City and state leaders will join employees of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and supporters at a rally Thursday, April 6, to ensure the 157-year-old newspaper remains a strong asset of Minnesota's capital city, despite its pending sale.
The rally will start at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Pioneer Press building, 345 Cedar St., in downtown St. Paul. Organizers have commitments from St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, among others, they said.
Pioneer Press workers also have launched a Web site, www.savethepioneerpress.com and placed a half-page ad in their newspaper.
"We want people to know that a strong Pioneer Press is a crucial part of keeping the city of St. Paul strong," said Scott Carlson, chairman of the Pioneer Press unit of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union. "Some possible buyers would weaken the paper simply to squeeze out increasing profits ? and that would seriously hinder the paper's ability to serve the community."
The web site aims to encourage community members to support a worker-friendly company's bid to buy the Pioneer Press and 11 other newspapers. On March 12, McClatchy Co., a newspaper chain based in Sacramento, Calif., announced it will acquire Knight Ridder Inc., current owner of the Pioneer Press. McClatchy owns the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune and said it would sell the Pioneer Press and 11 other current Knight Ridder properties, including the Duluth News Tribune and the Grand Forks, N.D., Herald, as part of the deal.
The Web site and ad explain the real risk that the quality of the Pioneer Press could suffer if McClatchy sells to an owner bent on squeezing increasing profits from the successful business. Both encourage readers to contact McClatchy, thank CEO Gary Pruitt for his support of strong journalism ? and ask him to sell the paper to the Yucaipa Cos.
If Yucaipa succeeds in buying the Pioneer Press and the other papers, it will form a new media company and offer workers at the newspapers it acquires the chance to invest directly in the company through their retirement savings plans. Yucaipa is a private-equity firm with a strong history of investing in businesses that support their workers.
If Yucaipa succeeds, the partnership would extend to everyone ? managers and union workers alike ? at the Pioneer Press and the other newspapers McClatchy is selling. The Yucaipa partnership has been made possible by The Newspaper Guild-CWA, but the Guild is not itself a buyer and will not own any part of any newspaper if the plan succeeds.
The Yucaipa partnership has been unanimously endorsed by the Representative Assembly of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union, which represents employees at the Pioneer Press, Star Tribune and other state publications; by the leadership of the Pioneer Press Guild unit; and by the Knight Ridder Council, a committee made up of union leaders from Knight Ridder newspapers.
In Duluth, employees of the News Tribune have the support of both Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson and Superior, Wis., Mayor Dave Ross, said Steve Kuchera, president of the Lake Superior Newspaper Guild, which represents more than 100 News Tribune employees.
"It would be far preferable to be bought by Yucaipa Companies than by some of the other groups that have expressed an interest and would likely slash wages and benefits and harm the quality of the paper," Kuchera said.
Information about the Duluth News Tribune reported by Duluth Labor World editor Larry Sillanpa.
Share
City and state leaders will join employees of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and supporters at a rally Thursday, April 6, to ensure the 157-year-old newspaper remains a strong asset of Minnesota’s capital city, despite its pending sale.
The rally will start at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Pioneer Press building, 345 Cedar St., in downtown St. Paul. Organizers have commitments from St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, among others, they said.
Pioneer Press workers also have launched a Web site, www.savethepioneerpress.com and placed a half-page ad in their newspaper.
“We want people to know that a strong Pioneer Press is a crucial part of keeping the city of St. Paul strong,” said Scott Carlson, chairman of the Pioneer Press unit of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union. “Some possible buyers would weaken the paper simply to squeeze out increasing profits ? and that would seriously hinder the paper’s ability to serve the community.”
The web site aims to encourage community members to support a worker-friendly company’s bid to buy the Pioneer Press and 11 other newspapers. On March 12, McClatchy Co., a newspaper chain based in Sacramento, Calif., announced it will acquire Knight Ridder Inc., current owner of the Pioneer Press. McClatchy owns the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune and said it would sell the Pioneer Press and 11 other current Knight Ridder properties, including the Duluth News Tribune and the Grand Forks, N.D., Herald, as part of the deal.
The Web site and ad explain the real risk that the quality of the Pioneer Press could suffer if McClatchy sells to an owner bent on squeezing increasing profits from the successful business. Both encourage readers to contact McClatchy, thank CEO Gary Pruitt for his support of strong journalism ? and ask him to sell the paper to the Yucaipa Cos.
If Yucaipa succeeds in buying the Pioneer Press and the other papers, it will form a new media company and offer workers at the newspapers it acquires the chance to invest directly in the company through their retirement savings plans. Yucaipa is a private-equity firm with a strong history of investing in businesses that support their workers.
If Yucaipa succeeds, the partnership would extend to everyone ? managers and union workers alike ? at the Pioneer Press and the other newspapers McClatchy is selling. The Yucaipa partnership has been made possible by The Newspaper Guild-CWA, but the Guild is not itself a buyer and will not own any part of any newspaper if the plan succeeds.
The Yucaipa partnership has been unanimously endorsed by the Representative Assembly of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union, which represents employees at the Pioneer Press, Star Tribune and other state publications; by the leadership of the Pioneer Press Guild unit; and by the Knight Ridder Council, a committee made up of union leaders from Knight Ridder newspapers.
In Duluth, employees of the News Tribune have the support of both Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson and Superior, Wis., Mayor Dave Ross, said Steve Kuchera, president of the Lake Superior Newspaper Guild, which represents more than 100 News Tribune employees.
“It would be far preferable to be bought by Yucaipa Companies than by some of the other groups that have expressed an interest and would likely slash wages and benefits and harm the quality of the paper,” Kuchera said.
Information about the Duluth News Tribune reported by Duluth Labor World editor Larry Sillanpa.