The title of a certain December 15 blog -- "Denver Newspaper Guild Almost Mum on Renegotiating Denver Post and Denver Newspaper Agency Contract" -- pretty much foreshadows the DNG's lack of eagerness to discuss its recent decision to open pacts with the Post and the DNA early at the request of Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group. The Guild's Tony Mulligan offered few words in a January 20 piece in the Rocky Mountain News about this move -- far fewer than Melissa Pomponio, the DNG's unit chair for the Rocky newsroom, who wanted unions to wait until after E.W. Scripps, the tabloid's owner, made an announcement about its possible sale. (Pomponio subsequently shared her thoughts in the More Messages blog "Rocky Mountain News Union Rep on Contract Talks, Coverage of Sale Offer.") And upon being asked to elaborate by yours truly, he pointed to a formal statement he issued on the subject. It reads:
Members from the Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News and Denver Newspaper Agency bargaining units of the Newspaper Guild met Monday night and had impassioned discussion over requests from DNA and Post management to begin contract talks. All Guild members are very concerned about our co-workers at the Rocky Mountain News and the uncertainty they face because of the silence of E.W. Scripps on the newspaper's future. The DNA and Post employees are also affected by that silence. On Monday night, the Guild units at the DNA and Post met separately and decided to schedule talks with their respective employers.
Beyond that, the only thing Mulligan would say is the following: "The Guild is currently scheduling meetings for Post and DNA units to begin talks." He added that times for these sessions should be pinned down by the end of next week.
Mulligan may not be quite as silent as E.W. Scripps, but he's definitely in the ballpark.
