Inky, Daily News employees authorize strike

The contract expires tomorrow. Any word if they're closer to an agreement? How many workers will go out on strike/how many will cross? Will Philadelphians wake up Wednesday morning to no newspaper?

 

Anyone know if the pressmen or sales staff or delivery drivers are in the union?

If not, the union/reporters have zero power. And zero chance at a win.

Even during a strike, the paper still can:
1) Sell ads
2) Fill the pages with wire copy
3) Have management lay it out
4) Print
5) Deliver

 

What troubles me is the new ownership group was fine with the finances when they signed on the dotted line after doing "due diligence," now they're bitching about necessary layoffs.

 

They had to know that going in...necessary layoffs had to be part of the plan before they bought.

 

The pressmen, deliverymen and newsroom employees are separate unions. Don't know which one(s) authorized a strike. But if one strikes, will the others go on a sympathy strike?

 

Good point. But I know a lot of contracts have a "no sympathy strike" clause written into them. Not that that always stops them.

 

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/15887960.htm

The new owner of Philadelphia's two largest newspapers said Monday that it has reached an agreement with half of the publications' 12 unions, as the clock ticks toward the contracts' expiration at midnight Tuesday.

But a spokesman for Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC said management is not optimistic that a deal will be struck with the largest union, which represents more than 900 reporters, photographers and other employees at The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

 

sympathy strikes are against federal law. Management would get an injunction against any union with a valid contract. What might happen is that all of the unions would wait to see that everybody gets an agreement.

 

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/15893218.htm

The largest of the dozen labor unions negotiating new contracts with the owners of The Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com has agreed to a contract extension beyond tonight's deadline, at the request of a federal mediator.

 

If there is no Daily News in Philly, I don't think I'd want to work there anymore. Lots of good and interesting people there, plus the best sports section in the area.

 

Realistically, will the owners keep the Daily News a viable and separate (it won't be viable if the newsrooms are merged, IMO) entity?

 

i live in philly and the daily news is the best paper in the city. definatly the best sports section in the city. id kill myself if they just folded the paper. some great writers there too. conlin, jerardi, bernard fernandez, rich hoffman, elmer smith, john smallwood. hopefully everything turns around.