Citing a list of grievances, workers and supporters at the Providence Journal Production Facility on Kinsley Avenue in Providence held and informational picket and rally ahead of contract negotiations. About 120 workers at the Providence Journal are members of the Teamsters Local 251.
The Teamsters maintain that since taking over the Providence Journal in September 2014, parent company Gatehouse Media has:
- Violated Rhode Island state wage laws;
- Refused to hire full-time workers;
- Used non-union temporary workers to deprive union workers of work opportunities;
- Refused to recognize seniority for work assignments;
- Refused to bargain wage or benefit increases, even though the company admits the operation is profitable;
- Admits that the workforce has high turnover because wages are too low (and that’s how they like it!);
- Has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses and stock options to Gatehouse Media CEO, Kirk Davis, while demanding “shared sacrifice” (wage freezes) from Providence Journal workers, in order to increase the employer’s profits;
Workers are demanding a fair contract.
Representative David Bennett (Democrat, District 20, Warwick) 
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