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NLRB Upholds Reinstatement and Backpay for Detroit Newspaper Strikers
The National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. upheld unfair labor practice decisions against the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, ruling that the newspapers must reinstate striking workers and pay their lost wages and benefits going back to July 13, 1995.
Acting on an appeal by the newspapers, the NLRB unanimously sustained earlier decisions by two administrative law judges that workers had been illegally replaced and ordered the publishers to rehire the strikers, "displacing, if necessary, any replacements hired since July 13, 1995."
The ruling affects more than 2,000 employees and their families represented by The Newspaper Guild/CWA and the CWA Printing Sector, as well by as the Teamsters and Graphic Communications unions.
The decision, announced today, found that the strike was an "unfair labor practice strike" -
which precludes permanent replacement- based on the publishers' refusal to provide requested information on key bargaining issues during negotiations, thus provoking the strike.
Among other violations of federal labor law were the newspapers threats to permanently replace the strikers, failure to deal with the unions over the replacement issue, illegally declaring an impasse and imposing a merit play plan, removing TNG bulletin boards from editorial offices, refusing to reinstate the workers after a February 1997 unconditional return to work offer by the unions, and others, the NLRB found.
"Once again, the publishers have been found to have deliberately engineered this tragic strike and to have sustained a brutal campaign against these working families for exercising their basic collective bargaining rights," said TNG/CWA President Linda Foley. "The full NLRB has now stated, clearly and forcefully, that Gannett and Knight Ridder are serial law breakers."
"This is great news - long overdue," said CWA Printing Sector President Bill Boarman.
"I hope the company will honor the decision of the NLRB so we can put this deplorable chapter in American labor relations behind us, and get back to work."
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Acting on an appeal by the newspapers, the NLRB unanimously sustained earlier decisions by two administrative law judges that workers had been illegally replaced and ordered the publishers to rehire the strikers, "displacing, if necessary, any replacements hired since July 13, 1995."
The ruling affects more than 2,000 employees and their families represented by The Newspaper Guild/CWA and the CWA Printing Sector, as well by as the Teamsters and Graphic Communications unions.
The decision, announced today, found that the strike was an "unfair labor practice strike" -
which precludes permanent replacement- based on the publishers' refusal to provide requested information on key bargaining issues during negotiations, thus provoking the strike.
Among other violations of federal labor law were the newspapers threats to permanently replace the strikers, failure to deal with the unions over the replacement issue, illegally declaring an impasse and imposing a merit play plan, removing TNG bulletin boards from editorial offices, refusing to reinstate the workers after a February 1997 unconditional return to work offer by the unions, and others, the NLRB found.
"Once again, the publishers have been found to have deliberately engineered this tragic strike and to have sustained a brutal campaign against these working families for exercising their basic collective bargaining rights," said TNG/CWA President Linda Foley. "The full NLRB has now stated, clearly and forcefully, that Gannett and Knight Ridder are serial law breakers."
"This is great news - long overdue," said CWA Printing Sector President Bill Boarman.
"I hope the company will honor the decision of the NLRB so we can put this deplorable chapter in American labor relations behind us, and get back to work."
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