Santa Barbara News-Press Being Victimized by Criminal Solicitation Alert

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Santa Barbara News-Press issued the following statement today in response to anonymous threats made against the paper:

“one of the world's foremost experts on campaigns against businesses”

A disturbing anonymous Internet posting related to the current labor dispute between the Santa Barbara News-Press and the Teamsters union was sent to the company calling for certain illegal actions to be taken against the paper. Several of the actions are serious crimes and the posting itself is a thinly veiled solicitation for criminal acts, which is also a crime.

Among the threats is a call to break into the newspaper's computer system to disrupt and damage normal business activities and for people to steal papers from the news racks. These sorts of attacks are crimes punishable by heavy fines and even prison terms.

The Santa Barbara News-Press takes these threats seriously and intends to cooperate fully in any law enforcement investigation. The company is committed to prosecuting any criminal activities directed towards the paper and its employees to the full extent of the law.

While the identity of the writer isn't yet known, activities of this nature are involved in union corporate campaigns and are used when attempting to improperly force a company to give in to union demands. Professor Jarol B. Manheim at The George Washington University, who is recognized by one publication as "one of the world's foremost experts on campaigns against businesses," describes a corporate campaign this way:

"It is a highly sophisticated form of warfare in which a target company is subjected to diverse attacks...the function of which is to so thoroughly undermine confidence in the company that it is no longer able to do business as usual. The union waging the campaign then offers to withdraw the pressure in return for substantial concessions."

This sort of campaign is most often used to circumvent the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) procedures and secret ballot elections. The News-Press has already agreed on a date for the NLRB sanctioned election. The paper is doing everything it can to work within the system and the law, and will vigorously defend itself against any attempts to do otherwise by anyone.