Inquirer owner refutes union claims of papal sleeping arrangements

The union representing employees of Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com is questioning the legality of management asking members to sleep on air mattresses on the floor of the company’s Center City offices during next week’s visit from Pope Francis.

But management for Philadelphia Media Network said the accusations levied by Newspaper Guild Local 38010 are substantially inaccurate.

The union representing employees of Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com is questioning the legality of management asking members to sleep on air mattresses on the floor of the company’s 8th and Market streets offices during next week’s visit from Pope Francis.

In a memorandum, Guild Executive Director Bill Ross said that as part of PMN’s plan to deal with traffic restrictions during the Pope visit, management had said earlier in the week that it was working to secure a block of rooms at the Marriott in Center City for the roughly 40 employees who must be on site for the outlet's papal visit coverage.

But PMN Vice President of Human Resources Keith Black canceled the bookings on Thursday without notifying the Guild to save on expenses, according to Ross. The Guild said it suggested alternatives like booking fewer days or offering free advertising and, although management found merit in those suggestions, it was too late. The Marriott rooms were no longer available.

“Unfortunately, our optimism in management’s rationality was misplaced,” Ross wrote.

PMN management initially declined comment Friday, but Black vehemently denied the accusations in the Guild’s memo in a later email, claiming it possessed several substantial inaccuracies:

    PMN never asked or even encouraged employees to sleep at the office during the Pope’s visit.

    Marriott contacted PMN management with a proposal, which included a minimum four night stay, after a Guild member "took it upon himself to negotiate a 'deal' for accommodations with Marriott." Black said that was the first contact PMN management had with Marriott.

    Since no rooms were ever booked by PMN, there was nothing to cancel.

    The Guild did not suggest alternatives but rather he raised those possibilities with Marriott after communicating with the hotel that it was not interested in the four-night minimum that was proposed

“I was advised by Marriott management that the only options they would consider were a minimum four-night stay, and that they had no interest in advertising,” Black said.

But in its memo, the Guild took aim at PMN Owner and Publisher Gerry Lenfest, saying that any suggestion that booking the rooms would be too expensive for PMN to be “inconceivable” since Lenfest recently donated $100,000 to provide help to handicapped visitors.

“While [Lenfest’s] charitable contribution is admirable, the company’s unwillingness to do more for its own employees who are also adversely affected, is not,” Ross wrote.

    Inspired by Pope Francis, faith leaders call for fracking ban in Pa.

Ross said Black told the Guild that sleeping on air mattresses, at a cost of $700 for the company, at the office was satisfactory and installing portable showers – part of a previous plan – was no longer applicable.

“We believe even if management set up portable showers these arrangements are unsafe, unsanitary and totally unacceptable,” Ross wrote.

The Guild memo also said it has directed its legal counsel to “take appropriate steps to determine the legality of the employer’s actions. If the conversion of the office space for housing is unlawful, unsanitary and unsafe we will authorize counsel to initiate action to stop it.”

While also dealing with accommodations during the Pope visit for members, Ross was also informed that four Guild positions in the advertising department has been eliminated. Management has 15 days to decide which members will be affected. Ross said decisions are made by seniority.

“The company said it is turning the corner and is giving out profit sharing checks,” Ross said. “Now they are laying people off.”

The layoffs come on the heels of fewer than 10 out of 170 eligible Guild members opting to take advantage of a buyout that was offered when labor and management reached a contract agreement earlier this year.

PMN management declined to discuss the reported layoffs.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal