Journal Register seeks to void union contracts

[billyoc]

PHILADELPHIA - Newspaper publisher Journal Register Co. has asked a bankruptcy court's permission to terminate five contracts with unions representing workers at two Detroit-area publications.

The Yardley-based company, which filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in February, made the request Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan after it couldn't reach agreements with the unions of its Independent Newspapers Inc. subsidiary covering pressmen, drivers, journalists, typographers and mailers at the Macomb Daily and Royal Oak Tribune.

Journal Register wants to stop contributions to certain employee pension plans and said the union contracts resulted in higher labor costs. The company, like many newspaper publishers, is grappling with a slump in advertising and migration of readers to the Internet.

The bankruptcy court request comes as the company failed to reach an agreement with the unions in contract talks. Journal Register said it at first sought 15 percent in salary cuts with no scheduled raises, which will help it save $3.1 million a year.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi-ap-us-journalregister-b,0,3824606.story