Friday, September 12, 2008

More trouble ahead at McClatchy's Tacoma and Olympia newspapers?... unions may not agree to consolidation plans

Recent buyouts at The Olympian, The News Tribune, and the Tri-City Herald have given rise to speculation McClatchy may be planning to combine operations at The Olympian and Tacoma's The News Tribune. But, I'm hearing the unions are already balking at these plans.

A recent commenter said this:

There are also negotiations with in the press shops of the Olympian and The News Tribune unions bargaining agreements to bring the Olympia printing staff and paper to the Tribune. However Mcclatchy wants the union to lay off close to half the staff of the Olympian before the move, (trying to turn union brother and sisters against each other). The Tribune union members are refusing to do this. Now the Tribune management staff is threatening to lay off 4 to 5 Tribune press employees if the new Tribune-Olympian bargaining agreement isn't voted in.
Looks like there are major obstacles to combining these operations. From a reader via email:

The presses can't be shut down at the Olympian due to a contact to publish USA Today that won't expire for about 10 years, and the TNT isn't equipped with the satellite feed to receive USA Today's files for the presses. It has been pointed out, too, that the Olympian's presses are better able to handle tabloid-size publications better than the TNT (at least, more efficiently and cost-effectively), and there had already been talks of merging similar tabloid-sized product between the two papers(the CareerBuilder and Apartments.com weekly tabs, and possibly others).

What are you hearing?

Previous:

Prediction: McClatchy will regionalize newspapers

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hang tough...no compromise!!!!! Don't let them bust another union shop...First Idaho, then Modesto...Get the lawyers...all the top guns and FIGHT!!! Looks like USA Today may be your ace in the hole.
McClatchy is in DEEP DOO DOO and they are grasping at whatever they can to raise $1 billion to pay short term bank notes and they think this will help...I think they will be surprised when the union brothers and sisters stand together and don't back down. They talked about laying off some of our guys in the operations Dept. last year and one or two got nervous and bailed out. Our press men stood together and when they started talking layoff we got the union lawyer involved. Unfortunately they were able to legally bust us.