Colleages, friends and family gathered Saturday, April 25 in College Park, Maryland to bid a heartfelt farewell to Carol Horner. A seven page program produced for the event celebrated Carol’s devotion to family and friends and her passion for her writing craft and newspapers. The memorial was arranged by former Inquirer colleagues and the staff at the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism at the University of Maryland, where Carol was director.

Philadelphia Newspapers has established a website on which all court filings are posted. We encourage members … to visit that site, www.pnreorg.com, where they can find a chronological history of all court filings.

On the front page … click “I Accept Above Terms,” on the next screen click “Case Dockets,” and on the following screen, click the link next to Main Case: Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC Case No. 09-11204 (JKF).

Upcoming events

May 19: an omnibus hearing at which money matters such as Debtor in Possession (DIP) financing, and the company’s use of cash collateral will be discussed.

Hearings take place on the 2nd floor of the Robert N.C. Nix Sr. Federal Building at 900 Market Street and are open to the public.

Dear Guild Member,

We have received a number of inquiries from our members about the notices the Trustees of the Pension Fund recently sent out concerning the funding status of the Pension Plan.

The Trustees are required to notify all plan participants of the financial status of the Plan and the actions they have taken and will take to keep your pensions secure. We have highlighted below what we believe is the relevant information contained in the notices for your consideration:

To no one’s surprise, the economic downturn that has affected everyone else has also impacted the Fund’s portfolio. Returns on the Fund’s investments in 2008 did not meet the income the Trustees anticipated. However, the Fund still has substantial assets, more than $140 million, and the Trustees believe the investments are well diversified and will, over time, provide income that will satisfy applicable requirements to assure proper funding for your pension benefits.

The Pension Protection Act, allows funds like ours that were well-funded before the current economic downturn to continue to provide all of the benefits for an additional year while the Trustees consider the steps necessary to meet future benefit obligations – a restructure plan.

As indicated in the notices you were mailed, the Trustees elected to take advantage of this additional year. For our purposes that means, through April 30, 2010, in addition to all other benefits, the Plan will continue to pay lump sum severance benefits to employees who retire, or are terminated, laid off or who may accept a voluntary layoff or in the case of death. The Plan is paying all current benefits and continues to fulfill all of its obligations to our retirees and their beneficiaries.

The Trustees are considering steps that need to be taken to address future funding requirements imposed by law in order to assure that assets will be available to pay all of the benefit obligations of the plan participants in the future. During the next several months the Trustees will fashion a restructure plan for the coming year. We will continue to keep all of you apprised of the steps that are being taken to protect and preserve your pension benefits.

If you have any questions, please contact

Bill Ross, Administrative Officer
Dan Gross, President

Through April 30, 2010, in addition to all other benefits, the Plan will continue to pay lump sum severance benefits to employees who retire, or are terminated, laid off or who may accept a voluntary layoff or in the case of death. The Plan is paying all current benefits and continues to fulfill all of its obligations to our retirees and their beneficiaries.

Developments

- Inquirer Guild retirement fund lost $72 million in 2008, or one third of its value.
- Funding status called “critical” by pension trustees in April 28 mailing to Guild members and retirees.
- One year from now, benefits could be reduced, lump sum payments suspended (details below) and early retirement benefits reduced.
- Additional materials from trustees

Our pension manager provided the following answers to two key questions regarding existing benefits and severance:

Q. If a person is collecting a pension benefit now, or opts to do so prior to any formal declaration on the fund status, will that person’s monthly benefit be reduced in any way by the actions of the trustees?

A. No, the Board can only reduce future benefits, not benefits already in pay status or already accrued.

Q. If the fund trustees suspend “lump sum payments” as mentioned in the letter, does that mean that newly retiring employees [after that date] will not receive their Guild severance payments as specified under the contract?

A. If lump sums are suspended due to “red zone” requirements, as the law currently provides, severance payments would have to be paid in the
form of an actuarial equivalent monthly annuity.

Perspective

Before the merger of our pension plan into a multi-employer plan, we would have been eligible for a federally guaranteed maximum pension far in excess of what can be expected now if the fund turns to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. for help.

As reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Funding problems are particularly important for such multi-employer plans, because they carry less federal insurance than single-employer pension funds. The federal pension insurer Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. guarantees only up to $12,870 in annual pension payments to a member of a multi-employer plan, and a complicated formula used by the agency means that many members would get less. By contrast, the PBGC guarantees up to $54,000 a year in payments to a member of a single-employer pension plan.

Memo from Bill Marimow:

Our colleague Gayle Sims died last night [Thursday, April 16, 2009] at Temple Hospital, one month after undergoing a lung transplant at the hospital. Gayle’s daughter Jamie said that the cause of her death was multiple organ failure. Jamie said that Gayle’s new lungs were fine, but that her kidney, liver and other organs were failing. As we all know, Gayle was endowed with an indomitable spirit and an ineradicable passion for her work – obituaries that truly brought her subjects to life and brimmed with color, quotes and anecdotes. During the last year, Gayle did that work – with determination and skill — from her home while grappling with ever more challenging health problems. At this point, Jamie said the family has no plans for a funeral service. I will keep you apprised when I learn more.

Carol Horner’s friends in the journalism community (and beyond) will gather this spring for a final farewell and appreciation.

Carol embodied – and made happen – the spirit, the fun and the irreverent side of journalism in countless gatherings of the clan. She also actively engaged in and fostered an on-going conversation about the importance, relevance, moral responsibility and standards of journalism.

