PD Guild, Teamsters OK furloughs, pay cuts

Unions OK 12 percent pay cut, furloughs
to keep 7-day newspaper delivery

About 500 union employees of The Plain Dealer have agreed to take pay cuts and furloughs as the paper strives to keep the business viable while advertising revenue sags.

Reporters and editors, delivery truck drivers and other union members agreed to 8.1 percent pay cuts and to 11 unpaid furlough days before June 2010.

The two moves, contained in an agreement finalized Thursday, translate to a 12 percent wage decrease. They come two months after the paper required its 450 nonunion employees to also take 12 percent pay cuts.

The union workers are members of Local 1 of the Newspaper Guild and Teamsters Local 473. Their agreement ensures labor stability for the newspaper for at least another year.

Across the country, newspapers have closed or filed for bankruptcy as the 18-month-old recession batters their advertisers.

At the Boston Globe, the Guild rejected a contract that called for an 8.3 percent wage cut, unpaid furloughs and benefit cuts. The Globe's owner -- The New York Times Co. -- then imposed a 23 percent pay cut.

The Guild filed a complaint with the national labor board, but a meeting with the board was postponed Thursday after the union and management restarted negotiations.

Carmen Parise, president of the Teamsters local who heads the Unity Council of Plain Dealer unions, said workers here agreed to the cuts to avoid more layoffs. Fifty-five union employees have been laid off since last year, and 43 have left voluntarily.

"Nobody enjoys going to work for less," Parise said. "People are not happy, but they understand it. The majority of people agreed to step up to the plate and give this paper an opportunity to turn things around."

Two groups of workers did not agree to the wage cuts. Fifty-seven printing press operators represented by Graphic Communications International Union Local 546 turned it down, as well as 11 paper handlers represented by the Teamsters.

As a result, about a dozen part-time press operators received reduced hours. Paper handlers have not been affected because their contract requires that the company maintain the staffing, Parise said. But he expects that the department could face cuts in future negotiations.

Plain Dealer President and Publisher Terry Egger said previous work force reductions weren't enough to compensate for the worse-than-expected decline in advertising revenue in the first half of this year.

"There has been an acceleration in the decline of the economy, which has impacted essentially every category of advertising nationwide," Egger said.

"I hope it works," Parise said. He said he thought union workers accepting pay cuts was in everyone's best interest.

The agreement with the company is good until June 1, 2010, when the company or the unions would have the chance to reopen negotiations.

The Plain Dealer has agreed not to lay off anyone while the agreement is in place.

"We want to keep this company going as a seven-day newspaper for as long as we can," Parise said. "Hopefully next year we don't have to face the same music."