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Out-of-State Papers Seek 'Volunteers' to Help Vindy
By Andrea WoodYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Two nonunion newspapers owned by one of the nation's largest publishing companies -- the same company that operates The Plain Dealer and suburban weeklies in the Cleveland area -- are soliciting volunteers from their staffs to come here and replace striking members of the Youngstown Newspaper Guild.The newspapers are The Times-Picayune, published in New Orleans, and The Oregonian, published in Portland, Ore. They are owned by Advance Publications Inc. of New York, which publishes 25 daily newspapers, 40 weekly business journals -- including titles in Pittsburgh, Columbus and Dayton, the Parade Magazine Sunday insert and popular magazines such as Vanity Fair and Glamour. The company, with 2003 sales estimated at $5.9 billion, is privately owned by the Newhouse family.An e-mail obtained by a staff representative for The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America and provided to The Business Journal details terms of the recruiting arrangement. "Our parent company is helping the management in Youngstown continue to publish by supplying workers from our sister paper in New Orleans. We have been asked to see if there might be volunteers from here, willing to go to Youngstown and work," wrote the executive editor of The Oregonian, Peter Bhatia, to members of his newspaper's staff."They are, at last report, looking for half a dozen reporters and copy editors. Volunteers would continue to receive their Oregonian salaries and benefits as well as being paid by Youngstown. Transportation, etc., would be covered," stated Bhatia's e-mail."I understand some may be uncomfortable with this sort of situation or with crossing a picket line, as I assume they would have to do. There is no pressure for anyone to go. It is completely voluntary," he concluded.Calls to Bhatia were not returned.Other communications obtained by The Business Journal confirm that The Times-Picayune is similarly notifying its employees of the opportunity to make extra money. The publisher of the New Orleans newspaper, Ashton Phelps Jr., refused to answer questions. "I have nothing. I don't talk on the record," he said, and hung up.Also helping to recruit replacement reporters and editors is Traci Leonardo, director of the Institute on Political Journalism, a college internship program based in Washington. Earlier this week Leonardo notified at least one college campus in Ohio that job seekers should send their resumes and clippings to Paul C. Jagnow, managing editor of The Vindicator. Leonardo's e-mail itemizes compensation for replacement reporters as $20 an hour, $75 per diem for expenses plus hotel expenses and mileage reimbursement. "They are willing to take anyone with a resume and clips and request that applicants have a car and a laptop," she wrote. "I don't know how long the position will last, but it's a great way to earn some extra cash and get your foot in the door."Confirmation of the widespread effort to recruit replacement reporters and editors comes as 10 hours of talks Monday between the newspaper and the Youngstown Newspaper Guild failed to reach a contract settlement.Mark Brown, general manager of The Vindicator, told WKBN radio his company "made an offer to wrap this up" but the union responded with a counter-offer that he described as "pretty far removed." Brown has not returned phone calls from The Business Journal since it was disclosed Nov. 19 that the Youngstown Publishing Co., which does business as The Business Journal, is providing professional services to the union to facilitate publication of its strike newspaper, The Valley Voice.Anthony S. Markota, president of the Youngstown Newspaper Guild, said The Vindicator did not budge at Monday's talks. "They offered our lowest wage classification a raise of 6.5 cents an hour over three years and our highest classification 1% over each year of the contract," he related. "It's curious to me that the company is willing to pay over $1,000 a week to scab reporters but is not willing to give a living wage to the lowest classification on our wage scale," Markota added.The union wants more money for its members and health-insurance equity with nonunion and management employees. Other demands involve vehicles used to distribute the paper and overtime in the circulation department, which the union president described as "understaffed."Since the newspaper strike began Nov. 16, one reporter -- Patricia Meade, who covers the police beat -- has resigned from the guild and is supplying The Vindicator with stories. Three circulation employees are also working for the company and not observing the strike.The Youngstown Newspaper Guild represents 175 reporters, copy editors, photographers, page designers, classified advertising and circulation personnel.Also on strike are the 25 members of the Teamsters union who insert pre-printed advertising circulars into the newspaper. Workers have been hired to replace the mailers, as these employees are called. Replacements have also been secured for some district managers in the circulation department.According to Markota, The Vindicator placed an advertisement seeking reporters and editors on a popular help-wanted Web site for the newspaper industry, www.journalismjobs.com, and ordered that the ad continue through Dec. 27. But the ad was removed from the Web site, the union chief said, when it was discovered the applicants would replace striking members of The Newspaper Guild.Contact Andrea Wood at [email protected]"