Casper News Guild

Meet the members of the Casper Star-Tribune's union tomorrow at Frontier. Show support, drink a beer or ask questions. We hope this is an opportunity for the community to know more about who we are and why we're fighting for a strong union in Wyoming.

Casper Star-Tribune Will Shutter Printing Press, Lay Off Two Dozen

Wednesday, July 25, 2018, Casper, Wyoming — ​Roughly t​wo dozen mail and press room employees​ lost their jobs at the Casper Star-Tribune on Monday, the most recent layoff at Wyoming's statewide newspaper, owned by Lee Enterprises.

​Publisher Dale Bohren told newsroom ​staff t​hat the Star-Tribune will now be printed in Cheyenne, at the printing press of the Adams Publishing Group. The press in Casper, which he described as technologically obsolete, will go ​silent. ​The Star-Tribune has printed a paper in some form in Casper since 1891. ​

At least 24 press and mail room employees – ​including at least 15 part-time employees – will be laid off. All have been offered severance.

Joe Martinez, the press room's supervisor, has been ​at the Star-Tribune for 32 years​​.

The Casper News Guild received ​the news​ of the layoffs​ bitterly. It takes more than reporters​,​ editors​ and​ photographers to put out a newspaper. We mourn the loss of our colleagues who regularly worked into the night to ensure Casper and Wyoming did not miss an edition​, that the morning paper included the results of an election or a University of Wyoming football game​. While layoffs to newsroom staff often draw the most attention, ​newspaper​s ​are more than the names that appear atop stories.

​Coupled with the appalling layoffs at the New York Daily News​,​​ the loss of the press team ​serves as a bitter reminder of the ​current ​​nature of our industry. That a printing press and the ​people ​that run it ​are dispatched for a little more profit tells you all you need to know about daily journalism and the corporations that control much of it.

We continue to urge our colleagues in this industry, both in Wyoming and across the nation, to organize, to find their voice and demand their seat at the table.

Casper News Guild Update on Bargaining Process

Tuesday, July 17, 2018, Casper, Wyoming — Last week, we had our third two-day bargaining session with representatives from Lee Enterprises. The negotiations generally have been civil, professional and productive. While we still have much work to do, we’ve made important gains to help make the Star-Tribune a more attractive destination and home for new and veteran journalists alike. We’ve reached tentative agreements on roughly half of our proposed contract, and we’ve worked to drive the conversation throughout the bargaining sessions so far. What happens at that table affects each of us on a deeply personal level.

A dominant theme throughout has been that some of our members work long hours, do not clock the full extent of their overtime and are unable to take their vacation. We continue to work on overtime but have made progress. Meanwhile, we’ve come to an agreement on vacation that places more emphasis on management to know that our journalists are often overworked or feel they cannot leave without burdening the newsroom and, thus, do not take vacation. It also leaves the door open for vacation to roll over, should it be impossible for us to take our earned time off.

We have agreed to form a labor management committee, which has already met to address Guild concerns. We’ve bargained for sabbatical time for more tenured employees, a drug policy that treats first positive tests as a medical rather than criminal issue, a grievance and arbitration process and the use of a company vehicle for reporters and photographers who often travel across Wyoming for stories. We’re battling for better wages and relief on health insurance costs. Our members often pay more than 50 percent of premium costs, a prohibitively high number, particularly with wages that are at worst stagnant and at best being outstripped by inflation.

While management has come forward with counteroffers to our proposals on wages, health, 401(k) and other areas, they are well short of what the hardworking, award-winning, dedicated journalists at the Star-Tribune deserve and have earned. We have firmly expressed how important those conditions are to us, and how neglected they’ve felt. We remain optimistic that we can swiftly reach an agreement with Lee that is beneficial to both employees and management. But we’re committed to making Casper a home rather than a pit stop for us and for future journalists here. We’ll fight until we reach that goal. Negotiations resume Aug. 7.

Casper News Guild Files Labor Practice Complaints, Reporter's Suspension Revoked

Wednesday, April 11, 2018, Casper, Wyoming — Shortly after the Casper News Guild filed two Unfair Labor Practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, Lee Enterprises has allowed state politics reporter Arno Rosenfeld to return to work at the Casper Star-Tribune.

Arno was suspended for an email he sent to colleagues Thursday morning informing them that award-winning reporter and editor Elise Schmelzer had been terminated. One of the complaints alleges Arno’s suspension was an attempt to intimidate union members and discourage them from exercising protected rights. After the Guild requested a union attorney serve as Arno’s Weingarten representative, the company cancelled the planned interview and extended his suspension before finally allowing him to return to work without an investigatory interview.

