2008-05-16 04:42:54 -

- Journalists at the Bay Area's largest newspaper company reached agreement with MediaNews Group management today to hold a June 13 employee vote on Guild recognition. The secret-ballot election will ask non-supervisory news workers of Bay Area News Group - East Bay (BANG-EB) whether they want to affiliate with the Northern California Media Workers Guild for collective bargaining on pay,

benefits and work conditions.

"So many of us have been working for months to get to this moment," said Sara Steffens, an award-winning reporter at the Contra Costa Times and a co-chair of the organizing campaign. "We're eager for the opportunity to have a union that works productively with management like our colleagues at The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, and news outlets across the Bay Area and across the country. We have a lot of practical, solution-oriented contributions to make during this challenging time for our profession."

The National Labor Relations Board will conduct the June election. If a majority of those voting approve, the company will recognize the new guild bargaining unit. Leaders of the organizing effort submitted guild pledge cards from nearly two thirds of eligible workers to the Board on May 2, triggering the election process.

Many in the industry have been closely watching developments at the BANG-EB properties since August, when corporate parent MediaNews made headlines by withdrawing recognition from the 20 year-old Guild unit at ANG Newspapers, which included the Oakland Tribune and four other East Bay dailies. The company announced it was canceling contract talks while consolidating ANG editorial functions with the newly acquired and non-union Contra Costa Times and affiliated weeklies to form BANG-EB. In response, journalists from across the East Bay papers came together last fall to create a new union, dubbing the campaign "One Big BANG: One Guild Universe." (see onebigbang.org)

"We're looking forward to continuing the productive working dynamic with management that allowed us to quickly nail down this election date and related issues," said Michael Manekin, reporter for the San Mateo County Times and a campaign co-chair. "We're focused on working together to ensure our papers and Web sites are as efficient and high-quality as possible. We know management is interested in those goals too."

The agreement is expected to be finalized no later than Monday, May 19. Precise locations and hours for the voting are being worked out, but the Guild and management have agreed that polling places should be set up at least at these principal work locations: Antioch, Richmond, Oakland, Pleasanton, Fremont, Walnut Creek and Hayward.

Eligible employees will be all full-time and regular part-time editorial department employees employed by the BANG-EB at these work locations: Alameda, Hayward, Fremont, Tracy, Pleasanton, Oakland, San Mateo, Walnut Creek, Antioch and Richmond.

Online employees who are part of the BANG-EB newsroom staff are among those eligible to vote. Web producers employed by the separate California Newspapers Partnership will not be eligible. Sacramento also was not included among the eligible work sites. The Guild attempted to make all those individuals part of the election, but the company maintained they should not be considered part of this bargaining unit.

More details of the One Big BANG organizing campaign can be found on the Web at:

onebigbang.org

Northern California Media Workers Guild
Sara Steffens, 510-388-0562
Karl Fischer, 925-234-1711