Tribune voluntarily recognizes the Chesapeake Guild
Dec. 5, 2018 | A unionization effort by smaller community papers within the Baltimore Sun Media Group was voluntarily recognized by parent company Tribune Publishing, clearing the way for contract negotiations between the two sides. Reporters from The Capital in Annapolis, The Carroll County Times, The Aegis in Harford County, SoundOff! at Fort Meade and other Baltimore Sun Media Group journalists last month announced the formation of the Chesapeake New Guild… Management at both Tribune and Baltimore Sun Media Group did not try to run any interference on the union effort or dissuade participation… Baltimore Fishbowl

Hoffa: China needs to make real change to fix trade inequities with U.S.
Dec. 5, 2018 | Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said in a statement today about the agreement reached this week between the U.S. and China to put additional tariffs on hold while negotiating a solution to the ongoing trade imbalance between the two nations: “…America must demand results, not just rhetoric. The U.S. needs a clear vision and must enter this process with open eyes on China revamping its trade practices. There is an urgent need for structural reform if a solution is ultimately going to be reached.” Read Hoffa’s full statement here.

Potential bidders for Tribune Publishing will team up
Nov. 28, 2018 | Two of the potential bidders for Tribune Publishing are joining forces. Will Wyatt, the former Starboard hedge fund manager who formed the Donerail Group, is teaming up with AIM Media, headed by former Chicago Sun-Times and Dallas Morning News executive Jeremy Halbreich. They’re now jointly pursuing Tribune Publishing, formerly know as Tronc, which counts the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel and the struggling New York Daily News among its holdings. H. Ross Perot, a billionaire and an independent presidential candidate in the ’90s, is among the backers of that bid. The stock closed at $14.02 on Tuesday.…… New York Post

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Tronc to ditch ridiculed name 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 It looks like Tronc is about to be chopped up, sold for parts Sept. 17, 2018 | While it still requires some deal jiu-jitsu, Tronc looks to be on the brink of being broken up. Will Wyatt’s new Donerail Group, several confidential sources tell me, has now gotten the financing in place to do a deal to buy Tronc. Donerail would purchase Tronc’s 10 daily newspaper properties, take the company private, and then most likely sell the papers off to individual buyers — some of whom it already has lined up… Neiman Lab And this: Tronc in talks to sell to McClatchy? Sept. 17, 2018 | A second firm is in talks to potentially acquire Chicago-based newspaper chain Tronc. California-based newspaper chain McClatchy is in “early stage” discussions to buy Tronc, owner of the Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers, a source familiar with the negotiations said Friday. McClatchy, a publicly traded company, generated about $904 million in revenue last year, according to filings with the SEC… Chicago Tribune

Tronc to ditch ridiculed name 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

It looks like Tronc is about to be chopped up, sold for parts Sept. 17, 2018 | While it still requires some deal jiu-jitsu, Tronc looks to be on the brink of being broken up. Will Wyatt’s new Donerail Group, several confidential sources tell me, has now gotten the financing in place to do a deal to buy Tronc. Donerail would purchase Tronc’s 10 daily newspaper properties, take the company private, and then most likely sell the papers off to individual buyers — some of whom it already has lined up… Neiman Lab

And this: Tronc in talks to sell to McClatchy? Sept. 17, 2018 | A second firm is in talks to potentially acquire Chicago-based newspaper chain Tronc. California-based newspaper chain McClatchy is in “early stage” discussions to buy Tronc, owner of the Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers, a source familiar with the negotiations said Friday. McClatchy, a publicly traded company, generated about $904 million in revenue last year, according to filings with the SEC… Chicago Tribune

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	Marriott Workers Just Ended the Largest Hotel Strike in US History Dec. 6, 2018 | STRIKES | Thousands of Marriott workers [went] back to work Wednesday after ending the largest hotel strike in US history. About 2,500 striking hotel workers in San Francisco ratified a new contract with the hotel chain on Monday after months of tense negotiations, according to their labor union Unite Here. It was the final deal reached during a two-month strike that spread to 23 Marriott hotels in eight cities… The new contracts end months of loud, heated protests outside some of America’s most iconic Marriott-owned hotels. Nearly 8,000 housekeepers, bartenders, and other service workers walked off the job at two dozen hotels in Detroit, Boston, San Diego, San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Maui, and Oahu, according to Unite Here, which represents more than 20,000 Marriott workers in the United States and Canada… Vox

	The Tax Cut Isn’t Trickling Down to Workers Dec. 5, 2018 | OPINION | Nearly one year ago, the Republican Congress passed and the president signed the controversial and partisan Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Proponents sold this law as a middle-class tax cut that would dramatically increase business investment, raise wages, and simplify the tax code. But more than 11 months later, there is little sign that any of these promises will be fulfilled. Instead, it is increasingly clear that the tax law isn’t just a wasteful giveaway — it is harming the economy, workers, and the U.S. fiscal position in important ways… MarketWatch

	Corporations Should Invest in Workers - Not Just Shareholders Dec. 3, 2018 | LABOR | Recent coverage of the collapse of Sears – the mid-20th century retail giant that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October – pointed to the major shifts in corporate treatment of their employees in the United States. Sears harkens to a time when it was understood that large corporations should share profits and benefits with workers, not just shareholders. This flashback comes at a moment where companies like Amazon are growing at an extreme pace, while its employees must choose between a living wage or access to small stock options. In Sears’s time, corporate management inside large firms treated workers as valuable contributors to corporate productivity, and unions had the bargaining power to negotiate stable living wages and robust retirement packages. But during the Reagan administration… Equal Times

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