Unifor Local 2000 is fighting aggressive layoffs at the Vancouver Sun and The Province, and we need your help.
Last Friday, the company started delivering layoff notices to 54 people. Combined with 38 voluntary buyouts in January, these 54 job cuts will reduce staff from 220 to just 128. That’s a 42 per cent reduction in just a few months. In the 1990s, there were more than 2,000 people working at both papers.
Meanwhile, Postmedia, which owns both papers, has handed out millions in “retention” bonuses to its top executives, two of whom have already left the company.
The hard-working people at the Sun and Province don’t deserve this. When we lose nearly half the staff, the newspapers suffer, and trusted voices in Canada’s media disappear. When asked how the work will get done with so few staff left, management has already indicated that stories won’t be written and photos won’t be taken.
It’s not just the Sun and Province that are facing job cuts. Black Press is “consolidating” its two community newspapers in Surrey and effectively closing the Surrey Leader. The company is also laying off what’s left of the creative services staff at the Lower Mainland papers and shipping those jobs to the U.S.
Local journalism is too important to lose – our democracy depends on it. Please show your support for these hard-working journalists, copy editors, sales reps, ad producers, IT staff and others who risk losing their jobs. We’re asking people to replace their Facebook and Twitter profile pics with this image to show your support for local news. For more information on what you can do to help local journalism, go to www.mediaactionplan.ca.
Recent Comments