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Striking Newspaper Workers Stop the Presses in Victoria, B.C.
Striking CWA members at the Victoria Times-Colonist in British Columbia, joined on the picket line by press operators and composing room workers, have shut down the Canadian newspaper.
About 260 employees walked off the job Sept. 3 over the company’s demands for massive cuts in wages and benefits for some workers, as well as language that would let management contract out work.
The involved unions include about 220 editorial, circulation, advertising and customer service employees in The Newspaper Guild-CWA Local 30223 and mailers in TNG-CWA Local 30403, along with members of the Graphic Communicators and composing room unions.
After months of contract talks that involved nothing but rollbacks, 97 percent of union members voted to strike, TNG Canada Representative Dan Zeidler said. He said the unions’ solidarity has made it impossible for the paper to publish. Owned by the CanWest Global chain, the paper serves the southern half of Vancouver Island and has a daily circulation of 75,000.
“They’re losing millions everyday,” Zeidler said. “CanWest and all of its properties, are very, very profitable, but the company has a huge debt load.
The company has taken language off the table that would have contracted out much of its telemarketing and customer service work, but still has many cutbacks on the table.
“They want to open up freelancing to the point where there would be no reporters here,” Zeidler said. “They want to severely cut back on benefits to part-timers, and with the mailers, they want a two-tiered plan that, in some cases, would reduce wages by 50 percent.”
He said union negotiators haven’t been able to talk about workers’ issues at all. No bargaining sessions have been held since the strike began.
About 260 employees walked off the job Sept. 3 over the company’s demands for massive cuts in wages and benefits for some workers, as well as language that would let management contract out work.
The involved unions include about 220 editorial, circulation, advertising and customer service employees in The Newspaper Guild-CWA Local 30223 and mailers in TNG-CWA Local 30403, along with members of the Graphic Communicators and composing room unions.
After months of contract talks that involved nothing but rollbacks, 97 percent of union members voted to strike, TNG Canada Representative Dan Zeidler said. He said the unions’ solidarity has made it impossible for the paper to publish. Owned by the CanWest Global chain, the paper serves the southern half of Vancouver Island and has a daily circulation of 75,000.
“They’re losing millions everyday,” Zeidler said. “CanWest and all of its properties, are very, very profitable, but the company has a huge debt load.
The company has taken language off the table that would have contracted out much of its telemarketing and customer service work, but still has many cutbacks on the table.
“They want to open up freelancing to the point where there would be no reporters here,” Zeidler said. “They want to severely cut back on benefits to part-timers, and with the mailers, they want a two-tiered plan that, in some cases, would reduce wages by 50 percent.”
He said union negotiators haven’t been able to talk about workers’ issues at all. No bargaining sessions have been held since the strike began.