Okay, so it’s not really a rumor but a funny. Or a saddy. Depending upon your point of view.
The new publisher is trying like hell to save face with his fancy social circle. So what’s he done? Made it mandatory for the press unit to show up 30 minutes early today to hear a Metro United Way presentation. (Though, this does seem to be a problem with printing and newsrooms across the Gannett world.)
We’ve been fans of MUW, as everyone knows quite well, but this is silly. Employees had no option to give up the 30 minutes of pay (i.e., donating it to MUW) and were not permitted to avoid their spiel.
Why the stunt to appear like a local newspaper is an ardent supporter of MUW? Why not give employees the option to support whatever charity they want? And why treat underlings poorly when they don’t want to support the charity you’re trying to force them to support?
No wonder morale continues to dive off a cliff.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Linda // Oct 17, 2012 at 10:06 am
State employees get the same bum rush for UW. Check out KECC.
2 Cavemouse // Oct 17, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Wage and Hour would love to hear that – just ask City governement when they had to pay the police when forced to come early. The fines are not too shabby either.
3 Richard S. // Oct 17, 2012 at 1:18 pm
I think that’s pretty standard around town; I once worked for another media outlet in Louisville and they did the same thing. I did get the feeling of being pressured to contribute, though, what with the convenient payroll deduction and all.
4 mike heine // Oct 17, 2012 at 4:10 pm
We are getting paid for coming in early. our production schedule does not leave 30 minutes open during the shift for presentation. Don’t want your morning paper late.
The bothersome part is being forced in to listen to a spiel that we have no intention of buying into.
This is not the request of a single person but the entire crew.
We, as a unit, put the WHAS Crusade for Children first. If you’ll remember, it was started by the folks that used to own the
C-J.
When Madonna Flood asked for donations for our overseas troops these few guys filled the back seat of my Explorer. We are not slackers. Yet, because we as a group do not participate in the Company’s pet project, we catch the ire of upper management.
We just have no urge to give our management a seat at the glory hole of high society.
I offered the option of CJ donating my 30 minutes of pay & allowing me to come in at regular time. Was told no.
5 Earl // Oct 18, 2012 at 2:06 pm
Metro and the old City of Louisville require attendance at separate meetings for the United Way, Crusade, and Fund for the Arts.
All came with donor cards already pre-printed with your name, address, employee ID#, and I believe they even had your SSN on them at one time. You were ‘required’ to finish filling them out and sign them, whether you wished to donate or not.
I’ll donate when I think of it as my idea to donate, and rarely under those circumstances. I would make it a point in later years to ask to be removed from marketing lists. Those requests always went unheeded.
I’m pretty sure their tactics cost them a boatload of donations that would have come, had the city and charities used a soft sell on the employees.
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