Guild May Want to See Avista's Books

Par Ridder’s barnstorming slide show, “Business Literacy”, (given first to the Pioneer Press staff before “right-sizing” them to virtual irrelevancy, and now yesterday to his new staff at the Star Tribune), is essentially a plea to the troops to have pity on the paper’s executive and investor class, which is facing the same severe economic duress as every other paper in the country.

But, as the local Guild confirms, there is reasonably clear language in the existing contract allowing the Guild to examine ownership’s books if ownership demands lay-offs as a result of … economic duress.

“Yes,” says Star Tribune Guild officer, Pat Doyle, “there is such language if they choose to seek lay-offs. And I fully expect the Guild to ask to see the books if they move that way.”

Getting a public company to open the books to a union is rough enough. But a private company like Avista Capital Partners, (the Strib’s new owner)? Good luck.

This after all is a collection of well-cloaked characters about whom, as Doyle puts it, “We don’t know who they are. We don’t know how many of them there are. We don’t know how much money they’ve put in. We don’t know who has how much much invested,” and, as a kicker, “We have never heard them say anything about the kind of journalism they intend to practice.”

On the other hand, the threat of a protracted battle over Guild access to Avista’s no doubt fascinating and highly revelatory books, might be leverage enough to make Avista sweeten the current buy-out pot — (the Guild is unimpressed with the offer Ridder trotted out yesterday, and a highly-unscientific survey doubts he would get more than 15 to 20 takers, far short of the 50 “needed” from the newsroom) — and/or abort lay-off talk altogether.

As you might expect, staff reaction to Ridder’s slide show was pretty dismissive. “The problem he has,” says Doyle, “is that there is no reason to take his word on any of this lacking any kind of corroborative information.” Ridder’s presentation was apparently quite light on the other shoe of the current newspaper business climate, namely investor demands for fat profit-taking … NOW.

“No one doubts that down the road a ways it could get pretty bad,” Doyle continues, “but the last time anyone looked this paper was still making around a 20% profit.”

The current Avista buy-out offer, which is technically a “proposal” that Avista wants the Guild to examine and respond to, does not apply to the most recently hired, (i.e. younger, cheaper) suburban “bureau” reporters. They can not apply for this buy-out. BUT, if the company moves to lay-offs, those recent hires would be the first cut under the rule of reverse seniority.

Doyle re-emphasized that the Guild, “Is not willing to accept yesterday’s buy-out terms.” But the Guild must accept the terms before the buy-out process can begin. What that means is the clock on the two-week buy-out window will not begin ticking anytime soon. “I can’t see it opening anytime in May,” said Doyle.