Dayton Business Journal...
Dayton Daily News, union ink tentative agreement
by Olivia Barrow, Staff Reporter
Monday, July 23, 2012 

The Dayton Newspaper Guild has negotiated a tentative agreement for a new contract with the Dayton Daily News, according to The Newspaper Guild. 

The guild’s previous contract expired in 1989. 

One of the major points of disagreement in the negotiations centered on outsourcing and whether the newspaper could allow freelancers to work in place of laid off employees. The new agreement prevents the daily from doing so for the term of this one-year agreement. 

The agreement also gives union members the same eligibility for merit-based raises this year and keeps holiday overtime pay where it currently is. The newspaper will reduce severance pay from a maximum of 52 to a maximum of 26 weeks. 

The guild has held several rallies for support outside the Cox Media Center in Dayton. 

“The bottom line is this is a tough environment for the newspaper industry,” said Lou Grieco, president of the Dayton Newspaper Guild. “We recognize that everything is changing very fast.” 

A final vote on the agreement is expected by the end of July. 

“I think it’s a fair document and it will give us the chance to put this fight behind us and work together,” Grieco said. 

The guild represents about 110 local reporters, photographers, copy editors, Web designers and editorial assistants. 

Cox Media Group — parent of the DDN — announced in May it would send some of its advertising design and production work overseas this summer as part of a restructuring effort at each of the company’s four newspapers. 

“We’re looking forward to bolstering our relationship with the guild,” said Andy McDill, a spokesman for Cox Media Group. 

Read this and other articles at the Dayton Business Journal