When: 2 p.m., Saturday, April 25, 2009
Where: Marriott Inn & Conference Center at the University of Maryland, College Park
Click here for driving directions to the Inn & Conference Center. Click here for information on area airports.

More details and directions will be blasted by email and posted on the Inquirer Alumni Network website. We hope to run shuttle vans from the Amtrak New Carrollton stop and the College Park Metro for those traveling by public transportation.

Everyone is welcome. An RSVP would be appreciated so we can be sure to have enough food and drink. Hi-jinks, Horner-style, may happen.

You may RSVP by using this electronic form.

Or please contact Lucinda Fleeson or Serap Rada:
Lucinda Fleeson office: 301-405-2415, home 202-543-4407 or email LFleeson@msn.com
Serap Rada: office 301-405-2513 or email sdrada@umd.edu

Best wishes,
Peggy DeBona

Dear Guild Member,

As you all should be aware, Philadelphia Newspapers (PN), the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Daily News, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.

As hard as it may sound, please stay calm. The company is still in business, the papers are still publishing and you should still report for work.

Here is what this means to our members and how the filing affects our contract:

The Chapter 11 Bankruptcy process is intended to permit a company to continue in operation by restructuring its contractual and financial obligations. Because Guild members provide essential services, your wages and benefits under our collective bargaining agreement for services rendered, after the petition was filed, will continue to be honored.

Before PMH can take any action to modify any of its obligations under our contract, it must negotiate in good faith with the Guild and prove that the contract changes it seeks are necessary to permit the reorganization and prevent the liquidation of the enterprise.

The Guild Executive Board has already taken steps to assure that we obtain all of the bankruptcy filings. We will monitor the proceedings and take appropriate action to enforce our collective bargaining agreement and protect your rights.

Even though a bankruptcy petition has been filed:
Our contract remains in full force;
Your wages and benefits will continue to be paid;
We retain the right to grieve and arbitrate contract disputes; and
No unilateral changes to our contract can be implemented without prior negotiations.
If the Employer requests that we meet to negotiate contract modifications, we will, of course, immediately notify you of any such negotiations. As in all collective bargaining situations, we will bring any tentative agreements involving modifications/changes to our contract to the members for ratification. In addition, we will keep you advised of all developments during the bankruptcy, especially any events that involve the Guild contact, your rights, and the Employer’s obligations pursuant to it.

The Guild’s Executive Committee will convene in an emergency board meeting at 10 a.m. Monday and will issue further news as we have it. In the meantime, members may contact the Guild office at 215-928-0118 or Administrative Officer Bill Ross at 267-240-8540 or e-mail bross@local-10.com.

We are pleased to announce that the Office of the United States Trustee yesterday appointed the Newspaper Guild/Communications Workers of America to the Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Philadelphia Newspapers bankruptcy, filed in Philadelphia, and this afternoon to the creditors committee in the Journal Register Company bankruptcy, which was filed in New York. In each case, TNG/CWA is one of three parties to the committee.

The creditors committee does not “run the business” or otherwise control the assets of the debtor’s estate. The committee represents the interests of all unsecured creditors and attempts to maximize recovery for all unsecured creditors in its negotiations with the debtor, the secured creditors, and other parties in the case. Much of what the committee reviews and does is highly confidential and cannot be disclosed to persons other than the actual committee participants.

In order to aid the unsecured creditors committee in accomplishing these goals, the Bankruptcy Code specifically sets out certain duties and powers of a committee. The Bankruptcy Code specifically provides that the tasks of the creditors committee include:

1. Review the progress and status of the case and discuss the same with the debtor. Also, the debtor is required to file periodic financial reports with the Court and the Office of the United States Trustee. These reports should provide valuable information for the committee.

2. Investigate the financial condition of the debtor, the operation of the debtor’s business and the desirability of the continuance of any or all parts of the business.

3. Participate in the formulation of a plan of reorganization.

The Bankruptcy Code provides further that the debtor must meet with the creditors committee to transact such business as may be necessary and proper, and that the debtor shall furnish to the committee, upon request, information concerning the debtor’s business and its administration. The committee can hire attorneys, accountants or other professionals, who are paid for by the company.

As usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Administrative Officer Bill Ross at the Guild office at (215) 928-0118 or (267) 240-8540.

In solidarity,

Dan Gross

President

TNG/CWA Local 38010

dgross@local-10.com

The following note was circulated at Vanguard regarding Larry’s untimely death. Read Larry’s obituary in The Inquirer here.

I regret to share the sad news that Larry Fish, a writer in HR Communications, died over the weekend at his home in Philadelphia. He was 56. Services have not yet been scheduled.

Over the past three years, Larry was the lead writer on many of HR’s most important initiatives—from our health care plans, to the soon-to-be-elevated careers website, to new Vanguard University courses. He was smart, engaging, creative, and resourceful. He was a mentor to our team and an agile writer and thinker. He was someone who loved both to hear and tell stories, his own often spun with an irrepressible sense of humor. He had a kind and warm heart and an insatiable curiosity about the world. We will miss him deeply.

Larry came to Vanguard from The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he had worked for 20 years as Pennsylvania reporter, national correspondent, city reporter, and business news reporter. Previously, he worked for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, and The (Utica, N.Y.) Observer-Dispatch. He was an active member of Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.