Newspaper labor union protests publication’s outsourcing of advertising, circulation jobs
By Chidanand Rajghatta
Times of India
Outsourcing of jobs to India has been making news in the U.S for some time now. But what happens when the media which has been reporting this news finds the jobs of some of their colleagues are being outsourced?
Well, some Bostonians have been Bangalored, and they have gone ballistic.
The 1000-strong labor union at the Boston Globe newspaper began a heated campaign this week against their publication (owned by the New York Times Company) by launching an ad campaign in a rival newspaper protesting the outsourcing of their work to India.
“It’s the Boston Globe, not the Bangalore Globe!” is the plaintive cry in an ad issued by the union in the Boston Herald on Monday, after the Globe declined to run the ad. The union has also issued radio ads.
The spat began after the New York Times Company decided recently to cut 120 jobs at the Globe and outsource the work of some 50 personnel in the advertising and circulation departments to Bangalore.The union says the cuts came despite their agreeing to a partial wage freeze and significant cuts in health care benefits. The NYT Company says the job cuts and offshoring of some work are necessary for the financial health of the paper.
The union isn’t convinced, and in fact, it issued the scarifying ‘loss of privacy’ warning to subscribers.
“By outsourcing our work, The Boston Globe & New York Times Co. are sending a message that they no longer care enough to retain the very best people to handle customer accounts and client relationships,” the ad said, cautioning readers that “Further, billing and account information will now be shipped overseas to Bangalore, India, putting customers’ most vital information at risk.”
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=65973