http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/current/business/stories/newspapers.html (Einblicke ins Internet, ~06/1995)
DETROIT (Reuter) - In a victory for striking Detroit News and Free Press workers, the National Labor Relations Board's regional director ruled that a seven-week-old walkout was the result of the newspapers' unfair labor practices.
``I found a connection between the reasons the employees are out on strike and the unfair labor practices of the employer,'' said William Schaub, regional director of the NLRB, on Thursday.
Schaub's finding is significant because, if upheld, it means the newspapers must give striking employees their jobs back once the strike is resolved.
Schaub also issued an unfair labor practice complaint Thursday against the newspapers for bargaining in bad faith with Detroit Typographical Union No. 18. If both sides cannot resolve the complaints, they will take their cases to a hearing before an administrative law judge.
Six unions representing about 2,500 employees struck the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News July 13. The strike came after talks broke down over management proposals to overhaul the delivery system, cut jobs and change the pay structure for newsroom employees.
The two newspapers have separate owners and editorial functions. But their business operations are jointly run by an entity called Detroit Newspapers.
Schaub has issued previous unfair labor practice complaints. On Aug. 15, he filed a complaint against the newspapers for reneging on an agreement to engage in joint bargaining with all six unions on strike.
Before that, Schaub filed a complaint against the Newspaper Guild of Detroit, Local 22, for refusing to bargain in good faith with the Detroit News.
A spokesman for the Newspaper Guild said the NLRB finding Thursday is a boost for members, although it was not likely to affect bargaining.
Frank Vega, Detroit Newspapers president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the charges and Schaub's finding were ``totally without merit.''
The unions and newspaper agency resumed talks Aug. 17 after the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service urged the two sides to start talking again.
On Wednesday, the Free Press presented a new offer to the Newspaper Guild with sweetened wage and other provisions for all strikers to get their old jobs back. But to accept the proposal, the Guild would have to break ranks with the five other striking unions and cut a separate deal with the paper.