The members of Newsday’s largest union have resoundingly rejected a proposed contract from the Cablevision Systems Corp.-owned newspaper that sought pay cuts, a longer workweek and less vacation time.
Members of the 1,100-strong Graphic Communications Conference/International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 406 voted overwhelmingly Jan. 24, 473 to 10, against the deal, which, among other sticking points, demanded 10-percent salary reductions for all employees, 15-percent pay cuts for delivery drivers, a 40-hour workweek and the loss of a week’s vacation.
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Local 406 President Michael O’Connor tells the Press the membership’s message is loud and clear:
“[They’re] very unhappy,” he says. “The membership spoke, clearly.”
Newsday employees expressed outrage over the tentative agreement’s terms when union leaders informed them earlier this month of the proposed concessions. Union officials also acknowledged their dissatisfaction.
“Again, we do not like them,” wrote union officer Zachary Dowdy in a Jan. 4 memo to the newspaper’s roughly 240-member editorial staff. “They are horrible and unprecedented in what they demand from Local 406 members.”
The rejection sends Cablevision-owned Newsday back to the negotiating table with the union, but there have been no indications from Long Island’s lone daily of any budging, explains O’Connor.
“It starts from scratch,” he says of negotiations.
The current contracts of Local 406’s six bargaining units expire at various times, O’Connor explains. Editorial’s ends April 1. Union members were originally scheduled to vote on the proposed contract Jan. 10, but postponed the decision until Jan. 24.
Newsday spokeswoman Deidra Parrish Williams provided the following statement regarding the rebuttal:
“The objective was to preserve as many jobs as possible and to ensure that Newsday remains a strong and viable company for its workforce, and for Long Island. These are important issues and they must be resolved. We are naturally disappointed by this outcome. We worked closely with the union to come up with a contract that is fair and equitable given the challenging state of our industry and our business.”
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Vice President At Large George Tedeschi, president of the Graphic Communications Conference of the Teamsters Union, has become “heavily involved” in the matter, says O’Connor. So has Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa, he added.
“The membership has unified and is ready for a fight,” says one current veteran Newsday employee. “Now it’s back to square one.”
Tags: Cablevision, Deidra Parrish Williams, George Tedesch, Graphic Communications Conference/International Brotherhood of Teamsters, horrible contract, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, James P. Hoffa, Local 406, Michael O’Connor, Newsday, union vote, Zachary Dowdy
Long Island Press is a rag. Long live Newsday!
WHAT’S GOING ON W/THE DOLAN FAMILY – THIS WAS A LOCAL PAPER THAT SUPPORTED OUR AREA NOT ONLY IN THE NEW BUT W/THE EMPLOYMENT OF MANY LONG ISLANDERS – IT’S A SHAME TO SEE THE WAY THE IS BEING HANDLED FROM THE BUYOUT – IT SEEMS THAT THE DOLAN FAMILY IS DOING NOTHING FOR THE NEWSDAY COMPANY – THEY DID NOT BUY NEW MACHINES THAT WERE NEEDED TO TAKE ON MORE JOBS – THE PAPER CUT HEIR EDITORIALS DOWN TO NOTHING – WHEN THE PAPER WAS FOR SALE EVERYONE WAS AFRAID OF MURDOCK & WHAT HE WOULD DO W/THE PAPER – BUT THE BIGGER CONCERNS SHOULD HAVE BEEN THAT THE DOLANS BOUGHT THE PAPER TO SHOW A LOSSS SINCE THEY ARE MAKING SO MUCH W/CABLEVISION – THEY ARE LOSING THEIR SIGHTS ON THE MANY LOYAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED THERE FOR MANY YEARS & NOW ARE AFRIAD THAT EACH DAY MAY BE THEIR LAST – SHAME ON YOU DOLANS – WHERE IS THE RESPECT FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED ALL THEIR LIVES TO BE BOUGHT OUT & DRAGGED DOWN BY A FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS WHO YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT WOULD HAVE LIKE TO HAVE SEEN THE PAPER THRIVE INSTEAD OF RAISING THE PRICE TO $1.00 -WHICH IS UNTHINKABLE TO PAY MORE FOR LESS – WHEN THE POST & DAILY NEWS STILL ARE .50 – WHATS THE LOGIC – BUT I GUESS THE DOLANS FT IN W/ THE SOLGAN – “IT’S THE SIGN OF THE TIMES” HOORAY FOR ME & TO HELL W/ALL THE HARD WORKING MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY ON LONG ISLAND – KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK DOLANS & LIKE YOU PLANNED THE NEWSPAPER WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST
SUE BENJAMIN
What about keeping Americans working???? You people that are happy more fellow Americans will be out of work, need to open your eyes, look around you with all the people out of work because we have no jobs left in this country need to wake up…….You just might be the reason this country is in the shape it is, I for one am ashamed of us as a country……
Kudos for Newsday employees standing up to the scumsuckers known as Cablevision, one of the worst companies in the country.
I hope they took the contract proposal and force-fed it up Dolan’s ass.
I will never, ever spend another nickel on MSG’s teams until Dolan sells them.
“Unions were created to protect the working people from being taken advantage of…… This was after the Triangle Shirt Factory fire that killed all of the employees (this included women and children). There was no means of escape and they all were burned alive.”
You are sadly mistaken if you think that unions today serve the same purpose as they did in the days of the Industrial Revolution. Today, you have unionized county clerical workers, teachers, baseball players, IT employees, etc. None of them are remotely likely to be burned to death. The only burning that occurs is money – they burn theirs and the employer burns its until they are both out of busines, a la the UAW.
As far as the comments made about the unions, well, I work for a company that is unionized.
We are paid less than most people. We pay into everything we get. No free lunches here.
Unions were created to protect the working people from being taken advantage of (yes, employers are still playing this old sneaky, underhanded game after all of these years). This was after the Triangle Shirt Factory fire that killed all of the employees (this included women and children). There was no means of escape and they all were burned alive.