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Strike Looms at The Vindicator in Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Members of the Youngstown Newspaper Guild Local 11 voted nearly unanimously Thursday night to strike The Vindicator at midnight Nov. 15 when their contract expires.The rank and file also authorized publication of a strike newspaper should a job stoppage occur."The vote was 110 to 2," said Tony Markota, president of the Newspaper Guild-Communictions Workers of American Local 34011 of Youngstown. "The membership is united."Mark Brown, general manager of The Vindicator, said late Thursday he's not surprised by the strike vote. "It's routine," he commented. "Unions always take strike votes and I've never heard of one not passing." The Vindicator is seeking wage and benefit concessions from the guild, which represents 175 reporters, circulation and classified advertising employees.Guild members agreed to wage and benefit concessions in their last two contracts, Markota said. "We no longer feel it's necessary to continue this trend," he stated.The newspaper circulated a memo yesterday to employees that explained the company has been losing circulation and advertising revenues the last 25 years."We've got a number of issues on the table that involve cost cutting. We've told the guild to the extent we agree to those things and save money, part of those savings will be distributed back to the bargaining unit members, Brown said.According to union members who attended the meeting where the strike vote was taken -- a meeting closed to other members of the press -- Markota reported The Vindicator had filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union, claiming it has not bargained in good faith. Yesterday the union filed its unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, the guild president said, accusing the company of promising a small number of union members monetary incentives if they crossed the picket line.Brown called that claim "crazy."The newspaper "ended up having to file an unfair labor practice charge to get bargaining going," he said. "We were talking to ourselves at most of the meetings, and we're hoping to start have substantive discussions." There have been eight negotiating sessions, Brown noted, two with a federal mediator summoned by the newspaper.Bargaining will resume today and continue until the contract expires Nov. 15, he said. The last strike against The Vindicator took place 40 years ago. it lasted nine months and resulted in the publication of a strike paper, the Steel Valley News.Brown said should a strike occur the newspaper "will continue to publish and fulfill our commitment to our subscribers, advertisers and employees."Visit The Vindicator at www.vindy.com"