NLRB hearing on papers' firings postponed A National Labor Relations Board hearing scheduled for next week, to consider whether Santa Barbara News-Press reporter Melinda Burns was wrongly fired last fall as well as other complaints against the beleaguered newspaper, has been postponed indefinitely. The hearing was held up by the filing of several new unfair labor practice charges against the newspaper by the Teamsters union, said NLRB spokesman Tony Bisceglia. Included in the latest charges is the union's claim that the newspaper's firing of six reporters for taking part in a freeway demonstration last month was protected union activity in the continuing labor dispute with News-Press owner and co-publisher Wendy McCaw. The union also claimed the newspaper's management ordered employees to remove pro-union buttons from their clothing, gave low performance evaluations for union supporters and forced employees to reveal under oath whether they divulged terms of their employment to others. Another charge dealt with newspaper attorney David Millstein allegedly interrupting a private union meeting. A seventh charge was filed by former assistant city editor Bob Guiliano, who claims he was fired for his “refusal to commit one or more unfair labor practices.” NLRB investigating agents have been in Santa Barbara, taking statements from people, said Ira Gottlieb, attorney for the Teamsters. “The board's agents got more aggressive after the six people were fired,” Gottlieb added. In September, employees voted 33-6 to join the Graphic Communications Conference of the Teamsters Union, but certification of the election has since been bogged down by the company's challenge of its legitimacy. A two-day NLRB hearing on the News-Press' challenge of the election was held in January, but a ruling has not yet been handed down. It is uncertain whether any of the latest charges will rise to the level of the four that were scheduled to be heard Monday. Those charges - Burns' firing, implementation of gag orders, cancellation of a column by a pro-union staff member and issuance of suspension notices to 11 employees - constitute unfair labor practices, according to a complaint filed by the NLRB's general counsel. “The general counsel is convinced a violation of the law took place,” Gottlieb said. Gottlieb said he hopes to hear in the next week which, if any, of the most recent charges will be consolidated with the earlier complaint. He estimated a six- to eight-week delay in the hearing, to be heard by an NLRB administrative law judge. The newspaper had no statement on the delay, said Agnes Huff, newspaper spokeswoman. Sally Cappon can be reached at March 8, 2007 |