Wall Street Journal reporters protest possible sale
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/321751_wsjprotest29.html
Wall Street Journal reporters skipped work Thursday morning
to demonstrate the need for editorial independence as owner
Dow Jones & Co. weighs a $5 billion offer from Rupert Murdoch,
the employees' union said.
Some Wall Street Journal employees across the country didn't
show up for work, the IAPE-CWA union said Thursday in a
prepared statement, also citing languishing pay talks.
The walkout won't affect Dow Jones' talks with Murdoch's
News Corp. or publication of Friday's Journal, company spokeswoman
Andrea Grinbaum said.
The union said the Journal's tradition of independence is threatened.
Employees also are protesting New York-based Dow Jones'
proposal to cut health benefits and limit pay.
Dow Jones and the union are in contract talks at the same time
the board considers a $60-a-share offer for the company from
News Corp. The last contract expired in February.
"There has been a building concern about both of these issues,
and we just decided it was an appropriate time to do something
on both counts," E.S. Browning, a union representative and
28-year Journal veteran, said.
Union President Steve Yount said he didn't know how many workers
didn't show up. They returned in the afternoon.
The IAPE Local 1096 of The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers
of America represents about 2,000 Dow Jones workers at
The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires and Barron's.
In New York, about 50 employees gathered in the Journal's
lobby around 2 p.m. before returning to work together.
"Everyone here is worried about Murdoch, but it's more about
the contract," said Paul Antonson, a designer who works for
the wsj.com Web site.
Shares of Dow Jones fell 76 cents to $57.80 in New York Stock Exchange
composite trading. Murdoch's bid represents a 65 percent premium to
Dow Jones' closing price on April 30, the day before the offer
was made public.
This month, Dow Jones made 135 managers eligible for a
year's severance pay if they are fired within two years
of a change of control at the company. About 850
other employees will be offered a minimum 12 weeks'
pay if they are fired under similar circumstances.
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