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The contract would have given , the N.Y. daily’s New York City-based owner, the power to outsourcre any and all jobs and lay off employeew regardlessof seniority. “Has the membership approved the company’s proposal, we woul d have respected their decision and been bound by saidTim O’Brien, a Times Union reporter and presideng of the . “The publisher soughtg this vote, told members how important it was to him that they vote and he needa to respecttheir decision.” The vote was taken Sundagy and today. George Hearst, publisher of the Timews Union, was not immediately availablefor comment.
In earlieer interviews, he said the outsourcing and seniorityy issuesare “must haves” for management in this economy. The two sidesz have been negotiating for nearlya year. On April 9, Hearst canceled the union’as contract in an attempt to gain flexibility in its need to trim the workforc by about 70 Since then, the Guild has waged a war againstf management, including billboards and Web sites urginvg people to cancel their subscriptions until a “fair” contracrt is reached.
O’Brien said the union now will suspend that campaigjn asa “show of good Management put its “best and final” offer on the table in mid-May, and urged the Guilcd to put before members for a It was rejected by a vote of 125 to 35. “Out members were quite clear on what they founde unacceptable inthe company’s offer and they have been tellingb us what changes would make it O’Brien said. “We intend to seek new bargaininf dates and to go forward with a renewerd spiritof flexibility.
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