payroll period of December 2024.
There were many wins in this contract, which will run through July 31, 2027. Among them: artificial intelligence language; improved digital language; 15 hours of remote work per winter for full-time district managers; improvements on floating holidays for new hires; increased cellphone reimbursements; higher wages for interns; the first night differential increase in 21 years; and the addition of Lee Enterprises’ name to our contract’s preamble.
While some concessions were unavoidable, the contract will put more money in our members’ pockets at a time when inflation remains high. It also provides long-term job security as a three-year agreement, giving members predictability and pushing out a next contract one year further than Lee desired.
The Guild also was able to maintain quality, affordable health care options in the contract. While members will take on a little more health care cost, we maintained the bulk of the medical credit system as well as high-quality health care plans that far exceed the coverage offered by the Lee plans.
Without a doubt, the largest concession in the contract surrounds skip language in the editorial department, an idea that was not popular or comfortable for many newsroom members.
But the bargaining team was able to limit the damage and the company’s flexibility in deploying skips. The ratification vote total was a clear message that while many members did not like the idea of skips, there were too many good wins in this contract to vote it down.
Last, the Guild’s bargaining team also agreed to the termination of the pension plan, but it put several conditions on it that will ensure the union plays a role in how the termination unfolds.
Guild leadership would like to thank the five-member bargaining team, who put in many, many hours on Zoom and in our favorite Lake Michigan room in Larkinville. The team, led by Guild Administrative Officer and Chief Negotiator Kim Leiser, included Rick Wiorkowski, Trey Wydysh, Steve Watson and Jon Harris.
The bargaining team also would like to thank the Guild’s mobilization team, led by Aaron Besecker and Sandy Tan. The mobilization team built crucial community support and also got the Guild involved in many community events that we had never participated in before, such as the Pride Parade and the Juneteenth festival.
With their work, the Guild is making strides toward becoming more visible in our hometown. This work is ongoing, and please consider getting involved if you are not already.
Thank you all and have a good weekend.
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We’re a few days late, but the winter edition of the Frontier Reporter is here!
Contract negotiations with the company are in full swing and, well, a lot has been going on. We’ll catch you up on all the major happenings since October, how we’re gearing up to fight for a fair deal, and the big stuff still on the table. We also take another look at Lee’s financials. This winter edition will remind you why your union dues are worth every penny.
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Buffalo Newspaper Guild and United Media Guild team up to send message to shareholders
When Lee Enterprises held its annual shareholder meeting on Feb. 22, 2024, we did not let the date pass quietly. Instead, the Buffalo Newspaper Guild teamed up with the United Media Guild, which represents the employees at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As the two main shareholders of Lee Enterprises stock, we issued a joint statement that got plenty of attention. Our Guild President Jon Harris was also the only shareholder to ask any questions of CEO Kevin Mowbray, when he asked what investments Lee is making to improve its digital platforms. Mowbray, unsurprisingly, didn’t respond with any specifics. Our statement to shareholders:
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Check out the 2023 fall edition of the Frontier Reporter!
The 2023 fall edition of the Frontier Reporter newsletter recaps the move of Buffalo printing press operations to Cleveland, offers a look at preparation efforts for upcoming contract negotiations with Lee Enterprises, and a summary on all major Guild news since June. Catch up on everything and stay informed.
View and download the fall 2023 edition below or click here.
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Guild combines treasurer, secretary roles into one job
In a move that saves money for the union at a time when our membership continues to shrink, the Buffalo Newspaper Guild’s Executive Committee has voted to combine the secretary and treasurer positions.
The treasurer role has been vacant since the departure of Alva Hill, whose job in Accounting, Bookkeeping and Credit was outsourced at the end of August.
In September, the Guild emailed members soliciting interest in the treasurer’s position, but received no response.
Mike McAndrew of Editorial, the Guild’s secretary, is becoming the union’s secretary-treasurer.
McAndrew will receive the treasurer’s stipend and the secretary’s stipend will be eliminated.
The Guild’s Executive Committee approved the moves, which include amending the union’s bylaws, during a meeting Monday, Oct. 9.
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Guild sends support for Maui local, bargaining scholarship
The Buffalo Newspaper Guild has provided financial support for fellow Guild members covering the devastating wildfires in Hawaii.
The Guild’s Executive Committee earlier this month approved a $200 donation to Local 39521, Pacific Media Workers, at The Maui News, who are covering the disaster on the ground.
Some members of the local have been personally affected by the fires.
The Executive Committee also approved a $500 donation to the new Bruce Nelson Collective Bargaining Scholarship, which will provide training for NewsGuild leaders.
The scholarship was created in memory of Bruce R. Nelson, a NewsGuild staff representative for three decades who died Jan 10. Nelson was a dues-paying union member for more than five decades, including twice in the Albany Guild.
Nelson was known for, among other things, playing a key role in a training program for newly elected local Guild officers. His family committed $10,000 to start the scholarship.
Training will be conducted through the Cornell Industrial and Labor Relations school.
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The spring/summer edition of the Frontier Reporter is here! Get the latest on outsourcing, company finances and more.
