Chicago Sun-Times' Parent Seeking 7% Union Pay Cut

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003928174

By E&P Staff

Published: January 07, 2009 6:45 PM ET

CHICAGO Sun-Times Media Group (STMG) is asking all unionized employees at the flagship Chicago Sun-Times and its siblings to agree to a 7% decrease in their compensation, according to a memo to Chicago Newspaper Guild members Wednesday.

The Guild’s Sun-Times unit co-chairmen Misha Davenport and Bob Mazzoni told members they and leaders of other unions at STMG papers that at a Wednesday meeting CEO Cyrus Freidheim Jr. and other top management asked for the reduction “to help the company stay viable in 2009 and beyond.”

STMG, facing a drain on its cash position that amounted to $16 million in the third quarter, has determined to shrink its costs by $45 million to $55 million. In 2008, STMG also cut its costs by $50 million through layoffs, the shuttering of some papers, and outsourcing circulation.

“Compensation can take the form of wages, health-care and pension contributions, vacations, holidays or any combination thereof that will help the company meet its goals of trimming $50 million from its 2009 budget,” the Guild leaders wrote in the memo, first posted on Jim Romensko’s Poynter site.

“It is important to note that none of the unions committed to anything at this meeting. The union reps in attendance rightfully wanted to meet with their members to get their feedback about management's request,” they wrote.

Tamy Chase, STMG's director of corporate communications, noted that the company first talked about its plan to reduce costs in a November letter to shareholders, and more recently in a presentation to a proxy advisory firm. "There’s a lot of pieces to reducing our expenses, and wage cuts is just one of them," she said, declining to comment in more detail.