P-I official: Publication won't cease before March 18

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Contrary to rampant rumors that Hearst might shut down the print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer as soon as this Saturday, March 7, P-I labor relations rep Matt Lynch tells the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild that everyone should assume that March 18 will be the last day of publication and the last day of work for most employees, writes the union's administrative office, Liz Brown. In a memo to P-I staffers, Brown points out: "Remember, the WARN Act notice said the P-I would cease publication 'no sooner than March 18 and no later than April 1.'"

The memo Brown sent this week, in its entirety:

Guild-CWA

Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 5:31 PM
To: xxxxxx
Subject: The P-I and the future of other ventures

From Guild Administrative Officer Liz Brown:

Today I spoke with Matt Lynch, the P-I's labor relations representative, about a couple of issues people have raised in recent weeks.

The first is, why don't we have a job end date or a 30-day layoff notice?

The answer to the layoff notice is that the Reduction in Force clause of the contract, which requires notice of layoff four weeks in advance, is not in effect, under the terms of the severance agreement we signed with the employer.

As to the job end date, Lynch says everyone should assume that March 18 will be the last date of publication and the last date of work for most people. Remember, the WARN Act notice said the P-I would cease publication "no sooner than March 18 and no later than April 1."

The other issue is whether P-I employees put themselves and their severance at risk by engaging in efforts to start other news ventures, including web sites.

Lynch said his advice, and advice from Publisher Roger Oglesby, is for people to be patient to avoid causing potential conflicts with the language in the contract's outside activities clause.

The language reads: "Any employee is free to engage in outside activities, provided this is done on his/her own time and with his/her own equipment and does not conflict with his/her regular duties, and provided such endeavor is not in direct competition with the Publisher.

"No employee shall exploit his/her connection with the Publisher in the course of such activities without the permission of the Publisher. Prior notice to the Publisher is required before performance of outside activities that may emanate from status as a Post-Intelligencer employee."

I would encourage everyone to continue to meet their obligations to the P-I without running afoul of the above language.

Of course, as members of a labor union you have the right to engage in concerted activity, including efforts to call the community's attention to the silencing of another media voice and its impact on journalism in Seattle. In my opinion, all the public or private efforts of our members that I have seen thus far fall under the category of protected concerted activity.