Union prevails in newspaper election

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9583067

By George Avalos
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/13/2008 10:39:57 PM PDT

staff writer

Journalists in the East Bay and San Mateo County have voted to be represented by a local newspaper union, the National Labor Relations Board announced Friday night.

The vote was 104 to 92 in favor of the union, the NLRB said. The vote marked the latest development in a union-led drive to organize journalists employed by papers in the region, including those employed by this paper.

The workers are employed by Bay Area News Group-East Bay, which operates a chain of newspapers, including this newspaper, as well as targeted publications and Web sites in the area.

"It's great," said Karl Fischer, a union organizer and a journalist employed by BANG-East Bay. "We are better prepared to move forward given the market conditions. We are really looking forward to working with management to become the fast and flexible newspaper we can be."

Eight ballots were challenged. The NLRB conducted the election, which was held to determine if Northern California Media Workers Guild would represent the employees.

"Kevin Keane (the executive editor of BANG-East Bay) and I are disappointed, of course, because we feel a union-free environment is best for our employees," said John Armstrong, president and publisher of BANG-East Bay. "My concern is this will usher in a period of uncertainty. I fear this will create divisiveness in our newsroom. But it's the job of leadership to overcome that and keep this company moving forward."


FULL story at link.