GLOBE UNIT BULLETIN

Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild

Blaming employees is not the answer

There is no denying The Globe is struggling, perhaps failing financially. We get it. But a blame-shifting approach wont fix The Globes very serious problems. Characterizing Globe employees as having a sense of entitlement and suggesting that the collective agreement is somehow impeding the companys success is negative, confrontational and counter-productive. To be sure, theres a new agreement to be negotiated. It should safeguard employee rights, protect The Globes most valuable asset, its reputation, enhance the business, improve our work environment, and bring The Globe and Mail into the 21st century as a dynamic, exciting, rewarding news organization. We all want to see The Globe thrive among other modern, digital organizations where talent, innovation and dedication of staff drive success. There are issues and concerns on both sides that need fixing, including revolving-door senior management, disorganized and dispirited middle managers, loss of talent and declines in quality and customer service, to name a few. Outsourcing comes at a cost. Its substandard editing by Pagemasters and shoddy customer service from the Caribbean call centre that hurts The Globes reputation and its future, not a culture where editors are putting in 14 hour days to save the company money. We dont need high-priced consultants to tell us that the call centre is a disaster and that circulation needs an overhaul we suggested the same fixes a year ago. Every department is feeling the effects of cuts and ill-considered changes. In advertising, commissions and territories are arbitrarily changed, undermining longstanding relationships with key advertisers. Managers completely failed to plan for staffing after the VSP, creating staffing shortages so severe that phones are going unanswered. The Guild wants the best for The Globe and all its employees. Lets move ahead with honest, straightforward, meaningful talks on a new agreement thats good for everyone. The Guild at The Globe is now part of Unifor, with more than 300,000 members across Canada and more than enough financial reserves to protect employee rights and back our intention to negotiate improvements in a new contract next year. Sue Andrew Unit Chair If you did not receive this bulletin at home, please forward your home email address to sueandrew@rogers.com September 25, 2013
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