Largest Union at 'Star-Ledger' to Vote -- as Potential Shutdown Looms

By: Joe Strupp The largest union at The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. -- which represents about 400 mailers -- will vote Monday on a new contract that includes a three-year wage freeze and the buyout of 100 of its members, according to the union's lawyer.

But those buyouts will not be counted among the 200 buyouts the company is seeking from non-union workers as part of a plan to cut costs and avoid a sale or shutdown. Company officials have yet to indicate if the 200-buyout mark has been reached. An Oct. 1 deadline remains for workers to take that offer.

In addition to the 200-buyout demand, Publisher George Arwady has required new agreements from two unions, Teamsters Local 1100, which represents the mailers, and the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union, which represents 90 drivers.

The paper has 1,412 employees, with about half represented by unions.

The mailers tentatively agreed to a new contract, according to Andrew S. Hoffmann, the lawyer for the union whose members handle inserts and other pre-delivery production of the paper. He said the union agreed to scrap its existing contract that would have run until 2011 and provided 2% annual raises. The new deal, which will be the subject of a vote Monday, extends the contract to 2012 and includes an annual bonus of approximately $750 instead of the raises.

"We provided a dramatic reduction in the labor cost for the insert operation," Hoffmann told E&P. Nick Benenati, secretary-treasurer for the union, said the agreement makes the best of a bad situation: "Wage freezes are never fair, but when it comes down to it, you do what you have to do."

Hoffmann added that the majority of the mailer buyouts are higher-paid employees who agreed to the departure deal. He added that the newspaper's recent decision to shut down one of its two printing plants makes it easier to cut the workforce, but adds that lower-paid replacements could be brought in later.

He did not provide specifics of the buyout agreements. The non-union buyout offer for other employees provides one-year's salary.

Arwady could not be reached for comment Friday. Officials from Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union did not return calls seeking comment. Arwady told employees in late July that the paper would need 200 non-union buyouts and new concessions from the mailers and drivers unions to avoid a sale or shutdown of the paper. Earlier this week, he sent an e-mail to workers that set a Jan. 5 shutdown date if agreements or a sale are not reached. He also wrote that notices of a potential sale or closure would be sent to employees this week.

Several Star-Ledger staffers who requested anonymity have said the overall 200-person buyout number may have been met, but the unofficial call for about 100 newsroom staffers is not being reached.