Reuters U.S. Employees 'Work To Rule,' Journalists Launch Byline Strike to Protest Concessionary Demands, Guild Says

Reuters U.S. Employees 'Work To Rule,' Journalists Launch Byline Strike to Protest Concessionary Demands, Guild Says

NEW YORK, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. journalists of Reuters Group Plc (NASDAQ:RTRSY) launched a four-day byline strike on Monday, and all employees are "working to rule," to protest demands for economic concessions and the offshoring of jobs by executives who enriched themselves at workers' expense, the Newspaper Guild of New York announced.

The job actions by Guild members at the London-based news and information company's Reuters America LLC subsidiary -- withholding bylines and credits from their work and giving no more to their jobs than what is required -- follows the recent disclosure of a bonus bonanza for Reuters top executives as company revenues fell.

"Our members are asking why they should give Reuters one iota of their talent and effort more than required when they're being asked to accept less and their bosses are cleaning up," said New York Guild President Barry Lipton.

The company's 2004 annual report showed CEO Tom Glocer's compensation up for each of the past three years that revenues have fallen, this time to $10.5 million, including stock and options. The $4.5 million cash portion of his package rose about 22 percent from 2003. Two other top executives got raises of 11 percent and 12.6 percent.

Employees, meanwhile, have seen nothing but cuts. Glocer has responded to the revenue slide by launching a cost-cutting program that includes 3,000 job cuts and lower benefits for many surviving nonunion employees.

In contract negotiations, Glocer's U.S. managers are demanding that Guild-represented employees accept meager raises, higher health care costs and lower retirement benefits that would leave them with a net loss in total compensation. Employees voted overwhelmingly last month to authorize Guild leaders to call a strike if necessary.

With their byline strike, which runs through Thursday night, U.S. editorial employees also are protesting management's quality-threatening experiment in remote control journalism that has moved coverage of thousands of U.S. companies to cheaper, less experienced journalists in Bangalore, India, and threatens more jobs. Some foreign-based journalists have said they would withhold their bylines in sympathy.

The Guild, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America, represents more than 450 print, television and still picture journalists, technicians and other employees at Reuters America LLC.

Source: Newspaper Guild of New York

CONTACT: Barry Lipton, Newspaper Guild of New York, +1-212-730-1546

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