Unifor Local 2000 fights to save journalism jobs
By Nelson Daily Staff
The future of journalism is under attack after the owner of the Vancouver Sun and The Province issued layoff notices to 54 people last week.
Unifor Local 2000 is aggressively fighting these layoffs that, combined with 38 voluntary buyouts in January, will reduce staff from 220 to just 128 — a 42 per cent reduction in just a few months.
In the 1990s, there were more than 2,000 people working at both papers.
Unifor Local 2000 said Postmedia, the company that owns both papers, has handed out millions in “retention” bonuses to its top executives, two of whom have already left the company.
“The hard-working people at the Sun and Province don’t deserve this,” Unifor Local 2000 said on its website.
“When we lose nearly half the staff, the newspapers suffer, and trusted voices in Canada’s media disappear. When asked how the work will get done with so few staff left, management has already indicated that stories won’t be written and photos won’t be taken.”
The union said it’s not just the Sun and Province that are facing job cuts.
Black Press, owner of the Nelson Star, Castlegar News, Grand Forks Gazette and Trail Times, is “consolidating” its two community newspapers in Surrey and effectively closing the Surrey Leader.
The union said Black Press is also laying off what’s left the creative services staff at the Lower Mainland papers and shipping those jobs to the U.S.
“Local journalism is too important to lose – our democracy depends on it,” Unifor Local 2000 said.
“Please show your support for these hard-working journalists, copy editors, sales reps, ad producers, IT staff and others who risk losing their jobs.
“We’re asking people to replace their Facebook and Twitter profile pics with this image to show your support for local news. For more information on what you can do to help local journalism, go to www.mediaactionplan.ca.
