On the Beat
Monday, October 27, 2008
NLRB to Prosecute NP: The National Labor Relations Board says it plans to prosecute the Santa Barbara News-Press over the paper’s firing of reporter-copy editor Dennis Moran, who also served on the employees’ negotiating committee.
The NLRB’s attorney previously announced that the agency will prosecute the paper for bad-faith bargaining. Negotiations for a first-time newsroom contract have dragged on for months, with the Teamsters’ union calling the paper a “labor outlaw” because of so many unfair labor practices.
On the Beat
“The NLRB’s general counsel is still deliberating upon and investigating several other unfair labor practice charges filed by the union against the News-Press, including hiring temporary employees to undermine the bargaining unit, refusal to bargain over mandatory subjects of bargaining, and interfering with the NLRB's investigative process,” said Teamster attorney Ira Gottlieb.
“Still pending before the NLRB in Washington are some 15 unfair labor practices found by an administrative law judge last December to have been committed by the NP, including eight unlawful discharges, surveillance, interrogation, and threats of discipline,” Gottlieb said. “The total of illegally fired unit employees has now increased to nine, not including a supervisor who was also found to have been illegally fired by the paper.
“Management’s intimidation tactics are blatant and transparent,” Gottlieb added.
News-Press attorney Barry Cappello responded, "The NLRB staff [of] Region 31 has lost complete objectivity after losing the injunction before Judge Wilson. The union files charges in complete ignorance of the facts, but that is understandable since they have a willing audience in the Region staff. We know why the individual was terminated and so does he. Now, unfortunately, it will have to become public. The News-Press will mount a vigorous defense to the charges." Federal Judge Stephen Wilson, citing the publisher’s First Amendment rights, earlier this year rejected an NLRB bid to restore eight fired reporters to their jobs. The NLRB is appealing his decision.
Prop. 8: Santa Barbara County, like the rest of the state, appears to be deeply split over Proposition 8, the measure to place a ban on same-sex marriages in the California Constitution. Backers and opponents around the state have raised about $60 million so far, making it the costliest ballot measure in the nation.
Money is flowing in from out of state because California is known as the bellwether in initiatives: If one passes here, other states may be likely to follow the lead. At last report, Prop. 8 was behind in the polls but gaining. Supporters are said to be primarily Mormons, Catholics, and conservative Christians. Other clergy are opposed to banning gay marriage and some corporations, like Apple, with a $100,000 donation, are also declaring their opposition. “We strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation,” an Apple spokesperson said. It shapes up to be a tight election day battle. Both sides are claiming the moral high ground, with Prop. 8 opponents accusing the backers of thinly veiled H-words: homophobia and hypocrisy.
Kristin Scott Thomas: Word is that the star of the just-released I’ve Always Loved You will be honored by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, January 22-February 1, 2009. In Loved You, Thomas emerges from prison, which is hardly a typical role for her, and into the uncertain arms of her family. This is not the Thomas of the delightful Four Weddings and a Funeral or Gosford Park.
Citizen McCaw on PBS: Producers of the Citizen McCaw documentary say the story of the Santa Barbara News-Press meltdown will be screened by the Bay Area PBS Channel 22 on November 2. The 8 p.m. TV debut of the film will likely reach more people than any of the earlier showings combined. It’s of special interest up there because much of the documentary centers around former News-Press executive editor Jerry Roberts, longtime San Francisco Chronicle political reporter and then managing editor prior to his taking the ill-fated NP job.
Changeling: Clint Eastwood’s new Changeling is the powerful true story of a mother’s relentless search for her missing son, and her abuse at the hands of the corrupt L.A. police of the 1920s. I found it an emotional film, and some scenes are not for the squeamish. The larger story, beyond a mother’s steadfast battle against police who had her thrown in the psych ward snake pit to avoid being embarrassed, is how unrestrained power can destroy an individual. In this case, the individual was too strong for the PD. Look for Oscar nominations for Eastwood and Angelina Jolie.
I Remember You: Circle Bar B Ranch Theatre is known for its zany, comic plots, but not this time. I Remember You, its last weekend coming up, is deft drama, involving a mother, a daughter, and a guy who plays piano in a New York bar. At the intermission last Friday night, our group tried to figure out how in the heck it was going to end. Try it yourself. Coproducer Susie Couch, usually singing, dancing, and joking her head off, proved that she can hold her own as a serious actress. Leesa Beck, always watchable, is the daughter, and veteran actor Clyde Sacks, a newcomer to Santa Barbara, is Buddy, the charmer bar pianist.
Barney Brantingham can be reached at barney@independent.com or (805) 965-5205. He writes online columns in addition to his print column on Thursdays