Strikers sell first issue of newspaper

Associated Press

SEATTLE — The first print edition of a newspaper produced by workers on strike against The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer hit the streets Friday.

The 20-page Seattle Union Record contained familiar bylines, color photos and political cartoons — but no ads. Pickets handed it out at the newspapers and at shopping centers and restaurants around the city.

The Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild said it planned to distribute 30,000 copies for a requested donation of 45 cents each.

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The newspaper had been posted online since Tuesday, when members of the guild, which represents 1,000 editorial, circulation and advertising employees at the two papers, went on strike.

Since the walkout, the Times and the Post-Intelligencer have been publishing 24-page editions, but they published 32-page editions Friday.

No new talks were scheduled in the strike against the two newspapers, which have independent newsrooms but share advertising, circulation and production staffs under a joint operating agreement.

The Guild said Wednesday it had filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the Times, accusing the newspaper of threatening to fire striking employees unless they returned to work. The Times said the complaint was baseless.

Most of those walking picket lines were non-newsroom employees who make up a majority of Guild membership and earn less than news staffers. The strike was called primarily on their behalf with the support of reporters and photographers, said Guild administrative officer Larry Hatfield.

It’s the workers in departments such as classified and display advertising and circulation who are most affected by wages that don’t keep up with the cost of living, said Art Thiel, a sports columnist for the Post-Intelligencer and spokesman for the Guild.

The newspapers’ final offer included an overall hourly wage raise of $3.30 over six years. The Guild’s last demand was a three-year contract with raises totaling $3.25. The minimum for a Guild reporter with six years’ experience has been $844.88 per week, or $21.12 per hour.

Post-Intelligencer executive editor Ken Bunting said he wants his employees to come back to work. "I’m just hoping to soon have all those talented journalists spending their time on the picket lines back in the newsroom," Bunting said.