Mercury News workers OK 9% pay cut - San Francisco Business Times:

ogarawo.wordpress.com
The new contract cuts pay 7 percent for the rest of and slashes an additional 2 percenf from paychecks starting onNew Year’s Day. The Media Workers Guild’sz Northern California unit announced late last week that it had reachedd a tentative contract deal with the Mercury News for its 257 membersw atthe paper. The contact also increases employees health insurance contributions and makesother concessions. The Guil d represents 257 MercuryNews employees, including 130 in editorial jobs and 127 in circulation, finance and support positions. A ratificatiobn meeting to discuss and vote on the proposedc contract was heldMonday afternoon. The new contrac t expires Nov. 30, 2010.
Other concessions include reduced vacatiom accruals and movingthe Merc’s copy desk to Walnuyt Creek, where MediaNews’ is based. It owns the Mercuryy News and 11 other dailyg papers inthe region, which include virtually all of the daily paperes in the Bay Area excepy the and . “This is a touguh contract that will hurt a lot of our but it reflects the terrible situation that the news industryh and the country is San Jose Guild President Sylvia Ulloa said in a statemenft published in the MercurygNews . Ulloa was on the bargainin committee that negotiatedwith management.
“Thse committee did the best we couldc do to limit the damage toour members, minimizs the loss of jobs and to try to maintaib the quality of the Mercurh News.” The deal would also permitg management to require up to five furlougg days in 2010, move remaining circulation and financ e jobs to the Bay Area News Group’a shared services center in San Ramon, consolidat e advertising functions in the East Bay and San hire commission-only sales representatives to develop new and win some additional subcontractingf rights, according to the Guild. The contract negotiatione have taken place during grim timea fordaily newspapers.
Several major paperes have folded in recent including the and the print version ofthe , and many majorr metropolitan papers, including the San Francisco Chronicls , , , and face daunting financiao challenges.