To facilitate private communications among our Guild leaders and staffers, I set up a private Google group called "Baltimore Sun News Workers." To join, click "contact the owner," shoot me an email, and I'll approve you (as long as you're a Sun news employee or Guild official.)
Through this group, you can keep in touch with your colleagues, even if they leave The Sun. Everyone's email addresses will be contained within the private group. This will be a handy feature for us in the future. But more immediately, it will allow us to collaborate in a private setting, which the two blogs -- and an email list -- don't really allow us to do.
Anyone can start a discussion topic, post information and even upload files. And as new information gets posted to the group, you can configure your participation to receive email notifications of updates. I hope Lynn, Tanika and a few others will help act as administrators.
Rona -- can you (or someone with admin privileges for this site) please post a link to the group on this blog? I'll do the same on the other jobs site. Thanks!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
6 comments:
Hi. I have been out of the office for two work days. What is going on? Can someone post an update to this blog, with the latest on the buyout situation? Also, when are the layoffs supposed to be coming? I'm looking for dates, numbers, whatever we know. I feel a little lost, not physically being in the downtown newsroom. And I suspect there are others like me. Thanks!
-- Julie Bykowicz
This afternoon, the Guild accepted the buyout proposal. we should be receiving buyout packets shortly. according to a memo distributed by Tanika and Lynn, the Sun wants all employees taking the buyout to be gone by Aug.
If any are laid off, they will be gone by aug. 15.
General terms of buyout are the same as was previously released: 1 week per six months of employment, plus an additional 3 percent to help cover some taxes.
The deadline to apply for the buyout is July 11.
I've been out, too, and will be all week, though I have some email access...thanks for the update, Gus.
Wondering if the company has produced a seniority list yet.
Previous comment left by rona, not jesse.
Gus, send me the link and I can post it....along with a blurb about it. Or, you can do it because you have posting privileges....I'm off all week but do have email access...thank you so much for keeping everyone informed and helping us plan out our futures...Rona
Looking back, is it any wonder that things went so "smoothly" at contract negotiations last year? Did Tribune know they were about to sell to a new owner that would be looking to cut staffing and costs? Things were all too easy last year when we should have raised hell over some "innocuous" issues (we all know what those issues were).
Why the hell aren't we organizing some high energy rallies (riots anyone?) outside the building and drawing media attention to this issue? Sure, it won't save our jobs, but it will show that we stand together against the "new direction" of the paper as envisioned by clown Lee Abrams. Or, is that going to help save newspapers like the smooth negotiations of last year won us all another year at the Sun?
I'd like to propose the disbanding of the Guild if this is the best hell we can raise.
Post a Comment