Unions at Toledo's 'Blade' Call for Ad Boycott

By: Union leaders at The Blade asked advertisers on Monday to boycott the newspaper and readers to cancel subscriptions a day after management locked out the nine employees of its engravers union in a contract dispute.

Eight unions representing about 650 workers have been negotiating with the company since their contracts expired March 21, and one agreement has been reached. The Blade said it hoped the lockout would speed up negotiations.

Blade spokeswoman Luann Sharp said the boycott would hurt other businesses and their employees as well as the newspaper. ?It seems to be self-defeating,? she said.

Union leaders in July had threatened to call for an advertiser boycott, saying they had hundreds of commitments from advertisers. They later backed away from the idea with hopes of making progress on the contracts.

?We told them we didn?t want a strike, we didn?t want a boycott, we wanted to talk,? Larry Vellequette, a spokesman for the Toledo Council of Newspaper Unions, an umbrella group, said Monday.

The Blade, owned by Block Communications Inc., has a daily circulation of 135,000 and 180,000 on Sundays.

The company and the unions have complained about lagging progress in the negotiations and the inability to reach an agreement on a management rights clause that would give administrators more flexibility to control staffing levels, layoffs and mandatory overtime shifts. Previous contracts did not include such a clause.

The company also has sought wage cuts and a contribution to health care costs.

The lockout of the Graphic Communications International Union will be in effect until a new contract is signed, the newspaper said. The workers make the plates needed to print the paper, and their jobs are being filled by management and temporary workers.

All other union employees reported to work on Monday without any problems, Sharp said.

The next negotiating is scheduled Wednesday with the Toledo Newspaper Guild, which represents workers in the newsroom and advertising, circulation and marketing departments.

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