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Yahoo!They got their notices yesterday afternoon: News-Pressreporters Dawn Hobbs, BarneyMcManigal, and Rob Kuznia (pictured) weregiven their walking papers on Monday between 5:30 and 6 p.m.
Soon after, the three were at Ruby'sCafe on De la Guerra Plaza, in the shadow of theNews-Press building, for an impromptu press conferenceattended by TV star John Palminteri and bloggerCraig Smith. The Indy's Martha Sadler andphotographer Paul Wellman were also there, and Sadler filed thenotes for this report.
This round of firings started after 5 p.m., when Dawn Hobbs(pictured), 
who has covered courts and crime forthe paper for eight years, was called into a conference room.Inside were Scott Steepleton (pictured), lawyer Dugan Kelley (who'sbeen with Barry Cappello's firm since 2005), and someone takingnotes. 
When asked if she participated in theoverpass demonstration last Friday, Hobbs said yes. She alsoasked to call in her lawyer, but she was told, oddly, that she didnot have a lawyer and that this process was not one that requiredlegal representation on her part. (Of course, theNews-Press had an attorney there, so go figure.) Hobbsthen went upstairs toward her office, but the paper's now notorioushuman relations manager Yolanda Apodaca (who newsroom staffers have been calling the"Angel of Death") told her she had to leave. Hobbs said she had toget her cell phone and car keys, and when she got to the newsroom,she mouthed to the others, "I've been fired." She was not escortedout.
The process went similarly for education reporter Rob Kuznia,who's been with the paper for three years. Meanwhile, BarneyMcManigal (picured), a Santa Barbara native who's covered countygovernment for over two years, called Kuznia from the bathroom andtold him to meet after work at Ruby's. 
When he emerged from the bathroom, heran into Steepleton, and was brought down to the conference roomfor a similar process.
The letters that the three received were reportedly very short.Craig Smith has posted aversion on his blog. It is much shorter than the lengthy tomethat Melinda Burns received when she was firedlast October. But more distressing is that it actually lists"disloyalty" as the reason for the trio's termination. Indeed,Teamsters attorney Ira Gottlieb issued a pressrelease at 8 a.m. this morning, calling the terminations "a blatantbare knuckled attack" and confirming that an unfair labor practicecharge is being filed today with the National Labor RelationsBoard. According to Gottlieb, longstanding federal law protectsemployees who engage in union activities such as Friday'sdemonstration.
Wrote Gottlieb, "In past unlawful firings by theNews-Press, management took the trouble to invent apretext for the discharges, which the union fully expects the NLRBto see through. In yesterday's firings, however, theNews-Press simply fired the three employees for the statedreason that they engaged in collective expressive activity onbehalf of their union, which is fully protected by the NationalLabor Relations Act." Gottlieb hopes that, based on these firings,the NLRB will realize that Wendy McCaw and her enforcers are "justthe kind of labor law 'bad actors' that invite and compelinvocation of the most stringent and powerful enforcement tools inthe NLRB's arsenal."
As for Hobbs, Kuznia, and McManigal, they all plan on gettingtheir jobs back, with back pay. Perhaps most bizarre is that allthree had stories in the newspaper this morning, but their bylineswere removed and replaced with "staff report."
Another Monday casualty was Sarah Sinclair, theformer advertising director who was recently demoted to classifiedadvertising director. She resigned.
And the purge is not yet complete. Insiders believe that theremay be more firings today, since some of the newsroom employees whoparticipated in last Friday's demonstration were not terminatedyesterday. Also, according to a comment posted on Blogabarbara at12:31 a.m. last night, N-P management was seizing thecomputers of reporter Melissa Evans and sports guyJohn Zant. That's not confirmed as of yet, but itsounds like those two might be next.
Until then, let's ponder these questions:
One, who's next?
Two, how long can the News-Press management continue tofire reporters because they support the unionization of thenewsroom? Federal law deems this illegal, so it's got to stopsomewhere, right?
Three, do Wendy McCaw's lawyers know something about union lawthat no one else does?
And four, how long can the News-Press continue to existas a newspaper with news when all their reporters have been fired? Specifically, who will cover courts, crime, the county, andeducation -- all massive beats?
Feel free to answer below.
Double-clicking on any word or phrase in this story will open a reference window with definitions and links to other reference material.
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Palminteri is a TV "star"??
Kettmann seems to have answered his own question.
Complaining about the Teamsters unionization election process can only delay the real labor contract so long. Think about how long a series of court appearances and appeals for wrongful termination can delay the process. The legality of it all obviously does not matter.
Real name, real email address, no password.
David Pritchett
February 5, 2007 at 8:14 p.m.
Enough is enough.
Somebody do some research and come up with a list of the News Press top five advertisers.
Pass it around so we can begin boycotting those businesses who support this insane woman and her clowns.
The best way to get Wendy's attention is via the pocketbook.
Raul Hernandez
February 5, 2007 at 8:22 p.m.
When you ask "Who's next" I ask you "Who's LEFT"?
Bill Clausen
February 5, 2007 at 8:34 p.m.
maria zate, nora wallace, tom schultz, melissa evans. i think that's it.
wingnut wendy
February 5, 2007 at 9:05 p.m.
