Union in dispute with Consumer Reports

Keith Kelly of the New York Post writes Wednesday about the News Guild’s protest against Consumer Reports and its layoffs.

Kelly writes, “Protestors carried signs that spoofed the ratings system of Consumer Reports and read, ‘management rated unacceptable.’

“The union rolled out the big inflatable rat outside the magazine’s Yonkers, NY, headquarters.

“‘We closed off the street in front of their headquarters,’ said Bill O’Meara, the president of the NY NewsGuild. ‘A lot of the employees are very upset with what is going on.’

“The union at Consumer Reports has over 300 members, more than are employed at Time Inc. — where there are 200 members, most on the lower editorial tier.

“O’Meara said that when Tellado held a town hall meeting on June 18, more than 100 of the editorial employees staged a walkout.

“He said the union feels some of the editorial employees on the shuttered magazine had more than nine years of service and should have been offered employment elsewhere in the sprawling organization.”

Read more here.