The company, which owns 21 daily newspapers in Ontario, has established call centres in Sarnia and Niagara Falls to handle classified advertising, and reader sales and services. The changes take full- and part-time jobs away from communities that have long supported their local newspaper, to boost Osprey’s profits.

"The Guild estimates that as many as 100 jobs may eventually be lost at the nine Osprey newspapers where our union has members in those departments," says TNG Canada/CWA Director Arnold Amber.

Guild members participating in the Keep Our Newspapers Local campaign will be looking for support from the public and other Osprey employees during demonstrations at the St. Catharines Standard, Sault Star, North Bay Nugget and Sudbury Star.

TNG Canada/CWA will collect pledge cards signed by supporters and notify Osprey CEO Michael Sifton about the opposition to the media chain's outsourcing of jobs.

Electronic pledge cards are available on the Keep Our Newspapers Local campaign web site at www.cwa-scacanada.ca/osprey.

The Guild is also encouraging readers and advertisers to contact the publisher of their Osprey newspaper to protest the loss of good local jobs in their community. Phone numbers and email addresses for the publishers are listed on the campaign web site.

Mr. Amber notes that more than jobs are at stake: "In St. Catharines and Kingston, where the changes have already gone into effect, there is evidence of extremely bad service to readers and merchants buying ads.

People wanting to buy an ad or report a delivery problem want to talk to someone they trust from their community, not a stranger who may not even know where their city is."

Furthermore, says Mr. Amber, a local newspaper is not just about covering stories and events. "It’s about being a strong part of the community. It’s very short sighted for a newspaper to cut itself off from its community base. If Osprey loses readers and advertisers, all departments will have their budgets cut and the quality of the newspaper will decline."

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