Media Union of BC

Halifax Chronicle newsroom votes to strike, if necessary

gary — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:28:48 +0000

Unionized newsroom employees at the Halifax Chronicle Herald have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action, if necessary, in their contract talks with company.

At a strike vote held Saturday, Feb. 4 more than 96 per cent delivered the mandate to their bargaining committee.

Among the key issues, the union is opposing the company’s attempts to pay starting reporters and photographers thousands less than it currently does.

“The membership is very clear that the company’s plan to turn back the clock on salaries is unacceptable,” says union president Stephen Forest. “We care about the salaries of future employees because of the long-term implications it has all for employees.”

This strong show of support comes as the union is about to begin conciliation talks with the newspaper. Those talks begin Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Nearly 92 per cent of the Halifax Typographical Union’s 84 members cast a ballot.

The HTU represents reporters, photographers, editors, and other newsroom staff. Union members have been without a contract since November 21, 2011.

Halifax Typographical Union

Reuters staff vote for strike

gary — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:39:25 +0000

Journalists at Thomson Reuters have voted to strike – for the first time at the news agency in more than 25 years – over a below-inflation pay offer. The National Union of Journalists chapel at the company voted “overwhelmingly” for a 48-hour strike next week, to coincide with the release of Thomson Reuters’ full-year financial results.

Gateway pipeline a ‘threat’ to economy

gary — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:36:17 +0000

A highly respected Canadian economist says the controversial Northern Gateway Project “poses a serious threat” to Canada’s “economic growth and long term development.”

Break-up of Manroland begins

gary — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:14 +0000

Manroland’s administrator has confirmed that the break-up of the German manufacturer began tomorrow February 1 with the sale of the Augsburg web offset facility.

Philadelphia dailies for sale, again

gary — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:16:30 +0000

I was as puzzled as the next guy when I learned Sunday that the Philadelphia Media Network, publisher of the city’s two dailies, is on the auction block. This comes a mere 17 months since a group of private equity firms led by Alden Global Capital acquired the company and installed Greg Osberg, a former Newsweek publisher, as CEO.

Is Postmedia Canadian enough? CEP wants court to decide

gary — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:06:38 +0000

A Canadian union is going to court in an effort to compel the federal government to rule whether the recently created Postmedia newspaper group meets Canadian ownership standards and is in Canada’s national interest.

Quebecor suspends union official for alleging racism

gary — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:26 +0000

The Quebecor media organization has suspended an employee and union official who alleged it treated ethnic minorities unfairly at one of its television networks.

No one should be surprised by Harper’s fake pension ‘crisis’

gary — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:50:09 +0000

Does it really surprise anyone that Stephen Harper is preparing an attack on ordinary Canadians’ retirement security when even the advice of the government’s own experts affirms there’s no evidence such change is required?

Investors still buying newspapers

gary — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:27:23 +0000

IF the future of media is digital, who would want to buy a newspaper? Seventy-one daily newspapers were sold in the United States last year, for a total “just under $800 million,” said Owen Van Essen, president of Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a company that specializes in newspaper mergers and acquisitions.

‘Orwellian Prize’ for inaccuracy awarded to the Daily Mail

gary — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:00:55 +0000

A University of Oxford professor has awarded her annual prize for “journalistic misrepresentation” to an outrageously inaccurate and scaremongering story published by the Daily Mail in 2011.