Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
"Guild, Vindy Bargain Briefly; No Progress to End Strike"
"By Andrea WoodYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- A two-hour meeting Tuesday afternoon between leaders of the striking union and management at The Vindicator brought no progress to end the day-old strike at the Mahoning Valley's largest newspaper. "We accomplished nothing -- absolutely nothing," said Anthony Markota, president of Local 34011 of the Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America. "We made a counter offer. The company had no response, and it made no offer different than what we rejected last night."The meeting was convened by the federal mediator brought in to oversee bargaining in the contract dispute. The strike began at 1 a.m. Tuesday -- one hour after the Youngstown Newspaper Guild's two-year contract expired.At mid-morning, trucks manned by replacement drivers left the newspaper's downtown plant and delivered Tuesday's sole edition -- which was printed early in the morning -- to distribution sites across the Mahoning Valley."It's now officially a scab paper," commented Markota. "We'd like the public to know that and support us."The guild represents 179 reporters, circulation and classified advertising employees. The mailers, who insert pre-printed advertising circulars into the newspaper, refused to cross the guild's picket line and reportedly are planning to conduct a strike vote.Total employment at The Vindicator is about 400, the union said.Mark Brown, general manager of The Vindicator, said two unions with separate contracts crossed the guild picket lines -- printers and composing room personnel. But as of 9 a.m. Tuesday, no guild members had crossed the picket line. Editors, who are considered management, are filling in for the striking reporters, he noted. The retail sales department is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement."We're sorry to see the guild go on strike," Brown said. "It doesn't help them, it doesn't help us, and it doesn't help the rest of our employees. We don't understand why they were determined to go out. Bonuses and wage increases were on the table when they walked out -- and they knew it wasn't our final offer."Asked for his response, Markota replied," How would we know it wasn't their final offer? We were there until 1 a.m. The deadline was midnight and the mediators had basically given up."When talks broke off, The Vindicator had offered the guild 1% pay raises and the possibility of bonuses based on the newspaper's financial performance, Markota confirmed."We're still far apart on a number of issues -- economic and noneconomic," he said.The Vindicator told union employees in a statement distributed Nov. 10 that it has steadily lost advertising and circulation revenue over the last 25 years. The guild's contract proposals would increase costs by $2 million in the first year, the company said, "would be ruinous to the attempts to return to profitability and are not responsive to the current economic conditions of the area."In a statement distributed to its members Monday, the guild said The Vindicator has demanded wage and benefit concessions only from union employees -- and that nonunion and management personnel have not made comparable sacrifices.Wage and benefit contract concessions were approved by the guild in its last two contracts. Most employees have not had pay raises since 2000, the union statement said, and those who did receive raises -- some truck drivers -- saw their hourly rate go to $6.25 from $6.10.Brown said the strike would put the union and the company even further behind economically. "It's not good for the only unionized paper in the Mahoning Valley to give our nonunion competititon an opportunity to come in and take advantage of the situation."MORE:Strike Rocks The Vindicator, Replacement Drivers Hired Contact Andrea Wood at [email protected]"