AP News Workers Rally Again For Quality Journalism In Labor Talks.

NEW YORK -- News Media Guild - Communications Workers of America:

WHAT: Associated Press news workers will hold protest rallies early next week at about three dozen U.S. bureaus to stand up for quality journalism at the world's largest news agency. Journalists, technicians and support staff will protest over AP's proposed 50 percent cut in retirement benefits, below-inflation wage offer and other issues. Meanwhile, AP reporters and photographers will be withholding use of their personal cars and cell phones for covering assignments, not tweeting about their stories and participating in other protests Monday and Tuesday.

WHERE: List of rallies is at bottom.

WHEN: Most are Tuesday, April 12, at lunchtime. There is one rally each Monday and Wednesday.

CONTACT:News Media Guild Mobilizer Linda Johnson, 215-584-6720 (cell), 215-547-3337 (home), ljohnson@newsmediaguild.org or sciwri@verizon.net OR TONY WINTON, NMG President, 212-869-9290

LINK TO VIDEOS OF PROTESTS IN MARCH AND EARLIER:

http://www.youtube.com/user/NMGvideo

WHY: AP's 1,250 news workers have been trying to negotiate a new contract since October, but the company continues to insist on deep cuts.+AP workers have already made many concessions to reduce costs, and haven't had a wage increase in two years. Some 10 percent of the staff were laid off in 2009, after years of attrition had already reduced staff to the bone in most bureaus and departments.

AP enjoyed several years of strong growth before the recession and its CEO, former USA Today executive Tom Curley, says AP's finances are improving again. Unlike newspapers and TV stations hurt by loss of advertisers to the Internet, AP has a wide range of income sources, including Internet customers such as Google and Yahoo, corporations, government agencies, specialty publications and foreign news outlets. Income from many of those sources is growing steadily. Yet AP insists on a tiny raise that won't keep pace with inflation and a freeze of our pensions that would erase retirement security. Given the deep staff cuts at many other media outlets, AP's reliable, unbiased journalism is needed more than ever.

Staff have been protesting these proposals since October, signing petitions, withholding their names from their work, and sending direct appeals to Curley. Nearly 9,000 members of the news-consuming public have signed our quality journalism petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/support-quality-journalism-and-ap-workers.

The company did agree to freeze health care premiums, after insisting it would raise them 50 percent or more, following nearly 30 rallies and other protests last month. But AP hasn't budged on other economic issues and wants to continue giving staff compensation far below what its primary competitors provide.

Staffers will hold protests in the 39 cities below, all on Tuesday, April 12, except for the Salt Lake City and St. Louis protests, which will be on Wednesday. Los Angeles is protesting on both Monday and Tuesday.

City		Time		Address
Washington, DC		12:30-1:30		1100 13th St. NW
New York		1-2 PM		450 West 33rd St
Atlanta		noon		101 Marietta St.
Boston		1 p.m.		184 High St.
Trenton, NJ		1:30 p.m.		50 W. State St.
Baltimore, MD		noon		218 N. Charles St.
Kansas City, Mo.		noon		215 W Pershing Rd
Phoenix		11:30 a.m.		1850 N. Central Ave. (just north of McDowell Ave.)
Philadelphia		11:30 a.m.		1835 Market St.,
Louisville, KY		noon		525 W. Broadway (Courier-Journal bldg.)
Denver		1:30 p.m.		1444 Wazee St.
Chicago		12:30 p.m.		10 S. Wacker @ Madison
Nashville, TN		noon		215 Centerview Drive, BRENTWOOD TN
Honolulu		11:30 a.m.		Hawaii Capitol, 415 S Beretania St.
Hartford, CT		8:30 a.m.		Southern Connecticut Univ.
Los Angeles		noon 4/11&12		211 S. Figeroa St.
New Orleans		noon		1515 Poydras St.
Salt Lake City		noon 4/13		300 E. 100 South
Portland, Ore.		1:30 p.m.		121 SW Salmon St.
Montpelier, VT		noon		535 Stone Cutters Way
Columbia, MO		noon-1 p.m.		9th & Elm (next to U. Missouri Journalism School
Dallas		1 p.m.		4851 LBJ Freeway
Omaha, NE		noon		6711 S 110 St.
Indianapolis, IN		noon		251 N. Illinois St.,
Cheyenne, WY		noon		320 W. 25th St.
Seattle, WA		12:30 p.m.		3131 Elliott Ave.
Tallahassee		noon		336 E. College Ave.
Detroit		1:30 p.m.		300 Joseph Campau @Atwater St.
Miami		12:30 p.m.		9100 NW 36th St.
San Francisco		noon		303 2nd St.
Albany, N.Y.		1 p.m.		645 Albany-Shaker Rd. (Times Union Bldg)
Anchorage, AK		noon		750 W. 2nd Ave.
Boise, ID		12:30 p.m.		101 S. Capitol Blvd.
Columbia, SC		noon		1311 Marion St,
Sacramento, CA		noon		Cesar Chavez Park, 10th & J Sts.
St. Louis, Mo.		1 PM-4/13		900 N, Tucker Blvd (Post-Dispatch bldg.)
Minneapolis		noon		511 11th Ave. South
Charleston, WVa.		11 a.m.		500 Va. St. E.
Raleigh, NC		11:30 a.m.		4800 Six Forks Road

VISUALS: Workers will be protesting in Guild red and distributing flyers asking the public to support us by signing our online petition (link is above). At most sites, protestors will have picket signs, and the NYC and Washington rallies will feature large banners.

The News Media Guild (formerly the Wire Service Guild) represents news workers at The Associated Press, United Press International, and the Spanish-language EFE News Service. It is local 31222 of The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America.