Dayton Newspaper Workers Call for Contract Talks

TNG-CWA President Linda Foley joined officers of TNG-CWA Local 34157, representing workers at the Dayton Daily News, as they delivered a letter to newspaper management calling for the start of contract negotiations. 

At a news conference in Dayton, Lou Grieco, the local's first vice president, said newspaper workers were concerned about maintaining quality jobs and quality coverage at the newspaper, and also wanted to remedy ongoing unfair management practices, including the inequitable treatment of part-time workers.

Also on hand were Susan Baxter-Fleming, CWA District 4, and supporters from the Dayton-Miami Valley AFL-CIO and other groups.

Local 34157 represents about 120 editorial employees at the Dayton Daily News. Their independent union affiliated with TNG about 20 years ago and workers have been covered by the same contract over that time. However, they haven't been able to negotiate improvements in wages, benefits and working conditions.

A growing number of unfair management moves at the newspaper has convinced the newspaper workers that they need a new contract. In a recent action, more than 70 workers wore black to demonstrate their concern about conditions at the Daily News. 

Cox Ohio Publishing also has been reducing benefits and working conditions for workers not in the bargaining unit, Grieco said. For example, Cox recently announced an "accounting change" that eliminated vacation time accrued last year for hundreds of employees across the company.

So far, TNG-CWA members are protected by the contract in place, although the pay scales, night differential, and mileage reimbursement clauses are extremely outdated, Grieco said. "The fact that Cox Ohio Publishing now wants to deny workers full rights to arbitration makes the push for a new contract more urgent than ever," he added.