In total, Lee Enterprises fired three Star-Tribune employees in retaliation for the newsroom’s recent unionization. In addition to Elise, Lee Enterprises fired two advertising employees last week. None of the dismissed employees were members of the Casper News Guild and thus lacked the same protections as its members.

However, firing them in order to retaliate against or intimidate the union is still illegal. A second complaint seeks remedy for Lee Enterprises’ termination of those three employees.

Though publisher Dale Bohren has declined to address the newsroom regarding these actions, the employees were all told that their positions were being eliminated for “financial reasons.” As we noted in our statement last week, that explanation appears to be a lie — unless the “financial reasons” cited refer to Lee Enterprises’ apparent belief that busting unions is good for business. (It’s not.)

The firing of three employees and suspension of a fourth within a 24-hour period caused significant disruption at the Star-Tribune and has impeded reporters’ ability to cover news and serve their Wyoming readers. The actions come roughly one month after the newsroom voted to unionize and just weeks before we are scheduled to sit down at the bargaining table to negotiate a first contract. Until Lee Enterprises’ outrageous behavior last week, the Casper News Guild was resolutely positive in its public and private communications with the company.

The Guild has said repeatedly that collectively bargaining for more stable and better compensated employment will be a boon to both our readers and a positive improvement for the company. Good employees make a good product. Unfortunately, Lee Enterprises has decided to take the low road and attempt to intimidate us. It won’t work. Lee Enterprises can remedy this situation by taking the following actions in Casper:

• Offer to rehire Elise and the other two employees who were terminated last week. If they decline to return to the company, offer one month’s severance pay without requiring them to give up their right to speak about the company and hire new employees to fill their vacant positions.
• Openly address the newsroom regarding last week’s actions.
• Cease all efforts to retaliate against Star-Tribune employees for exercising their legal right to unionize.

Here is an update on our progress and some FAQs about unionizing.

Where is the Casper News Guild in its campaign?

The nonmanagement staff in the newsroom have had productive and respectful meetings with management and corporate representatives. That group of staff members will vote Tuesday to determine if it will form a union. The vote will be held in person in Cheyenne and Casper, so the National Labor Relations Board will be able to count the votes and certify the election that day. It takes a simple majority to determine if a union will be formed.

What happens next?

Should we succeed, we look forward to sitting down at the bargaining table with Lee Enterprises and beginning to negotiate a contract.

Is the Casper News Guild affiliated with a larger union?

Yes, Casper News Guild is affiliated with the Denver News Guild, which is part of Communications Workers of America. While the organizing drive was initiated within the newsroom and any future bargaining would be dictated by the interests of local staff, further resources are essential for both protecting our rights during this process and assisting us during negotiations. There currently are no News Guild units in Wyoming.

How long does the initial negotiating phase take?

If both the company and the union are interested in and work in good faith to come to an agreement, the process can end relatively quickly. It can sometimes take months or a year, but we will work to settle on a speedy and beneficial agreement and hope that Lee Enterprises will do the same. Once a contract is set, the union as a whole will vote on whether to accept it.

What happens in the time between the union vote and the implementation of a new contract?

Until a contract is negotiated and accepted by the union, Lee Enterprises cannot change the terms of our employment, like salaries and benefits. But some changes can be agreed upon as we work toward a complete and full contract.

What happens if you don’t settle on a contract?

If the local union walks away during negotiations, the union and the contract efforts effectively will end.

Does a union guarantee changes to the newsroom’s working conditions?

No. The union guarantees solidarity and collective action by the newsroom staff, which we firmly believe is needed to protect the future of the Star-Tribune. We will endeavor to convince Lee Enterprises to meet us in good faith to settle on a deal that will benefit us all. They don’t have to agree to anything. Neither do we.

Will forming a union bring in some unknown representative from Colorado?

It’s important to note that while we would be underneath the umbrella of the Denver News Guild, the Star-Tribune newsroom staff will be the union. We will largely represent ourselves, which is our goal. We will work as the Casper News Guild to protect and strengthen Casper and Wyoming news.

Will a union protect the Star-Tribune from layoffs?

No. But the way in which the company handles any future layoffs will depend on what is negotiated between Lee Enterprises and us. For instance, we may negotiate prior notice or consultation before any of our coworkers are served pink slips.