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Sep 17, 2009 6:17 pm US/Central
Star Tribune Carriers Take Big Pay Cut
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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The Star Tribune doesn't work with carriers directly. Instead, the newspaper contracts the work out to 28 area agents.
CBS
Each day some 320,000 Star Tribune newspapers land in the hands of readers -- many of them dropped on subscriber's doorsteps by a network of carriers like John Boemer. For the past 14 years, Boemer has risen at 2 am to drive to a newspaper depot and pick up his morning load.
"We believe we're part of the presentation. The paper product and us delivering it to specific spots, seven days a week, reliably where people want them is a big part of what's going on here," explains Boemer.
However, after years of delivering papers, John Boemer won't be doing it much longer. He says he's being forced out by a drastic pay cut. His bi-weekly paycheck will drop from $1400 down to under $950.
That's a big concern to this single father trying to make ends meet. Carriers are expected to pay for their own vehicle expenses like insurance, gasoline, tires and maintenance. In some cases, Boemer adds, carrier wages haven't been adjusted in nearly ten years.
The Star Tribune doesn't work with carriers directly. Instead, the newspaper contracts the work out to 28 area agents. It is the job of those agents to hire, manage and pay the carriers for their daily work. That change took place a couple of years ago in an attempt to bring about greater efficiency with the cost of circulation.
Neither circulation agents nor Star Tribune management would discuss the carrier cost-cutting in an on-camera WCCO-TV interview. However, the paper's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Ben Taylor told us this was a decision made by the agents.
Taylor adds, "[Agents] are looking at market conditions and, like all business, trying to get these jobs done at a lower cost."
However, for some carriers, like John Boemer, a side job that once helped pay the bills will barely cover the cost of driving the route!
"We don't blame the agents at all, we blame the perception of the Star Tribune in how important we are out in the field in addition to our costs," Boemer explains.
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