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PHILADELPHIA (AFX) - Members of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against the new owner of the city's two biggest newspapers.
An estimated 500 of the union's 1,000 members who work for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News attended a Guild meeting Thursday where leaders talked about how little progress has been made in negotiations.
Only four union members at the meeting voted against the strike. The current contract expires at midnight Tuesday.
A local investment group bought the two dailies, their Web site and sister properties from McClatchy Co. in June in a deal valued at $562 million.
The newspapers were previously owned by Knight Ridder Inc. McClatchy acquired Knight Ridder, but sold off the Philadelphia dailies and 10 other papers, largely because they were not located in rapidly growing markets.
Union leader Diane Mastrull said the presence of a federal mediator, who joined the talks earlier this week, was "one bright spot" in contract negotiations.
The key issues are a proposal to freeze contributions to the Guild's pension plan and take over control of the pension fund, and a demand that the company be able to lay off employees without regard to seniority.
Last week, management told employees that layoffs are unavoidable because advertising revenue is down and the owners need to cut costs to meet bank obligations. Cash flow fell from $100 million in 2004 to $76 million last year and is projected to dip below $50 million for 2006.
Management spokesman Jay Devine said the company is "disappointed that the Guild leadership is the only union taking this action."
Employees of the newspapers are represented by 12 labor unions. On Wednesday, Devine said four unions had already tentatively settled and the company hoped to agree with the others before Tuesday. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
