Teamsters Go to Battle with Providence Journal — Union Alleges Multiple Violations

Teamsters Go to Battle with Providence Journal — Union Alleges Multiple Violations

The Providence Journal is facing a showdown with Local 251 of the Teamsters in a battle over a new contract.

The union conflict hits while the Providence Journal’s revenue and circulation are plummeting. Today, the newspaper's weekday circulation is now 35,000.

The Teamsters claim the Providence Journal’s parent company GateHouse Media is violating Rhode Island state wage laws, refusing to hire full-time workers and used non-union temporary workers to deprive Union workers of work opportunities.

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"There are 120 in our bargaining unit -- they got a 1% [salary] increase in 2018, we had a provision that any wage increases the union -- or non-union -- employees got, the [Teamsters] would get," said Dave Robbins of Local 251 in a phone interview on Sunday. "As far as a breakdown, I'd say full-time [Teamster] employees are in the 40s, the rest are part-time."

Providence Journal executives Executive Editor Alan Rosenberg and Publisher Peter Meyer refused to respond to requests for comment.

 

Merger and More Cuts

Presently, GateHouse Media is in the midst of a merger with Gannett — the combined company would operate nearly 300 daily newspapers across the country.

The merger is being financed by Leon Black’s Apollo Global Management with a $1.78 billion short-term financing package that whops an 11.5 percent interest rate.

Black was close friends with sexual molester Jeffrey Epstein. Black's multimillion-dollar family foundations had three members -- Black and his wife Debra and Epstein. Even after Epstein was convicted for sexual crimes against young girls in Florida in 2008, he continued on as a member of Black's foundation.

The merging companies have promised to shed $200 to $300 million in costs nationally. 

 

Local Employees Taking the Brunt

"Given the state of the newspaper industry, what GateHouse has been doing, is they won't hire more full-time [employees] -- they haven't since 2018," said Robbins. "They want a part-time workforce at a lower pay with no benefits. They won't agree to the most basic provisions for seniority, so part-timers can get more hours. It's been a bad scenario."

Robbins said the 120 represented by the Teamsters are "primarily inserters -- they put together multiple papers that GateHouse owns" -- as well as the "people that do maintenance on the machines."

The union is holding a rally and informational picket on Tuesday, September 3, 2019, from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM at the Providence Journal's printing facility at 210 Kinsley Avenue, Providence.

"It's clear [GateHouse] wants all the control, and as little control on the union's part, and as little that employees can look forward to [working there]," said Robbins. "It's a largely immigrant workforce -- we've had communications issues, we've translated things into Spanish and Arabic, but that's something [GateHouse] uses. They appear to benefit from the ability of the union to effectively communicate with its workers."

Robbins said that the union is willing to negotiate on the issue of time-and-a-half on Sunday -- which Robbins said GateHouse and the Journal tried to deny in the past -- by giving employees a .75 cent wage increase each year on a three-year contract, but so far, GateHouse has not been responsive. 

"They have the right under the contract to have temps for temporary reasons, and they've exploited that language by bringing in temps," said Robbins. "It costs them more than give hours to part-timers, but they want a workforce in constant flux. They want to maximize profits, but they recognize if the union wins any improvements, it makes the union stronger."

Robbins said that one of the issues that the Teamsters are taking issue with is GateHoue CEO Kirk Davis' bonus compensation. Over the past few years, Davis has earned millions in bonuses and stock awards.

"We don't expect that everyone gets [Davis' compensation], but in that first 2014 negotiation, they made a big deal that the newspaper industry is in disarray, that they can't give increases -- but they admit they are profitable," said Robbins "We were told this had to be shared sacrifice -- that our members would have to sacrifice. They claim Davis isn't an employee of [the Journal], but we believe the contract language supports our grievance."

"Anyone who feels the same way about economic justice, we would ask to join us on Tuesday down at the plant at 210 Kinsley -- we want to make a lot of noise," said Robbins. "We've got the 'fat cat' good to go -- we plan to bring a truck with us, but we need to make sure we have the permit."