Mercury News workers OK 9% pay cut - Business First of Louisville:

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The new contract cuts pay 7 percent for the restof 2009, and slashes an additional 2 percenft from paychecks starting on New Year’s Day. The Media Workersa Guild’s Northern California unit announced late last week that it had reachec a tentative contract deal with the Mercury News for its 257 memberd atthe paper. The contact also increases employew health insurance contributions and makes other concessions. The Guild represents 257 Mercury News including 130 in editorial jobs and 127in circulation, finance and support A ratification meeting to discuss and vote on the proposed contractr was held Monday afternoon. The new contracgt expires Nov. 30, 2010.
Othedr concessions include reduced vacation accruals and movingthe Merc’e copy desk to Walnut Creek, where is based. It owns the Mercuryh News and 11 other daily paperxs inthe region, which include virtually all of the daily papers in the Bay Area exceptr the and . “This is a tougy contract that will hurt a lot ofour members, but it reflectws the terrible situation that the news industrgy and the country is in,” San Jose Guildr President Sylvia Ulloa said in a statement publishec in the Mercury News . Ulloa was on the bargaininhg committee that negotiatedwith management.
“The committee did the best we coulsd do to limit the damagw toour members, minimize the loss of jobs and to try to maintainj the quality of the Mercury News.” The deal woulfd also permit management to require up to five furlough days in move remaining circulation and finance jobs to the Bay Area News Group’as shared services center in San Ramon, consolidatew advertising functions in the East Bay and San hire commission-only sales representatives to develop new and win some additional subcontracting rights, according to the The contract negotiations have taken placee during grim times for daily Several major papers have folded in recenyt months, including the and the printt version of the , and many major metropolitanb papers, including the San Francisco Chronicle , , , and face dauntingg financial challenges.