By: E&P Staff By a reported two-third majority, members of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild at The Seattle Times approved a two-year bargaining agreement that provides for no across-the-board wage increases.
In an article by staff reporter Eric Pryne, the Times reported that members of the union -- the biggest unit at the Blethen family-controlled newspaper -- went along with the reluctant approval recommendation of their negotiators. The article quoted a union blog as saying the bargainers said "the time is not right for a labor battle."
The Times took the unusual step of providing its financial records to the union to make its case that it was losing money.
The newspaper is now in a binding arbitration process with its joint operating agreement (JOA) partner the Seattle Post-Intelligencer over its contention that the financial losses should trigger a clause in the partnership agreement that would end the JOA. The P-I, owned by The Hearst Corp., contends that would doom it as a newspaper. For its part, the Times said supporting the market-lagging P-I has drained it economically, and threatens its viability.
At the Times, the guild represents more than 600 Times newsroom, advertising, circulation and front office employees. Other production unions at the Times agreed to similar no-raise contracts.
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