Happy Holidays from the Journalists of your York Daily Record/Sunday News

We hope that you enjoy the holiday season. As journalists, we are proud to bring you YOUR morning and Sunday newspaper. With such a newsy county, it’s no coincidence that we’re the best morning newspaper in Central Pennsylvania.

We’re a good paper because we have good people. Our local union – York Local 38218 of the Newspaper Guild – Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, and CLC – makes sure it stays that way. While nobody gets rich doing this job, we enjoy and take pride in bringing you the news every day. Just like you, we are workers who want to make a decent living wage and enjoy reasonable health care and other benefits. We live, work and pay taxes in York County.

But something scary happened. More than a year ago, a corporation called MediaNews Group (based in Denver) purchased the newspaper from our previous owners. First, they announced plans to move the newsroom out of our home in downtown York, a move union members do not support. Now we are in contract talks, and MediaNews Group has brought in well-known union busters from Nashville, Tennessee to tear down our contract, strip away our benefits and alter our newsroom culture significantly.

Their proposals include:

* A Wage Freeze;
* Reducing the mileage reimbursement;
* No shift differential for those working nights or weekends;
* Major wage reductions for night workers;
* Less vacation time;
* A sick leave policy that strips our members of 857 banked sick days;
* No long-term disability plan (A plan members are willing to help fund);
* Fewer paid vacation days;
* Management rights that would significantly weaken our union and its ability to represent our members;
* Eliminating severance pay (This is a real slap in the face to our members who have dedicated decades to this newspaper);
* and, sadly many more proposals that would harm our working conditions.

What will happen if these proposals become our reality? The talented, capable people who bring you the newspaper are not likely to stay. In the newspaper business, when a newspaper treats its employees badly – the employees usually move to another paper. The people who replace them aren’t as knowledgeable about the area, or the people who live there. They don’t have contacts or sources cultivated over a span of years. The current staffs use these tools to bring you the best possible news, every day.

WE'RE YORK COUNTY - THEY'RE NOT!

You should expect the best from the morning and Sunday newspaper, and we hope to continue to bring it to our readers. We’ll do our best to give you:


• Interesting, informative stories, written in a way that makes you want to read them.

• Coverage of political leaders that makes them accountable to you - the people who put them in office. We will also continue to keep an eye on how they’re spending your tax dollars.

• Events around the county, the state, the country and the world. We will continue to bring you insightful commentary about the issues and events you care about.

• Information you can be confident in, so you can make the YDR/SN your main news source.

• Top-notch, sports coverage.

• Fun things to do with your family, new recipes to follow and the best bands in the area. You can find them all (and more) in our features section or our weekly Flipside magazine.

• Our photographers and graphic designers will give you plenty to look at with every edition.

York County is a great place. It deserves great newspapers. We’re asking for your support in this fight for our rights, wages and benefits. We urge you to write a letter to the editor (letters@ydr.com, letters@yorkdispatch.com), telling the new owners that you support the journalists who bring you the news every day, and believe they deserve a fair contract. You can also call Jim McClure, Fred Uffelman and Randy Parker at (717) 771-2000 and let them know you support union members. Support your local newspaper union, and we’ll continue to support and inform you. Remember, We're York County - MediaNews Group is not!

Thanks in advance standing up for worker’s rights and for your local journalists. Please pick up the latest issue of the YDR/SN to get more information, check out our Web site, www.ydr.com, or cruise our newest online feature, www.yorkblog.com. In addition, please support union members at the afternoon newspaper by picking up a copy of the York Dispatch or surfing their Web site, www.yorkdispatch.com. Have a wonderful holiday season!


Members of the York Newspaper Guild, Local # 38218 of the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, CLC
P.O. Box 527, York PA 17405 local38218@yahoo.com

WE'RE YORK COUNTY - THEY'RE NOT!
THIS POSTING IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. IT IS NOT A REQUEST TO DENY SERVICES OR STOP WORK. PLEASE KEEP READING THE YDR/SN.