NLRB certifies Santa Barbara vote

19 Aug 2007

The Associated Press

SANTA BARBARA A federal agency has certified a contested union election at the Santa Barbara News-Press where dozens of newsroom employees have either quit or been fired over the past year.

The National Labor Relations Board has unanimously rejected arguments made by newspaper management that unfair organizing tactics were used during a September election in which newsroom employees voted 33-6 in favor of joining the Graphics Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The ruling means the union can bargain with the newspaper.

"The union and the employees are pleased that the board has made this decision, and we look forward to sitting down and bargaining with the company", said Marty Keegan, lead organizer for the union.

A phone message left for attorney Barry Cappello, who represents the newspaper's parent company, was not immediately returned Friday.

The decision comes amid charges by the NLRB that the newspaper improperly fired eight reporters, six of whom hung a sign over a highway overpass earlier this year urging passers-by to cancel their subscriptions. The hearing began on Tuesday and will conclude next month.

The News-Press has been embroiled in controversy since July 2006, when several top editors quit, saying publisher Wendy McCaw meddled with news coverage. The paper countered that the former employees had let their personal opinions influence news decisions.

The union election occurred in September, but many of those who voted have since left. In March, an administrative law judge upheld the election. The newspaper appealed the decision, which led to Thursday's ruling.

Despite the exodus, the newspaper must negotiate with the union, said NLRB spokesman Tony Bisceglia. However, the paper can ask for decertification in a year if a deal isn't reached and the current employees don't want to be represented by a union, Bisceglia said.