By: Workers at the Santa Barbara News-Press who are pushing for union representation on Tuesday called for readers to cancel subscriptions to protest what they described as management intimidation, and claimed at least 3,000 had canceled subscriptions.
At a rally attended by about 50 people, the mayor of neighboring Goleta said she would end her nearly 40-year subscription. Jonny Wallis accused management of "taking punitive actions against reporters just for doing their jobs."
Organizers with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which is trying to represent paper employees, said at least 3,000 readers had canceled subscriptions since management-staff tensions erupted publicly over the summer.
In a written statement, the newspaper called the cancellation claim "an outright lie," adding there had been no significant decline in its 41,000 circulation.
More than a dozen employees, including top editors, have resigned in July, claiming News-Press owner Wendy McCaw meddled with editorial content. McCaw countered that workers had tainted coverage with personal opinions.
Both sides have filed unfair-practices complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming intimidation and harassment.
Last week, 11 workers were advised that they could be suspended for two days after staging an "intimidating and disruptive" march through the office, the newspaper said.
The union said workers were being punished for delivering a letter to McCaw's office Aug. 24 urging the paper to recognize the union.
Both sides said weekend meetings failed to resolve the workplace issues.
Teamsters attorney Ira Gottlieb said union and management both gave federal officials a Sept. 26 target date for a union election.
"We're hoping that there won't be any delay," Gottlieb said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here