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Memo: Agreement reached over Toronto Star newsroom culture review

The following memo was sent to Toronto Star staff on Oct. 14, 2016, by Alan K. Bower, Executive Director, Labour Relations Toronto Star and Star Media Group, and Steve Gjorkes, Unit Chair Unifor Local 87M. Staff: We are pleased to jointly announce an agreement has been reached and signed between the company and the union to…

The following memo was sent to Toronto Star staff on Oct. 14, 2016, by Alan K. Bower, Executive Director, Labour Relations Toronto Star and Star Media Group, and Steve Gjorkes, Unit Chair Unifor Local 87M.

Staff: We are pleased to jointly announce an agreement has been reached and signed between the company and the union to conduct an independent third party review of the current newsroom culture.

This means the related union grievance will be put on hold and will not proceed to arbitration as planned November 15th. The decision to proceed to arbitration in the future has been retained by the union pending the outcome of this confidential review. Both the union and the company will be provided with the eventual conclusions and recommendations made by the independent facilitator following the review.

It is our shared hope that this confidential review will be conducted in a collaborative manner to ensure its eventual success. To support this intention the company will retain an experienced, independent facilitator in the coming weeks, with input from the union on that selection.

Moving forward, we will keep you updated on the expected review process and timeline following the appointment of the independent facilitator.

H.G. Watson was J-Source's managing editor from 2015 to 2018. She is a journalist based in Toronto. You can learn more about her at hgwatson.com.