More on the Great Paperboy/Girl Massacre

By Edward Shanahan

The day after posting a story last week about the Gazette’s intention to phase out the generations-old use of youth carriers to deliver the paper each day, I ran into Mike Noonan in downtown Florence.

For the last 30 years Mike was sort of the Pied Piper of Gazette news carriers, until he left his job about a year ago.

“I was shocked,” he said to read on downstret.net the Gazette’s plan to get rid of the young carriers by the end of October. Although, he said he was not surprised by the move. The unhappy prospect of not being able to work with young carriers was the reason that prompted him to look for another job. He is now a uniformed security guard at the Hampshire County Courthouse.

Mike’s enthusiasm for his previous job in the Gazette’s circulation department and his joy in working with the carriers, most of whom became life-long friends of his, were muted by his dismay that these eager young people were being cut loose.

“I loved working with those kids,” he said, with all the conviction he could muster. He thought the newsboys and newsgirls were the heart and soul of the newspaper every bit as much as the full-time employees believe their own work is what readers value most. Mike saw the carriers, despite their dwindling number in the aftermath of the conversion of the paper to early morning delivery, as the face of the Gazette day in and day out. The outsourcing of their jobs will simply remove the personal approach and create a much different relationship between newspaper and subscribers.

After the posting of the article last seek (see below), I received a couple of other written comments as well as some verbal opinions.

One e-mail came from Tracey Putnam, who works at the Smith College Botanic Gardens.

“I just read your article on your website about the loss of newspaper boys and girls. I live in Florence and received a letter from the Gazette two days ago saying I would be billed directly for the paper after a date in late October. There was no mention of the discontinuation of the carriers. I will really miss my newspaper boy Jack; he will still get his holiday tip, however. I'm thinking maybe I'll just pick up a paper at the store from now on.”

She went on to write in a subsequent e-mail: “I honestly believe that for a youngster, working as a newspaper carrier is one of the best ways to learn responsibility, the importance of dependability, basic math and what 'the daily grind' really means. They learn that getting up and out in the morning, no matter what the weather, is necessary to do and keep their very important jobs. I don't think there has been another time in history when these lessons were more important for our kids than now.”

From out of the blue, another writer, obviously not a 9- or10 -year old, checked in: “Found your website by googling Gazette and PCF. Strange (well, maybe not,) how the Gazette hasn't mentioned any of this. Thank you for giving it what little coverage it has gotten.

"You mention exploitation. Certainly PCF (Publishers Circulation Fulfillment, Inc.) isn't going to change that. I am now making 21 cents per paper and bundles are dropped off at my route. I am able to do my route without a car. PCF is offering 14 cents and I will have to go down to Conz Street to get my own bundles.

"PCF have combined … other routes with mine (they have made all route sizes about 250 papers, so it appears only one out of four carriers even has a chance to keep his or her job.)

"This will force carriers to drive their cars for the benefit of PCF and pay for all expenses with two thirds of what we used to make. If it was hard to keep carriers before, it will clearly get worse. It seems to me that the Gazette (and PCF) are "cutting costs" only by cutting down on what is paid to carriers. It reminds me of what Barbara Ehrenreich wrote in Nickel and Dimed :

'When someone works for less pay than she can live on ... she has made a great sacrifice for you ... The "working poor" ... are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone. (p. 221)'

"So, as you can see, I can not agree with your last line: "What difference does it make? None I guess. You’ll still get your newspaper, just from good old PCF Inc."
After I checked in with him, he too responded with a second e-mail. Among the additional points he made were: “I think the PCF changeover is a story that should be of interest to those who think social justice and the "greening" of jobs is a good thing. I wish it could put a positive light on the Gazette's management, because I like our hometown paper.

" But in my opinion, it does not. It is, I am afraid, an example of companies reducing costs by reducing pay of those in our society who can least afford it. I am sure PCF claims that there is a labor pool "out there" of people who are grateful for a job that pays about $13 an hour (including for the use of their car) with no provision for sick days, time off, or accidents while driving, (and walking and climbing stairs in the dark and sometimes on snow and ice.)

" It might seem profitable for a company to take advantage of such a labor pool... and offer such work. Should the Gazette? Are they knowingly involving themselves in this? Do you know people who would rent out their car for $13 an hour? Including the chauffeur? At 4 am? Unfortunately, we are not talking about driving to the prom!”

Exceedingly strong feelings have been stirred up by the prospective but certain change coming in how the daily newspaper is delivered in our hometown.
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