Eastbay Journalists Unionize

Journalists at MediaNews Unionize

A majority of newsroom workers at the largest newspaper company in the Bay Area have voted to create a new unit of The Newspaper Guild-CWA. The election capped a nine-month organizing drive by news workers at properties including the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times owned by Denver-based MediaNews Group.

Last August MediaNews withdrew recognition from the previous union, the 20-year-old Guild unit at ANG Newspapers, which included the Oakland Tribune and four other East Bay dailies. In response, journalists across the East Bay came together to create the new union, dubbing the campaign “One Big BANG: One Guild Universe.” (See http://onebigbang.org) Their new Guild unit will be represented by the Northern California Media Workers Guild for collective bargaining on pay, benefits and work conditions.

New Grandson

More photos of Solomon’s First Day

Today was quite a day and I am tired. Today was the birth of grandchild number six, Soloman Sloan. I have covered the day in several ways:

• The day in pictures on Flickr
• The trip in pictures on Flickr
• My Twitter Feed
• My Family Blog

I am too tired to do or say more. Wow, what a day!

I am up in Washington

I am up in Washington and we have a grandchild coming today. This is grandchild number 6!

I will be posting updates on the trip and birth on my family blog and on my twitter stream.

~Steve

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day Everybody
This is after all the first and traditional Labor Day is today. May Day is synonymous with International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labor movement.

Contract Training for Managers

HR 101 The New CSUEU Contract: An Interactive Presentation…

By sjsupao@sjsu.edu (Office of Communications & Public Affairs) on Professional Development

The New CSUEU Contract: An Interactive Presentation & Discussion for Managers

This is for managers (tell your boss)
The new CSUEU contract has many changes, some of which are substantial. In addition, a number of items have been amended after the final ratification of the contract. Come to our interactive open forum to learn more about the changes and discuss the contract and related issues.

**Open only to MPPs**
Start Date/Time:6/28/2007 10:00:00   End Date/Time:6/28/2007 11:30:00 PST

Start Date/Time:    06/28/2007 10:00 AM
End Date/Time:    06/28/2007 11:30 AM
Location:    Clark Hall 547
Contact:     Lindsay Hamm
Email:     lindsay.hamm@sjsu.edu
More Info:     408-924-2141
Price:     Free

Off on Vacation

Thunder over the Mountain
This is what I saw on my way north. It was not that long after this that I was driving through hail so hard and so furious I was afraid it would break my windshield. The hail sounded like pieces of gravel being peppered on the glass. It was both frightening and awesome.

I will be back on June 18. Vacation Posts Are Here!

Christmas Video by MoveOn

Click Here to send a MoveOn Holiday Card via e-mail.

A matter of free speech

From Stephen Pearcy:
“When public support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq was at its peak, my wife and I voiced dissent in a very public way. For that, we were demonized by the media and attacked by conservative hate mongers while law enforcement looked the other way.

The video linked below shows the media praising people who vandalized and stole our property. It also shows how the Sacramento District Attorney sent a strong public a message that vandalisms to our property would not be prosecuted.

The facts are presented the way they should have been reported–that is, without the right wing spin.”

You can view the video here.

Stephen S. Pearcy
Attorney and Peace Activist
Berkeley, CA

Yesterday I went to E-bayU

Yesterday I went to CSU Ebay
I am working on a project for the union that involves going to various campuses and photographing people and events there. Yesterday I went to Hayward. Tomorrow I am going to Sacramento. The last time I was at the Hayward campus was when my sister graduated from college there. I think that was in the late 1960’s.

Camera Phones for a Safer Campus

Camera Phone Post: Great tool for safer conditions
Unsafe work or study conditions can be documented very easily with camera phones. The problem with just verbally reporting problems is that often by the time the person investigating the issue gets to the scene, the problem has gone away. Some problems are very dependent on specific conditions. Camera phones provide a time stamped record of an unsafe condition, such as the trip hazard shown here.