There are a few people left to pick off, including Tom Schultz and Melissa Evans from the news reporting staff. Features department stalwarts include Marilyn McMahon, Tom Jacobs and Karna Hughes.
Wendy can continue putting out a newspaper (albeit a very shoddy one) as long as she leaves the copy/design desk alone. Lara Milton, Kim Favors and Alan McCabe are holding down the fort. I don't want to forget my good friend Tom DeWalt, the graphic artist.
If McCaw really wanted to shoot herself in the foot, that would be the place to start.
I mean no disrespect to my remaining friends, but I wonder why anyone is paying good money to subscribe to this paper. Now that Hobbs, McManigal and Kuznia are gone, they really are stretched to thin to do a credible job of reporting local news.
I understand if someone truly can't stand unions, or truly believes in whatever it is McCaw is espousing, or continues to subscribe in support of innocent friends or family who remain. If you don't fall into any of those categories and still subscribe, I am interested to know why.
Al Bonowitz
February 5, 2007 at 9:08 p.m.
Good God! Sorry, Nora and Maria!
Al Bonowitz
February 5, 2007 at 9:09 p.m.
BOYCOTT NP ADVERTISERS!
Everyone knows it's not subscribers that support a paper. Their fees barely pay for the delivery. It's the advertisers. Any advertisers who support this kind of behavior should be boycotted.
Juicy Fruit
February 5, 2007 at 9:44 p.m.
How long does Melissa Evans have left? One day? Two?
Bloody Monday
February 5, 2007 at 10:08 p.m.
Subscribers may not pay the bills but they do determine in essence how much a paper can charge it's advertisers. That is one reason why Wendy went to so much effort to pad her numbers. It wan't only to justify her terror tactics. The advertisers are the ones who need to find another place to put their ads. It takes a whole lot of money to put the paper out every day and no matter how rich Ms. McCaw is, she would not want to lose major bucks for too long. I feel for the people who are still there because they rely on their paycheck to survive, but right now I can't think of another way to make an impact on Ms McCaw so that she might have to communicate with her employees and the community.
Ex Inmate
February 6, 2007 at 4:55 a.m.
The News-Press will exist until a better newspaper drives it out of business. The Indy isn't quite there yet... although the Indy is terrific, it is not really a daily. The Sound may do it.
TM Storke grew the News-Press because he was made a better product than his competitors. The current News-Press will die when a new TM Storke arises.
moteofdust
February 6, 2007 at 5:46 a.m.
Al is correct about the copy desk. Without its daily contributions, the NP would look as bad as it reads these days. Without that design consistency the paper would be an unrecognizable mess. Lara, Alan and Kim (and poor Barry Punzal in sports) are the magicians of the newsroom: they create the illusion of a real paper. How they do it every day is, like good magic, a mystery to me.
zinfidel
February 6, 2007 at 8:41 a.m.
melissa evans, tom schultz and john zant got the axe too. just when you think things there can't get any worse...
wow
February 6, 2007 at 10:27 a.m.
With the loss of Zant, the subscribers who only care about sports really have no more reason to get it.
This also is transcending into a bigger local theme of rich outsiders buying up Santa Barbara and telling true locals what to do while acting illegally while doing it. Notice the simple legal analysis that the reason written for their termination is that they were doing exactly what the labor laws allow. Summary judgement, anyone?
David Pritchett
February 6, 2007 at 10:40 a.m.
Are Lara Milton, Kim Favors and Alan McCabe for the union? Are they required to work in these unsafe conditions? It appears damaging to psyche. Dr. Laura has a large and happy stable of non-union employees. How does she do it and where's her advice?
anonymous
February 6, 2007 at 12:55 p.m.
If more subscribers cancel, the product becomes more unattractive to advertisers. Lets do a pincer movement and make them scream!
Exclaibur
February 6, 2007 at 1:14 p.m.
Wendy's lawyers ought to be hauled before the Santa Barbara and California bar associations and be made to justify why they shouldn't be booted for knowingly and willfully violating federal labor law.
bob springer
February 6, 2007 at 1:48 p.m.
"Somebody do some research and come up with a list of the News Press top five advertisers."
There is only one advertiser that matters and that is Travis Armstrong's buddies at the Chumash Casino. The News-Press doesn't need any other advertiser.
Karen Jones
February 7, 2007 at 1:30 p.m.
Okay, I'm calling the Chumash Casino General Manager and voicing my choice not to return there (I visit it 4-6 times per year) until they stop advertising in the SB Newspress. Not that it will do much good to do so, but if many people made the same call... I'm a small business owner in Santa Barbara and I refuse to advertise with the SBNP until Wendy no longer has her tentacles in it!
I was at the "protest" with Barney, Don, Rob, John, Sarah, Starshine, Andrea, and a handfull of others yesterday (02/07). I wish to see one hundred times more people there today and on Friday, from 3pm-6pm. Bring a whistle, and a sign if you'd like, and let's show support for these people! It's the right thing to do, Santa Barbara!
Barbara
February 8, 2007 at 10:37 a.m.
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