GR EXTRA!

Guild ads link news quality risk to illegal pay cuts by Thomson Reuters

08 Feb 2010

New York Guild

Guild members in Times Square.

The union representing U.S.-based employees at Thomson Reuters Corp. (NYSE: TRI; TSX: TRI) today launched a multimedia campaign that asks whether the company’s illegal imposition of nearly 10 percent in pay cuts on its journalists and other employees will reduce the quality of Reuters news and information. 

Billboard trucks will roll daily through Manhattan’s financial district and midtown with the message: “Reuters is bad news for its employees. Is it bad for your bottom line?” The billboards refer readers to reutersexposed.com for information about the profitable global media company’s refusal to continue contract talks with the Newspaper Guild of New York, which represents about 420 of the company’s journalists, technicians and support staff throughout the country. 

The Guild also launched a targeted online campaign informing Thomson Reuters financial clients about the dispute and questioning whether the company’s strategy of attacking its staff would hurt news quality. 

Unlike many distressed newspaper companies, Thomson Reuters is financially strong. Its third-quarter 2009 underlying operating profit rose 3 percent, beating analysts’ forecasts, while underlying operating profit margin rose to more than 22 percent. And it paid its CEO Tom Glocer $36 million in 2008.  

Yet its “best” offer to the employees who report and distribute vital information to the financial community would cut compensation by nearly 10 percent – even more for some. Instead of staying at the bargaining table to acquire an equitable agreement, management negotiators declared that the talks had reached impasse on January 19 and said they would implement most of their compensation-cutting proposals during the year.  

“Company managers seem oblivious to the contradiction of asking journalists to make extraordinary efforts to cover the news clients need for crucial financial decisions, while asking them and their families to make do with less,” said Guild President Bill O’Meara.  

The Guild claims the unilateral implementation of new terms was illegal and filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, which has the authority to order the company to make whole all employees who wrongfully suffer losses. 

“We expect to prevail and force the company to restore all compensation that it’s illegally taking from our members,” O’Meara said. “Thomson Reuters justifies its actions with the usual empty rhetoric about needing flexibility to meet the challenges of the 21^st century. But its managers can and do reward performance and our members know the rhetoric is just a cover for turning a high-quality news organization into a low-paying workplace.” 

The Guild, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America, represents U.S.-based staff in print, photo, video, technical and related work at Thomson Reuters, which employs about 50,000 people worldwide and was formed when Thomson Corp. acquired London-based Reuters Group Plc in 2008.