All posts by Jeff

Paxton Media Group to buy The Southern Illinoisan, but not retain Guild-represented journalists

The United Media Guild was notified on Friday, Oct. 27 that Lee Enterprises has sold The Southern Illinoisan to Paxton Media Group.The announcement was made via a press release which employees of The Southern saw publicly posted on social media...

NewsGuild Locals condemn Lee Enterprises for reducing its commitment to local journalism

The United Media Guild represents workers at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Southern Illinoisan, two newspapers owned by Lee Enterprises. The Southern Illinoisan has been especially hard hit by the company's reduced commitment to the print edition, which is...

UMG to hold nominations meeting on June 8 for TNG Sector Conference, CWA Convention

The United Media Guild will meet to accept nominations for The NewsGuild Sector Conference and the CWA Convention on June 8 at 6 p.m.  at 1015 Locust, Suite 735 in St. Louis. Members can also make nominations via email to...

Post-Dispatch members decline Lee Enterprises’ furlough request

Guild members at the Post-Dispatch voted 48-11 on Wednesday to decline Lee's request for two weeks of unpaid furlough. The vote was held digitally via Election Runner Per our collective bargaining agreement with Lee, the company could not impose furloughs...

Guild urges Post-Dispatch members to reject Lee’s furlough request

The executive committee of the Post-Dispatch unit of the United Media Guild has been working over the past two weeks on the proposal by Lee management that asks our members to approve a plan that calls for each of our...

Some Post-Dispatch retirees will now receive their pension payments through an insurance company

Some Post-Dispatch retirees will start receiving their monthly pension payments from an insurance company instead of the Lee Enterprises pension plan. Lee Enterprises purchased group annuity contracts from insurance companies to transfer $86 million in pension fund liabilities. Such “lift...

Lee Enterprises rejects offer from Alden, touts its growth potential

Lee Enterprises continues to fight the hostile takeover bid from Alden Global Capital. Its Board of Directors rejected Alden’s bid of $24 per share after denying its bid to nominate three directors, citing its procedural errors. In late November Lee...