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The Blade' Operating Fine Without Locked Out Employees, Says GM
By Joe Strupp
Published: August 28, 2006 12:30 PM ET
NEW YORK 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."
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
update.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003054725
Locked-Out 'Blade' Unions Fire Back with Media Blitz, NLRB Charges
By Joe Strupp
Published: August 29, 2006 4:55 PM ET
NEW YORK Locked-out unions at The Blade of Toledo, Ohio fired back at the newspaper Tuesday with a local media blitz aimed at raising awareness of the paper's "lockouts" and the current contract negotiation stalemate.
Larry Vellequette, spokesman for the Toledo Council of Newspaper Unions, said the umbrella labor group had bought space on 15 local billboards and launched a radio campaign of 60-second spots that seeks to denounce the lockout of five of the newspaper's eight unions.
He also claims that the unions have contacted at least 300 Blade advertisers as part of an advertising boycott that launched last week, just days after the lockout began. Vellequette said that at least six major auto dealers have stopped advertising. "I know that some of the advertisers that have pulled out are half a million dollar a year advertisers," Vellequette said. "And they have said they are not signing contracts until this is over."
Blade advertising officials couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Union leaders claim the paper has offered some former advertisers space for free ads as a way to counter the boycott. The unions also are continuing a subscription boycott, which saw some 500 subscribers cancel last weekend via cards turned in by the union.
Blade spokeswoman Luann Sharp, who is also a newsroom editor, said she only knew of three advertisers who had pulled ads, and said at least one had returned. She also disputed the claim that the paper had been offering any free ad space. "I believe that is not true," she said.
Vellequette said the union can survive on unemployment insurance and strike pay as long as necessary. But he hoped the lockouts would be over as soon as possible. "We want to have a paper when we are done, we have to walk a fine line," Vellequette said. "If the boycott is too successful and the Blade never comes back, no one wins."
The ad boycott and media campaign are the latest moves in the ongoing labor battle at the paper, which reached a new level of intensity last week when 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 lockout expanded to three more unions on Sunday when about 200 employees represented by the Teamsters Local 20, Toledo Typographical Local 63, and Toledo Mailers Local 1135 were bared from employment. Those workers 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.
In addition, two unfair labor charges have been filed by one of the unions with the National Labor Relations Board since the lockouts began, according to an NLRB official.
Blade officials have claimed the lockouts are the paper's way of pressuring the unions to negotiate new contracts after their last agreements ended in March. Management says the paper needs wage cuts, increased employee health care contributions, and other changes in order to reach profitability.
Vellequette said the unions have agreed to wage cuts and increased health premiums. He said the labor leaders even offered to take an immediate 5% pay cut before any contract is signed as a show of good faith. "They rejected all of it," Vellequette said. "We truly believe the Blade is not profitable and we want to help them."
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. 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.
Blade officials have said they have been operating the newspaper well without the locked-out workers, noting that only 50 to 60 temporary workers have been needed to replace the previous 200 employees. The unions' contracts require that they get their old jobs back when a new contract is signed. But until then the paper can keep them out.
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.