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Local and National News
Hoffa: Missouri voters side with unions against corporate effort to impoverish workers
August 8, 2018 | Missouri voters defeated Proposition A on the statewide ballot yesterday, which ensures workers will be able to continue to come together to negotiate contracts that pay more, bring better benefits and protect their safety on the job. “The people of Missouri on Tuesday showed big business and its legislative cronies that they won’t be forced to endure a policy pushed by corporate interests that would result in greater company profits but fewer dollars in the pockets of hardworking people in the Show Me state… less than a third of voters supported the anti-worker policy. That is a resounding defeat, and one that big business should take heed of as it continues its efforts to tamp down on collective bargaining elsewhere… Teamsters Buyers circling Balt. Sun parent company,Tribune, after split with L.A. Times
July 5, 2018 | “The L.A. Times was their flagship paper,” said Doug Arthur, an analyst at Huber Research Partners LLC. “When you take out the flagship, what are you left with?” What’s left has caught the eye of potential suitors. Hearst Corp., owner of the Houston Chronicle and other daily newspapers, is interested in buying some of Tronc’s titles but not the company… BloombergOlder news items can be viewed at 888 News.
Feb. 7, 2018 | The Chicago-based owner of the Los Angeles Times completed its sale of the newspaper on Wednesday in a surprise move that probably spells the end of its long-troubled relationship with Southern California’s leading news outlet. The buyer is Patrick Soon-Shiong, a Los Angeles-area physician and a major shareholder of the paper’s former parent company, Tronc. As part of the $500 million deal, he will also buy its sister newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune…. Washington Post Mar. 12, 2018 | [Last] Thursday marked a day of reckoning for Tronc. The company — the last big public newspaper company to report year-end earnings — released those numbers for 2017. They weren’t good, as I had signaled in my earlier reporting on the chaos at and subsequent sale of the Los Angeles Times. But what followed seems to be much more than a reaction to that report. In a single stunning trading session, Tronc lost almost a quarter of its market value — or $160 million, down 24 percent.… Neiman Lab June 29, 2018 | After one of the most lampooned rebrandings of the digital era, Tronc is going to return to the name Tribune Publishing. An insider said that the name change for the parent company of the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News was awaiting the completion of Tronc’s spinoff of the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune and several other papers in its California Media Group to health tech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong… MarketWatch Feb. 7, 2018 | The Chicago-based owner of the Los Angeles Times completed its sale of the newspaper on Wednesday in a surprise move that probably spells the end of its long-troubled relationship with Southern California’s leading news outlet. The buyer is Patrick Soon-Shiong, a Los Angeles-area physician and a major shareholder of the paper’s former parent company, Tronc. As part of the $500 million deal, he will also buy its sister newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune…. Washington Post Mar. 12, 2018 | [Last] Thursday marked a day of reckoning for Tronc. The company — the last big public newspaper company to report year-end earnings — released those numbers for 2017. They weren’t good, as I had signaled in my earlier reporting on the chaos at and subsequent sale of the Los Angeles Times. But what followed seems to be much more than a reaction to that report. In a single stunning trading session, Tronc lost almost a quarter of its market value — or $160 million, down 24 percent.… Neiman Lab June 29, 2018 | After one of the most lampooned rebrandings of the digital era, Tronc is going to return to the name Tribune Publishing. An insider said that the name change for the parent company of the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News was awaiting the completion of Tronc’s spinoff of the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune and several other papers in its California Media Group to health tech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong… MarketWatch
Elsewhere in The News
August 13, 2018 | WORKERS’ RIGHTS | …What the win in Missouri has taught the broader labor movement is that a sustained, well-financed campaign can educate a largely non-union electorate about “right to work” laws, successfully, and truthfully, recasting them as anti-worker. Labor’s victory in the state also provides the wider movement with more evidence that, despite a series of setbacks in the courts and state legislatures, the public stands with it on key issues… The American Prospect
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August 9, 2018 | OPINION | Unions improve wages, benefits and working conditions for their members. But it’s not just to members’ advantage. Collective bargaining affects pay standards across entire industries, meaning even nonunion workers benefit. Unions also secure legislation that protects all workers, from workplace safety guidelines to a guaranteed weekend. And they reduce gender and racial wage gaps across industries, which contributes to broader equality in society… The New York Times
August 8, 2018 | WORKERS’ RIGHTS | Voters in Missouri rejected a state law banning the union shop by a two-to-one margin in the Aug. 7 primary. Proposition A, which would have allowed the so-called “right to work” law enacted last year to go into effect, lost by almost 500,000 votes out of 1.4 million cast. The measure, which would have let employees refuse to pay dues or fees to the union representing them, got only 32.5% of the vote. “It’s a truly historic moment,” Missouri AFL-CIO President Mike Louis said in a statement. He credited the “thousands of hardworking men and women” who “knocked on more than 800,000 doors, made more than 1 million phone calls, and talked to working people on more than 1,000 different job sites.” Unions, including the national AFL-CIO, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Teamsters, and the United Food & Commercial Workers, raised about $20 million for the repeal campaign… Labor Press
August 7, 2018 | WAR ON WORKERS | … The statewide vote in Tuesday’s primary on a so-called right-to-work law could be a watershed moment for unions, if they can halt what has been a steady erosion of strength in states with historically deep-rooted support. “The timing of this is essential. I think everyone wants to write the labor movement’s obituary,” national AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Liz Shuler said. But “it’s going to energize and activate us and show that we fight back.” If they lose that fight, Missouri will become the 28th state with a law that prohibits labor groups and employers from forcing workers to pay mandatory union fees... Associated Press
