Labour Board Ends Ming Pao Strike, Orders Arbitration

The Ontario Labour Relations Board has ordered an end to the 11-week strike at the Chinese-Canadian newspaper, Ming Pao Daily, and an arbitrator will soon impose a first contract.

The return to work follows a  scorching 13-page decision by the labour board, placing the blame for the impasse at the feet of the employer, citing management's failure to recognize the legitimacy of the union and refusing to negotiate fairly.

"This is a great victory and the strikers want to thank the community and the labour movement for the support throughout the last three months, " said Union Chair Simon Sung, a graphic artist at the newspaper.  "The families of the strikers were behind us too, and that made all of the difference."

When the strike began, the union and the company were at odds over wages and job security. During bargaining, the company laid off ten employees including the chair and vice chair of the union bargaining team. Legal proceedings regarding those layoffs continue at the Labour Board later this month.

For further information contact Simon Sung at 647-404-9428 or Paul Morse at 1-905-536-5650.

Ming Pao workers took the battle to the heart of the Ming Pao newspaper empire in September with demonstrations and information pickets outside Ming Pao's world headquarters in Hong Kong that included a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. 

This followed a visit to the 1355 Huntingwood Dr. picket line in north-east Toronto by well-known Toronto MP Olivia Chow.

The 140-member bargaining unit includes journalists, advertising sales, pre-press and press workers. 

Key issues on the table were wages, sales commissions, length of the workday, job security, vacation and severance pay. Employees also wanted key activists, laid off since the organizing drive was successful, returned to their jobs. The union has launched a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, arguing that the activists were laid off because of their union activity, not because of an economic restructuring, as suggested by the company.
Ming Pao workers joined the CEP 87M media union in September, 2010, and began first contract talks in January, 2011.

CEP 87M represents about 3,000 media workers in 35 workplaces across Ontario.

Dispute delays counting of ballots for Metroland Muskoka union

Metroland Muskoka employees will have to wait until at least Feb. 28 for their votes to be counted on the issue of joining the CEP Local 87M media union because of a dispute over who is, and isn't, included in the bargaining unit.

A certification vote was held for the proposed Metroland Muskoka unit on August 10 but, because there are a large number of disputed positions, the votes haven’t been counted and won’t be until at least the majority of the disputed positions are resolved by the Ontario Labour Relations Board or by agreement between management and the union.
The union's application for certification included editorial, admin and sales employees at the Bracebridge office and at its satellite office in Gravenhurst.
The cert application did not include production staff and the employer claimed that it would be a serious disruption to labour relations to have a workplace where everyone but the production staff was unionized.
The union has argued that the company has already announced that it is outsourcing the production staff to India so it’s obvious that their work isn’t so integrated into the other departments that it would be harmful to the business to leave them out of the union. Besides, there are many examples at newspapers where the production department is, or isn’t, organized separately from other departments.
In the end, the Ontario Labour Relations Board has the responsibility to decide if the proposed unit is “appropriate,” as defined over many years of caselaw.
The union believes it has a very good chance of winning this argument but it will likely take several months of hearing time before the labour board to resolve the issue.
Three other positions are being disputed on the grounds that they are management. Management personnel cannot be part of a unionzed bargaining unit but the labour board determines if they are management based on their duties, such as the power to hire and fire, not on their job titles.
The hearings begin Feb. 27 and 28.

Quebecor profit down 35% but revenue up 4.6%

Profits at Quebecor, owner of the Sun Media chain represented by the CEP 87M media union, were down 35% in the third quarter of 2011 but revenues were up almost 5%. The multi-national media company said the decline was related to poor ad revenues in the media sector and investments in new mobile technology.

Read more in the Globe and Mail ...

Torstar profit jumps 74% in 3rd quarter

Torstar's profit soared in the third quarter compared to last year. The publisher of the Toronto Star, Metroland and Metro, all represented by the CEP 87M media union, was helped by profits at Harlequin, the publisher of romance novels, which offset lower than expected profitability in the media sector. 

Read more in the Globe and Mail ...

Ryerson students learn about media unions 

Journalists from the Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild (CEP 87M media union) told Ryerson University students that a union has brought them wages and working conditions that just wouldn't be possible in a non-union workplace.

Read more in J-Source ...

Torstar buys Ottawa-area printer and publisher 

Torstar announced Oct. 17 that it has bought Performance Printing of Smith Falls. The deal means CEP 87M will represent several new newspapers that will be rolled into Torstar's unionized Metroland Ottawa Region Media Group.

Read more in the Toronto Star ...