By: E&P Staff In a vote over the weekend, unionized employees at Newsday overwhelmingly rejected a proposed contract that would have cut all employee wages by 10% and driver pay by 15%, increased the workweek and reduced paid vacation time.
The vote by members of the Graphic Communications Conference/International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 406 was 473 to 10 against the proposal from the Cablevision-owned tabloid, the Long Island Press reported in an article by Christopher Twarowski.
While the management contract proposal had been forwarded by the local's leadership for a vote by members, national union leaders first postponed the vote and then urged employees to reject the pact.
"When you return to the bargaining table, you will have my full support and the backing of the entire Teamsters organization as you seek to reach an acceptable agreement for a new contract with Newsday that respects your contributions to the newspaper and adequately provides for you and your families," Teamsters President James Hoffa wrote in a memo to workers last week.
The contract covering newsroom employees expires on April 1.
In a statement, Newsday management said it was "naturally disappointed" by the contract rejection.
"The objective was to preserve as many jobs as possible and to ensure that Newsday remains a strong and viable company for its workforce, and for Long Island," the statement read in part. "We worked closely with the union to come up with a contract that is fair and equitable given the challenging state of our industry and our business."
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