The company eased up on its request for an earlier deadline; so voting on whether the second-quarter furloughs should be taken is set for all day Wednesday, April 1. Please adjust your schedules accordingly and pay attention to the details in this e-mail. Our special election committee met Sunday to hash out a game plan, so here goes:
Voting will be in person at:
- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Downtown (Musicians Hall, 325 N Delaware St.)
- 3:15-3:45 p.m. at North Bureau in Fishers (yes, we are coming to you)
- 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Downtown (Musicians Hall)
- (Folks in the West and South zones, please come into the city and cast your ballot, and thanks for the extra effort!)
Anyone who is out of town on Wednesday can vote by e-mail (reply to this account). E-mail votes must be received by 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 1. They must include a telephone number where the Guild can contact the member to verify the vote. A plus if you vote in person: You get your new 2009 Guild card before anyone else!
Remember, only dues-paying members can vote. However, anyone who is not a member can fill out the paperwork to join on-the-spot and will be allowed to vote.
Lastly: You may be asking, or thinking, about the Indy News Guild’s position on the second-quarter furloughs. In trying to conduct our version of due diligence, we’ve been given a fairly dramatic what-if scenario. What if we all vote no? The company told us in an e-mail over the weekend that they would have to cut an estimated 20 to 25 jobs out of the 204-person bargaining unit (which includes newsies and our friends in building services) to achieve their cost savings.
A majority of Guild officers — who provided NO endorsement during the vote for the first-quarter furlough back in January — now recommend a “yes” vote for round 2. It’s the best of a bad lot of options, but the one that keeps us all employed and the newspaper functioning. We all hope a cooperative spirit also will help at the bargaining table; remember, a much more heinous 15 percent wage cut is looming before us as part of contract talks that resume April 14-15. Is the company still serious about that? We’ll see. Make sure you vote and raise questions to Publisher Michael Kane during his April 2 meeting with Star employees.
On behalf of the officers and stewards and election team of Indy News Guild 34070:
Tom Spalding, president
Indianapolis NewsGuild 
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