'Seattle Times,' Teamsters Swap Labor Complaints Over Outsourcing

By: Mark Fitzgerald The Seattle Times and the Teamsters are swapping complaints of unfair labor practices, accusing each other of refusing to negotiate the company's proposal to outsource the union circulation drivers' work.

Teamster Local 174 said Wednesday it had filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing the Seattle Times Co. of refusing to provide sufficient information to get bargaining going -- and issuing a "fraudulent" plant closing notice.

The Teamsters contract expires Feb. 29, when the company intends to outsource the work to Penske Logistics.

"The Times has given every indication that it intends to fire all of its Local 174-represented employees on that date, and Local 174 is currently evaluating all of its options, should that occur," the union said in a statement.

Last week, the Times, which handles circulation for its newspaper and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, filed its own unfair labor pratices complaint, alleging the union was not bargaining in good faith over its plan to outsource the work of drivers to Penske Logistics. Under the plan, the 74 drivers and mechanics would lose their jobs starting Feb. 29. The Times Co. says Penske has committed to hiring about half that number of union employees.

The Times Co. on Jan. 15 formally issued a so-called WARN Act notice, telling the union that the employees would lose their jobs.

But the union local claims the notice is "fraudulent on its face because it failed to comply with the WARN Act's requirement that workers be given 60 days' notice of an impending mass layoff."

The union said the proposal to outsource its works comes after the local agreed to a one-year pay freeze "to allow the Times to get back on its feet" after a long legal battle with the P-I over the newspapers' joint operating agreement.

"Rather than using that time to regroup, the Times used it to find a way to force wage cuts through outsourcing," Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks said in a statement. "While the local is doing everything we can to avoid a labor dispute, we are also doing everything we can to preserve our members jobs and their living standards."

A spokesperson for the Seattle Times had no immediate reaction to the union's announcement.