Charles Brown
(((((((((((
UAW ends boycott
Action finishes standoff against Free Press, News February 21, 2001
BY JOHN GALLAGHER FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The United Auto Workers called off its boycott of the Free Press and News on Tuesday, closing one of the final chapters in the long labor dispute involving Detroit's two daily newspapers.
RELATED CONTENT The key events
Editorial: Boycott end brings time for healing
The UAW's boycott in support of the newspaper unions had been among the final vestiges of a lengthy standoff between six newspaper unions and the newspapers that included a 19-month strike against the Free Press and News that began in July 1995.
The last of the six newspaper unions settled their contracts with the dailies in December, and the unions called off their own boycott then. The UAW had waited until now to follow suit so its International Executive Board could vote on lifting the boycott at its quarterly meetings this week in Detroit.
The UAW also called off its boycott of USA Today, which had been included because its corporate parent, Gannett Co. Inc., the nation's largest newspaper company, also owns the News. Knight Ridder, the nation's second largest newspaper company, owns the Free Press.
The UAW's move is important because it means Detroit Newspapers Inc., the company that produces, distributes and markets the dailies, again will be able to sell the newspapers in auto plants through coin-operated boxes. UAW members may also be more receptive now to subscribing to the papers in their homes. The UAW had banned the newspapers from its plants since 1995 in sympathy with the newspaper unions.
Tim Kelleher, senior vice president for labor relations for Detroit Newspapers, said he expected the coin boxes to be back in auto plants within a week.
The UAW announced the lifting of its boycott in a statement from President Stephen Yokich.
"The UAW was proud to support the members of the newspaper unions throughout their long, courageous fight to force the Detroit News Agency to resolve this conflict at the collective bargaining table," Yokich's statement said.
"Now that News and Free Press employees are once again working under ratified union contracts, we believe that the most effective way the UAW can support their ongoing efforts to win justice for those workers who have yet to be recalled and to rebuild their unions is by lifting our boycott."
Bonuses for circulation jump
Newspaper executives expressed satisfaction with the UAW's action. Kelleher called it "very good news" and noted that the unions will receive contractural bonuses if circulation increases by at least 100,000 copies of combined circulation by September.
"That's great news," said Heath J Meriwether, publisher of the Free Press. "We look forward to working with the UAW and our newspaper unions to make the Free Press available in the auto plants and the homes of their members."
Mark Silverman, the News' editor and publisher, said in a statement on the News' Web site that "we're grateful to the UAW and look forward to their support as we work to build circulation and include the labor community's important voice in our daily coverage."
Contracts signed with the six newspaper unions include cash bonuses of $1,000 per worker if sales rise by 100,000 copies and up to $3,000 per worker if the increase is 200,000 copies or more.
Getting the newspapers back in auto plants is a key part of rebuilding the newspapers' circulation.
Before the strike began in July 1995, from 20,000 to 30,000 copies of the papers were sold each day in auto plants.
The newspapers' combined daily sales fell from about 900,000 before the strike to an average of 603,097 in the six months ending in September 2000, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, an industry tabulator. Sunday sales dropped from 1.13 million to 748,383, the bureau said.
Circulation down across nation
One obstacle to rebuilding circulation is that newspaper sales have declined around the nation for reasons that have nothing to do with Detroit's labor dispute.
Among the reasons given:
Today's lifestyles allow less time to sit and read.
More news is available 24 hours a day from other sources.
People have more alternatives today, including the Internet, which many people had never heard of when the Detroit strike began July 13, 1995.
The UAW made clear that not all issues from the labor dispute have been resolved. Of particular concern is the status of former newspaper workers fired during the strike.
The newspapers fired 193 workers for what they considered inappropriate strike activity. Unions contend many of the workers were fired for peaceful sit-ins and similar actions.
Of the 193 workers fired, nine have been reinstated through negotiations between the newspapers and unions during the past year and 59 other cases have been resolved through buyouts or early retirements, Kelleher said. The company and unions continue to bargain over the remaining 125 cases.
"We remain deeply concerned about all the workers who were discharged during this conflict -- many simply for joining with community leaders in peaceful protests," Yokich's statement said.
"Basic decency demands that all these workers receive fair hearings in a timely manner, and the UAW will pay close attention to how News and Free Press management resolve this critically important issue."
The union's statement also served notice that the long-term relationship between workers and management remains a key concern.
"Whether the News and Free Press can repair that self-inflicted damage hinges on how they treat their workers in the months ahead. The UAW -- and Detroit's entire progressive community -- will be watching closely," the statement concluded.
The full statement can be found on the UAW's Web site www.uaw.com.
Mixed reactions at assembly plant
UAW members at DaimlerChrysler AG's Jefferson East Assembly plant in Detroit had mixed reactions to the lifting of the boycott.
"That's fine because everybody looks for a paper to read, and people get a paper unbeknownst to everybody and sneak it into the plant," said Eddie Lenton, 62, of Detroit, an assembler at the plant that manufactures Jeep Grand Cherokees.
Don Meldau, an electrician at the plant, wanted assurances that everyone had returned to work at the newspapers.
"If everybody's back to work, I'm happy. I'll buy the paper," said Meldau, 49, of Rockwood. "Everybody was left out in the cold."
Moon Massey said he would accept the UAW's decision.
"We don't usually argue with our brother, Steve Yokich," said Massey, 57, of Detroit and former president of Local 7 at the plant. "He's our leader."
Line worker Corey Williamson agreed.
"As long as the UAW ratifies it, it's fine with me and I don't have a problem with it," said Williamson, 31, of Oak Park.
Barbara Earl said she saw nothing wrong with putting the newspapers' coin-operated boxes back in the plant. But the line worker wasn't sure if she would buy the papers.
"I'm still not buying it, yet," said Earl, 54, of Flat Rock. "I just got out of the habit, I guess."