Major charges This is a summary of the major charges against The Providence Journal. The full charges, as listed by the government, are linked in the box below. Text of NLRB complaints • Dec. 20, 2000 (20 charges) Guild newsletter • Feb. 28, 2001 (10 new charges) Guild newsletter • May 23, 2001 (6 new charges) Guild newsletter All newsletters since Jan. 20, 1997 · The company illegally imposed inferior medical plans, took away a holiday and vacation entitlements and discounted parking from employees. · The newspaper has withheld important information that the union needs to effectively negotiate a new contract, including details about medical and pension plans, which are a key stumbling block in these talks. · The company has tried to intimidate Guild members for their union activities. For example, it transferred one reporter, who is also a union leader, off a key beat, saying he couldn't cover labor issues because of his own union involvement. · The Journal has made a series of unilateral changes in employee working conditions without bargaining. In doing this it has bypassed the collective bargaining procedures required by the National Labor Relations Act. Contact: png@riguild.org

Issue 5.1. Updated 6.17.2001 with source for change of trial date

PROVIDENCE, June 1, 2001 - The National Labor Relations Board today postponed hearings that were to begin June 25 into allegations that The Providence Journal violated federal labor law in its still-unfinished negotiations with the Providence Newspaper Guild for a new contract.

The schedule changed because an NLRB lawyer suffered a serious back injury. A new date has not yet been set for the start of hearings before an administrative law judge. (Editor's note: It was at first thought possible that the delayed hearings might begin in July, but Guild members learned June 15 that they had been postponed until fall, a best guess based on conversations with the NLRB agent.)

Earlier this week, Judge Benjamin Schlesinger had directed that the hearings begin June 25 and continue through the week. A second week of hearings had tentatively been set for July 16 and was to run through that week.

The sessions, when they are rescheduled, are to be held at the Federal Building, 380 Westminster St., Providence, in the Social Security conference room on the third floor. (Map and directions to the Federal Building)

The Guild is a union representing about 500 workers at Rhode Island's largest newspaper, including reporters, janitors, ad salespersons, computer operators, clerks, photographers, editors and artists.

The Boston regional office of the NLRB is alleging 36 violations, including that the newspaper has failed to bargain in good faith with the union by imposing some of its contract demands on Guild workers without fulfilling its legal obligation to negotiate.

The government also charges that the paper has tried to intimidate union members from supporting the Guild, that it has withheld information the union needs to properly bargain and that, since February 2001, the Journal has refused to negotiate at all.

During the during the trial-like proceeding, government lawyers will present their case to an NLRB administrative law judge; in turn, the newspaper's lawyers will present their side of the issues.

If the judge finds in the government's favor, he may order a variety of remedies, including restoration of benefits downgraded by the company, such as medical benefits, and may order the company to cease illegal behavior.

The Guild will have a reporter cover the hearing daily and the stories will be posted here at journalontrial.org. The coverage serves two purposes:

-- Guild members have been eagerly awaiting this airing of serious charges against the newspaper and they want complete and timely information about the hearing.

-- The newspaper up to now has failed to publish most news about the Guild-Journal labor dispute, and the union wants to to ensure that the news gets to the newspaper's readers and to the southeastern New England community.

Background The Guild's view of the dispute: On negotiations, on censorship, on the exodus of staff

The union believes that the NLRB case is important to its own struggle. It thinks that the company has broken the law on numerous occasions, and that this illegal activity is preventing a just resolution of the contract negotiations.

More importantly, the charges also raise questions about the integrity of the newspaper and its Texas owner, the Belo Corp. of Dallas, which bought The Journal in 1997. The newspaper has played an important role in the civic life of Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts, including relentless investigative reporting that has helped to curb corruption and wrong-doing in the region.

But the union feels that when it comes to its treatment of its own workers, the newspaper has demonstrated a pattern of ignoring the basic mandates of labor laws and its journalistic duty to uncover and report on wrongdoing.

To preserve the integrity of the newspaper and to air the serious charges involving it, the Guild intends to see the story fully and fairly reported.

There is much more information about the dispute at the Guild's main website, www.riguild.org. E-mail the Guild at png@riguild.org. The union's mailing address is: The Providence Newspaper Guild, 270 Westminster St., Providence, RI 02903. Telephone: (401) 421-9466. FAX: (401) 421-9495.