Why I am voting YES
By Roberto Laurencio — El Nuevo Herald page designer since 2007
My name is Roberto Laurencio and I work for el Nuevo Herald.
I began working for McClatchy as a page designer in el Nuevo Herald 12 years ago. When I was hired, the then-director asked me how much I earned at my previous job. I was a Cuban who had arrived in the U.S. just one year before, so I told him: $8 an hour. The director promised various things: that he would pay me double what I had been paid before, that I would be a full time employee after completing one month of training.
Those promises disappeared.
After my training, I was not hired as a part-timer, but instead as a “freelancer” who worked 30 hours each week with no benefits or vacation days.
After a year or two, they reduced my hours to 25 a week, they said that we were in the recession and there were cuts to the budget. A few months later, to 23 hours.
During that time, I spoke to the new director and proposed to him that I had enough experience to work online, since I ran my own website on sports in Latin America in my free time. The director thought it was interesting what I told him about the site and even made a hyperlink in el Nuevo Herald that led to my website.
But I saw that in El Nuevo, the producers of the Online section didn’t last long in their positions and it wasn’t easy to cover their absences on weekends. I talked to the director, who gave me the opportunity to also work on the Online team for El Nuevo. That helped me economically. I added eight more hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
Although I worked in el Nuevo Herald, even more than 10 hours on Saturdays and Sundays in the course of a year, I felt useful at the paper. I felt like I could develop myself professionally there in things other than my work as a page designer. And my economic situation got a little bit better.
Eventually, my work Online ended and after a time the company made me a part-timer again; I worked 30 hours a week. They added health insurance and vacation days.
The cuts continued and various Copy Editor positions disappeared. Trying to make my situation better, I asked to assume the role of editor too.
But my new role didn’t bring me a better economic situation. Management told me that there wasn’t enough money, that they would keep me in mind for the next budget reconstruction for El Nuevo. And that’s how, year after year, I have given my time, my sacrifice, my desire to contribute and grow in this media. Every time that this company needed me, I always said yes, even if they asked me to work that same day. I covered for anyone, whether it be someone from Online, a Page Designer or a Copy Editor.
On various occasions I worked every day, from Monday to Sunday, for weeks at a time. On one occasion I worked more than three months straight when a colleague was in the hospital and there was no one to replace them. I’ve gone years without vacation, without sick time even while sick. Meanwhile, I spent years without vacation days, without taking sick days despite getting sick a few times.
Because of this, I feel the company never valued me. Various directors have come and gone and the response was always the same: “There’s no money.”
The last time that I tried to get a better situation was in 2018. I didn’t even try to get a raise as a Page Designer/Copy Editor with a heavy workload, I just asked to be full time. The only thing that I achieved from the meeting was that they gave me five more hours.
I don’t regret for one second having worked for this marvelous newsroom, in this prestigious paper where there are fantastic people, so organized and ready to help to inform the community; I just think that everyone at the company should get the value and respect that they deserve.
I support the mission of One Herald Guild, because I believe the union can protect our rights, so that we’re valued and truly respected for the time, commitment and sacrifices that we’ve dedicated to this company; and so that we are allowed to participate in the decision that could affect our capacity to make the work that our community needs.