Gannett announces furloughs

Exactly. Newspapers ... the business where the mid level suits get what they deserve ... unemployment. I'd say the upper level CEO suits, but they don't care about the product. They're just bleeding every cent for themselves. The mid level suits should know better. Many of them were once regular reporters or copy editors before moving up the ladder.
My guess is furlough would be one chance for the little guy/gal to win some lawsuit money. Tape all conversations and when one gets reprimanded for not having a story upon returning from furlough, mention the furlough as an excuse and if the manager says "You should have worked more before furlough to get that story!" boom you can sue maybe.

 

And that is wrong and very very sad. The reporter in a competitive market is TOLD to take the week off and no pay and gets blasted upon return when the competition has a story he/she did not have the previous week. Wrong and despicable of the mid level suits to go there. It's not the reporter's fault he/she had a furlough when he/she sat on his/her butt and didn't get paid while the competition was kicking behind.

 

Curious about how this is impacting work. I'd think it's a hell of a lot easier getting in touch with sources. Nobody is on vacation. Everybody has time to talk to you (at some point). And it's all (mostly) phone work or e-mails I'm guessing. Are people finding they are actually able to get more done more efficiently with the lockdown? How does it change your pace of work? Do you find yourself able to spin more plates? Less stress? More stress?

 

I know this is a windmill you're determined to tilt at, but you're dead wrong here. Play all the "what's to stop" games you want, but I and others can tell you from first-hand experiences that there is nothing about furloughs that Gannett plays fast and loose with the rules about.

As a reporter, if I had done even a phone call to set up an interview when I was back off furlough, that would have negated my furlough week and I would have had to take the full furlough in another week. If it was in the last week of the period the furlough had to be taken, there would be some serious hell to pay, likely termination.

Managers were told that if you so much as called a co-worker who was on furlough, even if you didn't know they were on furlough, you would be terminated.

This isn't the hill to die on when ranting about the suits.

 

Next quarter's best-case scenario: more furloughs. Worst-case scenario: Layoffs. Likely scenario: A combination.

 

No doubt. When I'm on furlough in April, my work laptop will be stowed in a closet.

 

Over 38k and you’re punished huh. God forbid anybody at Gannett make a livable wage. Shame on us for not dancing enough for our pennies. Let the whole Gannett thing burn to the ground.

 

This might be a dumb question, but if you called a co-worker for social reasons, like to hang out or grab a beer or something, would that be considered a furlough violation?
If you can keep the conversation from taking its inevitable turn toward work, is that OK?

 

My impression is furlough violations are mainly based on disclosure. If one doesn't log into company accounts, then how would the company track what an employee is doing?Also, if companies don't lock furloughed employees out of accounts, is it solely the employee's responsibility to step away?

Questions were raised about company phones that are also for personal use, as well as social-media accounts. If anyone knows labor law, please weigh in.

Don't forget to apply for unemployment right away! Most states will pay if you're out of work for a full week. Various coronavirus-linked laws have eliminated waiting periods, too.

Be safe and stay strong!

 

I once came into work on a day that was supposed to be a furlough day. My boss had put out an email a couple of days earlier telling us to check for changes in the schedule, but I got busy with other stuff, figured that was something for the reporters, and it didn't say anything about a furlough day, so I didn't check the schedule. So I come in, and everyone's like, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

I worked that day, and took the next day off as the furlough day without repercussions, but I was later told that the managers had a shit-fit because I came in on my supposed furlough day.

 

Were you salaried or hourly, Baron?

I've put much of my Gannett years in a buried, never-visited tomb of terror, but I remember hourly people needing to take a week furlough, and being able to break it up into chunks and take a day here, 2 there or a week at a time, and salary people being forced to take it in a full week.

 

Hourly.

We were allowed to break it up and request certain days, but those days had to be convenient for operations.

I was more annoyed that the email didn't mention anything about furloughs. Instead, it was a vague "schedule changes" thing, which sometimes previously occurred for the reporters, since their schedule changed more frequently than copy editors.