This spring/summer edition of the Frontier Reporter offers the latest on the outsourcing of Buffalo News printing to Cleveland, as well as a full recap on all Guild news that has transpired since February. Hear the perspective from one of our own Prepress members. Gain a clear overview of company finances and our outreach efforts to the community as we marked the transfer of page design to the Lee Enterprises design hub.
View and download the spring/summer 2023 edition below or click here.
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Outsourcing of local design desk is latest way Lee Enterprises has hurt The Buffalo News
This week, the Buffalo Newspaper Guild joined other unions at newspapers owned by Lee Enterprises in a public awareness campaign. #LeeUnionsRaisingAwareness
Lee Enterprises, in its latest move to drain resources from one of its properties, has gotten rid of our award-winning news design desk at The Buffalo News. You may have noticed if you’ve seen the pages of the newspaper lately.
The last of the local workers whose job was to create gorgeous, eye-catching newspaper pages lost their jobs as of two weeks ago.
Lee took their work and moved it to a corporate hub.Because of this cutback on local jobs, The News’ pages are put together for “efficiency” by workers who do the same work for multiple other publications at the same time. So our readers are left with the boring, plain and uninspired pages we see today.
This change is NOT because the actual printing of the paper has moved — at least not yet. Lee wants to move the printing of The News three hours away to Cleveland. The company plans to shift printing to Cleveland by Oct. 1, putting 128 employees out of work.
These aren’t the only ways Lee has disinvested in operations in Buffalo and Western New York, moves that hurt News readers and subscribers, the community and its own workforce.
Lee previously outsourced customer service work from Buffalo. Two photojournalist positions were cut last year. In February, in response to imposed cuts in the newsroom, three veteran Guild journalists took buyouts in order to spare others from losing their jobs. The News will soon be outsourcing its accounting, bookkeeping and credit department.
We stand in solidarity with the Unions of Lee Enterprises as we highlight the destructive actions of our owner.
Since Lee bought the News, the message has been clear. We’re left to wonder how much cutting will be enough for Lee.
We want them to invest in The Buffalo News. To invest in Buffalo. To invest in us.
We shared this message on Twitter and Facebook. Please consider sharing our posts.
We also heard from subscribers and readers asking what they can do.
Let Lee Enterprises know how you feel.
- Kevin Mowbray, president and CEO, kevin.mowbray@lee.net
- Jason Adrians, VP/local news, JAdrians@madison.com
- Nathan Bekke, VP/audience strategy, Nathan.Bekke@lee.net
- Paige Mudd, East region news director, PMudd@timesdispatch.com
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On day of Lee Enterprises’ annual shareholders meeting, Guild issued a vote of no confidence
For the first time, The Buffalo Newspaper Guild has issued a public vote of “no confidence” in the ownership of The Buffalo News. The public statement was shared on our social media pages on April 18, 2023, the day of Lee Enterprises’ annual shareholders meeting. Read the full statement below:
The Buffalo Newspaper Guild’s Executive Committee has issued a vote of no confidence in the executive team of Lee Enterprises, the corporate parent of The Buffalo News.
The vote, which was unanimous and taken at Monday night’s Guild Executive Committee meeting, comes on the heels of a particularly tumultuous time in Lee’s three-year ownership of The Buffalo News, a period in which the Iowa-based chain has struggled with such basic tasks as paying its employees and ensuring benefits coverage.
The vote was based on a multitude of factors including, but not limited to:
- The continued pattern of disinvestment in The Buffalo News, which has included outsourcing departments from Western New York and further stripping away local control. This includes the planned outsourcing of print production to Cleveland, which will frustrate our valuable print readers (who continue to account for most of our revenue) while considerably moving up deadlines and undoubtedly causing print circulation to decline.
- The absolute lack of understanding on how to build a functional, simple, user-intuitive website and mobile app, both of which have somehow – inexplicably – managed to get worse with every new version that Lee rolls out. Our readers are tired of having to constantly log in, and we are tired of Lee managing to erect barriers to our content.
- The systemic issues of poor communication with customers and with employees. Most of our customer service operation has been outsourced from Buffalo, causing further headaches for readers and no doubt accelerating the outflow of subscribers and hindering growth. Internally, employees are rarely told of any upcoming changes, even the ones that deeply affect their personal situations.
- The complete failure of Lee’s benefits and payroll administrators, who have managed – despite a year of planning – to make a mockery of the simple practice of paying employees and delivering health, dental and other benefits. It is now mid-March, and issues still remain with health and prescription benefits that went live Jan. 1. And some employees were shorted hundreds of dollars, without explanation, in their checks Friday. One employee wasn’t paid at all.
- The fact that Lee executives have never been richer at a time when the company is marginally profitable and is actively seeking cost cuts from its employees. Lee’s top three executives all made more money in 2022 than 2021. That includes President and CEO Kevin Mowbray, whose total compensation increased from $2.17 million to $2.33 million.
The Buffalo Newspaper Guild’s Executive Committee understands the challenges of the local news business, but those challenges are made even more insurmountable in the incapable hands of Lee executives.
Transformative change requires investment and dynamic leaders capable of treating customers and employees with the same respect as shareholders.
It is clear that Lee’s current executive team has no intention of doing that.
