AP writers are *gasp* withholding their bylines in order to pressure management in contract talks. Personally, I’m not sure how much pressure this exerts. Historically, a lot of journalism has been published without a byline, and some publications, like The Economist, still carry on this tradition. But perhaps the AP writers know more about the journalism business than do I:
The Guild said it had opened with a 10 percent wage increase proposal, “but has indicated flexibility at the bargaining table.”
Besides withholding bylines from stories and photographs, the Guild said some employees “planned to withhold use of their personal vehicles, cellphones, and other equipment, while others were ‘working to rule.’”
The Guild said the protest began Sunday and is “set to end later this week.”
AP president and chief executive Tom Curley said last month that the New York-based AP, a cooperative owned by 1,500 daily US newspapers, plans to reduce its staff by 10 percent over the next year, mostly through attrition.
The move, which would amount to more than 400 jobs, was necessary because of a reduction in fees paid by member newspapers, many of which are facing financial difficulties, and the declining economy, Curley said.
You see, if my employer was cutting 10% of its workforce because its revenue stream was drying up, I would not ask for a 10% raise for doing the same job I’ve been doing. Indeed, I might infer that part of my employer’s failure was do in some microscopic part to the work me and my colleagues were doing, and thus getting militant at the negotiating table might cause them to just fire the lot of us and start anew with cheaper and more productive workers. After all, it’s not as though AP writers have a unique skill set; probably a hundred thousand college graduates a year could be passable beat reporters with a month of training.
But then, I’m not a unionized journalist, so what do I know about economics? Strike on, nameless comrades!
Posted by Apollo in It's Economics - Stupid!, Journalism