By: E&P Staff Chicago Sun-Times newsroom employees represented by the Chicago Newspaper Guild have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike when their current contract expires Sept. 30.
The Guild is seeking a four-year contract with a first-year pay increase of 9% to "make up" for the small increases in recent contracts, according to a Chicago Tribune article by Jim Kirk. Jerry Minkkinen, executive director of the Guild local, was not immediately available for comment.
The 89-2 vote Monday night authorizing the strike came amid revelations from a special committee of the paper's owner, Hollinger International Inc., that former Publisher David Radler and former Hollinger CEO Conrad Black received allegedly unauthorized payments of more than $400 million, or about 95% of the company's net profit for the past seven years.
According to the Tribune, Sun-Times management has countered the union offer with a proposal for a one-year contract that would increase wages 2%.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here