02 June 2006

Sault Star layoff underscores fight
for job security at 3 daily newspapers

Sault Ste Marie Typographical Union | TNG Canada Local 30746
St. Catharines Typographical Union | TNG Canada Local 30416
Kingston Typographical Union | TNG Canada Local 30204
Northern Ontario Newspaper Guild | TNG Canada Local 30232

A Guild member at the Star in Sault Ste Marie has become the latest victim of Osprey Media's job outsourcing to call centres.

TNG Canada Staff Representative David Esposti says a classified advertising employee was given layoff notice yesterday. While that should be the extent of job cuts in that department, there's no guarantee circulation workers will be spared the axe, he says.

Extensive cuts in classified ads, circulation and composing at the St. Catharines Standard and the Kingston Whig-Standard have had a significant impact on collective bargaining that's been under way at the two dailies.

Esposti says a second round of negotiations in St. Catharines on Tuesday and Wednesday concluded with the union deciding to apply for conciliation. "Talks had switched to monetary issues, but we told the company there wasn't much point in proceeding as long as the big white elephant of contracting-out was sitting in the corner."

The St. Catharines Typographical Union has a clause in its contract against contracting out, but the company ignored it in axing 22 union jobs since last fall. Their work is now being performed at Osprey call centres in Niagara Falls and Sarnia, which are staffed by low-paid part-time employees who receive no benefits. Composing room work has been moved to the non-union Welland Tribune plant.

In Kingston, where bargaining began in January and quickly reached an impasse, they're heading for conciliation. TNG Canada Staff Rep David Wilson, who has been working with the Local, says they expect to meet with a conciliator for two days at the end of this month.

The Sudbury Typographical Union, which represents workers in all departments at the Sudbury Star, has just served notice to bargain. With those talks likely to begin this summer, job security will be as important an issue there as it is in St. Catharines and Kingston.