The one-year anniversary is only days away (today is Day 363)
The Syndicat des travailleurs de l’information du Journal de Montréal held a press conference yesterday to advance the upcoming one-year anniversary of their lockout. I was working so I couldn’t make it, but there’s plenty of coverage in The Gazette, Presse Canadienne, Radio-Canada, Le Devoir, Metro (which has video of the press conference), and – to be fair – Quebecor-owned Argent does an acceptable job of getting both sides.
The STIJM also announced that they’re holding a party on Sunday – the one-year anniversary – at La Tulipe. Performers include Richard Desjardins, Tricot Machine, Louise Forestier et El Motor, Loco Locass and Jean-Sébastien Lavoie. Tickets are $20 and available only at the box office (assuming they’re not already sold out).
Which La Tulipe?
Also maybe it’s just me but I think a year on strike is kind of officially “unemployed.” I don’t really think it’s something to celebrate at all. Just means both heads are stubborn asshats.
I was being somewhat sarcastic with the “celebrate” thing. It’s not like a birthday party.
This won’t end well for the union. As the industry crumbles and reshapes itself cutbacks and realignments are required. It will be painful as the media embraces the information age in earnest, and sticking your feet in the mud and saying you won’t agree to anything except the old model from that dying era makes them increasingly appear to be absurd as more and more media outlets are forced to layoff, selloff, or close completely.
Generally I can see the reasoning a union makes in their demands, but they seem to be on a suicide mission at this point.
You’re right that this won’t end well for the union. But I don’t think this conflict is the result of the union’s hard-line stance alone. The demands of the Journal (and, therefore, Quebecor) are also fairly extreme. Some of them (like moving to a five-day workweek and doing more multimedia stuff) have already been agreed to by the union, but the layoffs are necessarily a problem.
Even then, some of the journalists are willing to accept a lot. Their limit is convergence, and Quebecor’s desire to be able to take content from one property and republish it elsewhere. That, they argue, would strip the Journal of its identity and be a direct threat to their jobs.
You live and die with unions. I pass by these guys everyday, it’s sad to see them out there for a year still striking. It’s ugly. This strike is done. There will be no resolution. When the funds run out there will be no winners. Unions are industry killers in recession times. I love the guys at Rue Frontenac. They are doing an amazing job.
Lockout, not strike. There’s a difference.
Compared to the Journal de Quebec, how does this Lockout compare?
Would they end similiarly?
They have similar motives, similar disputes, but Quebecor has learned from the JdeQ about how to circumvent anti-scab laws, and the difference between the two sides is greater.