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Note: Jerry Clark, who died Tuesday, was a longtime newsman who ran an informal group of retirees called the “Old Farts of The Times” (or in polite company, the OFS, pronounced “oafs”). One of his customs was to send members a weekly e-mail of someone’s recollections in a feature he called the “Saturday Story.” This is his “Saturday Story” from March 27, 2010.
Writing -30- to a 35-Year Career
Seventeen years ago today was my last day of almost 35 years of working for Times Mirror newspapers–4 years with the Los Angeles Mirror News and 30-plus years with the Los Angeles Times.
Could it be that I have been retired half as long as I was employed at First (and Second) and Spring? My final night seems just like yesterday.
The 1993 company buyout, the second in two years, was perhaps the most generous of the many buyouts that cut the Times work force by more than 50% over the years.
I had not considered the buyout when I first heard about it. As a member of management, I was too busy answering employees' questions: Will their be another buyout next year? How will we get the paper out without the experienced workers who will be taking the buyout? Will there be more overtime for those who remain? Will part-timers be made full-time? I didn't have the answers but pointed out that overtime increased in the previous year after the first buyout.
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