07 December 2006

Osprey Media squaring off with Local
that has remarkable community support

Sault Ste Marie Typographical Union | TNG Canada Local 30746

Osprey Media CEO Michael Sifton could be in for a lot more resistance to his job outsourcing policies than he figures a 35-member Guild Local can muster.

The Sault Ste Marie Typographical Union might be small, but it enters conciliation today with history on its side. That history is redolent with examples of fervent community support for the people who produce their beloved Sault Star.

Linda Richardson, president of the Local and a reporter at the daily, says the "company put a number of takebacks on the table" when talks got under way Nov. 1 and 2 to renew the collective agreement that expired at the end of August.

At the end of the second day, the bargaining committee decided to go to conciliation. "Job security is a really big issue (with the membership)," says Richardson and "Osprey wants to be able to transfer or reassign work to other publications or divisions."

Osprey has, for the last year, been axing long-time employees at its unionized Ontario dailies and staffing two call centres it has set up in Sarnia and Niagara Falls with part-time, poorly paid workers who handle circulation and classified advertising for the newspaper chain. Customers are forced to deal with strangers in faraway places who know nothing about their community and many of them have indicated they are not happy about the situation.

When TNG Canada launched the Keep Our Newspapers Local campaign, and organized a five-city protest last February, the public response in Sault Ste Marie was overwhelming. Even the city council waded in, passing a resolution that condemned the cutting of local jobs. Hundreds of Star customers signed e-cards protesting the job outsourcing, and other local media weighed in on the side of the union.

But that's only recent history. In the past, before Osprey owned the Sault Star, striking Guild members had the support of many readers and advertisers, who cancelled subscriptions to the newspaper to express their displeasure with management's assault on the union. On another occasion, the Local refused to conduct a strike vote, insisting it wanted to continue providing quality journalism to Sault residents. Again, the public backed them in their quest for a fair contract.

This time around, Osprey wants to negate two Letters of Agreement that prevent contracting out of work in two bargaining units that include the advertising and circulation departments, plus a clause that restricts the use of freelancers in the editorial department. It also wants to put a cap on insurance expenses for staff who use personal vehicles to do their jobs and to reduce stat holiday pay from 7.5 hours to four.

The Local, meanwhile, is seeking improvements in mileage, vacation and wages.