Philly Papers Postpone Contract Talks Due to KR 'Uncertainty'

By: E&P Staff Joe Natoli, publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News sent a notice to all staffers, notifying them that talks on a new contract are now on hold, due to the rising "uncertainty" over parent Knight Ridder's future.

Here is the text of his letter, first posted at the Romenesko site at www.poynter.org:

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From: [Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News publisher] Natoli, Joe (PNI)
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 10:57 AM
To: PNI Weekly Update - All
Subject: Early Negotiations

November 29, 2005
TO: PNI Employees
FROM: Joe Natoli

Over the last two months, there have been a number of meetings between management and individual unions in anticipation of the expiration of our labor agreements in August of 2006. Our hope had been to finalize new agreements well in advance of the expiration of the existing contracts.

Given the uncertainty that exists while the Knight Ridder board considers strategic options, including a possible sale, we told labor representatives this morning of our intention to postpone early negotiations for the time being.

We will pick them back up sometime next year, no later than the contractual notice periods, which are 60-90 days prior to the expiration of the current contracts on August 31, 2006.