Three suburban Philadelphia units of The Newspaper Guild have voted to accept a final offer from Alden Capital-21st Century CMH, the company buying the bankrupt Journal Register Co.’s properties.
Voting took place Wednesday at the Delaware County Daily Times and Thursday at the Norristown Times Herald and the Pottstown Mercury.
The vote tally was 47-15 in Delaware County, 16-0 in Norristown and 40-0 in Pottstown. Voting at a fourth unit, The Trentonian, will take place Monday.
Contract talks with the “new owners” bogged down when the national union tried to clarify and improve several provisions. Working with Bill Ross, administrative officer of the Philadelphia Guild, the union improved the contract for members with regard to management’s rights. The Guild also maintained the rights of union members to speak out on workplace issues during the contract’s life.
“Our members voted this up resoundingly, but they also were told take it or leave it,” Guild President Bernie Lunzer said. “This new ownership which is really the old owners reconstituted – sent letters warning all workers that they would be fired when the sale is complete and would have to reapply for their jobs, and would have their pay cut.”
Although concerns about advertising pay remained, leaders at headquarters authorized members to vote. “We wouldn’t stand in the way of a vote by a fully informed membership,” Lunzer said.
“I’m sure our members want to move on,” he said. “But I know that the local will be vigilant in protecting these members’ rights going forward.”
Despite the remaining concerns, Lunzer said, “there are several things in the new contracts to feel good about.” The contracts stipulate that there will be no pay cuts over the two-year term, except for possible changes in advertising sales commissions. The contracts provide a 3 percent company contribution into a 401(k) plan. They also state that there can be only one involuntary layoff from each unit during the first year.
“We thought they had agreed to 100 percent rehire,” Lunzer said. “But in the end, they sent us language insisting they have the right to lay off one full-time equivalent per unit. That can’t be something they need economically. It just seems wrong.”
The Guild represents workers at three other former JRC papers: The Kingston Daily Freeman in New York and the Detroit-area Macomb Daily and Royal Oak Tribune, both represented by the Detroit Newspaper Guild. The Kingston Guild has held talks with the company; no negotiations have taken place yet in Detroit.