'The Blade' Operating Fine Without Locked Out Employees, Says GM

By: Joe Strupp One day after locking out some 200 non-editorial employees in three bargaining units, the general manager of The Blade in Toledo, Ohio says the paper is operating fine, and with less than half the number of workers who were kept out.

Joseph Zerbey, vice president and general manager of The Blade, says only 50 to 60 temporaries were needed to replace the locked-out employees that were barred from entry on Sunday. Those included members of the Teamsters Local 20, Toledo Typographical Local 63, and Toledo Mailers Local 1135, according to the paper.

"Because of the untenable work rules here, we don't need to replace everyone," Zerbey said. "We brought in a lot fewer people than we locked out." He declined to elaborate on the work rules, but said they require more people on certain jobs than he believes are necessary. "There are rules in there that a normal general manager would never do," he said about the locked-out unions' contracts. "There are restrictions in there that don't allow us to do our job, [and institute] manning requirements."

Despite the decreased workforce, Zerbey said the paper was produced and delivered on time Monday. "We were on time, the paper was larger, full of color, full of ads and we didn't miss a beat," Zerbey said.

Larry Vellequette, a spokesman for The Toledo Council of Newspaper Unions, did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Lillian Covarrubias, president of the local Newspaper Guild, also could not be reached.

A notice on the Guild Web site Monday criticized the lockouts and sought to remind the public that this was not a strike. "The Blade took these vicious actions unilaterally and without provocation. During the past month, Union representatives have repeatedly told The Blade that they had no intention of striking, boycotting or engaging in any other form of job action," the statement said. "The Unions even went so far as to offer an immediate 5% wage rebate while bargaining for new contracts continued. But The Blade is determined to attack its employees."

Those workers who were locked out Sunday handle jobs that include driving papers to drop-off points for carriers, processing some advertisements, and assembling the paper and its inserts, the Blade reported. The lockout is the third such move in the past week.

Last week, the paper locked out two bargaining units of the Graphic Communications International Union, which represent a combined 18 employees in the engravers and paper handlers units.

The five locked-out groups are among seven bargaining units currently engaged in contract negotiations, including the 350-member Newspaper Guild, which remains on the job. Blade spokeswoman LuAnn Sharp has said the lockouts are the paper's way of putting pressure on the unions for new contracts, which have not been in place since the previous agreements ended March 21.

Union leaders reacted to the first lockout with a subscriber and advertisers boycott, which they stepped up over the weekend.

Zerbey would not discuss specifics of the ongoing contract negotiations. But he stressed that any of the unions could come back to work if they signed the proposals put forth by the company. Those include unspecified salary cuts and new contributions to health insurance premiums.

At least one of the paper's bargaining units has reached an agreement, the paper said. The 20-member International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local signed a new deal in July that included a 7% salary cut. Guild representatives, meanwhile, held their last negotiating session last Wednesday.

"We would be happy to negotiate with them, but they have yet to schedule a meeting," Zerbey said about the locked-out unions. "They can only come back if they sign a contract the company wants them to sign."

Zerbey said the paper can continue to operate without the locked-out workers for as long as necessary.

Although no violence or other disruptions had occurred at the paper by locked-out employees, Zerbey said the paper had increased security at the building in recent weeks. "This is a professional argument," he said of the union dispute. "I don't expect any of that nonsense."

When asked if the cost-cutting and union lockouts were part of an effort to make the paper more attractive to buyers by the Block family, which owns it, Zerbey said no plans were in place for a sale. "There is no intent to sell the Blade if they can fix it," he said, adding that fixing it would mean "a reasonable [profit] margin. There is no margin."