A union representing Toledo Blade employees is renewing its efforts to secure a labor contract.
The last contract between the Toledo NewsGuild and Block Communications, the newspaper鈥檚 owner, expired in 2017.
Union members have been negotiating since then to secure a new contract, but have recently doubled down on those efforts after a change in union leadership.
鈥淔irst and foremost, what we want is a fair contract that respects the dignity and the hard work of our employees,鈥� said Lillian King, the union鈥檚 president. 鈥淲e want to be compensated and protected fairly so that we can continue producing the first-rate product of the Toledo Blade.鈥�
Union demands
The NewsGuild is asking for wage increases to adjust for the rising cost of living. Employees at the Blade haven鈥檛 received across-the-board salary raises in more than two decades, according to the NewsGuild.
The union is also asking the company to maintain current levels of health care coverage instead of implementing proposed cuts. It wants protections for certain jobs to guarantee they won鈥檛 be outsourced to freelancers. And it鈥檚 asking Block Communications to improve workplace conditions.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had issues with a very leaky roof. We鈥檝e had cockroaches in the building. We鈥檝e had mold in the air,鈥� King said. 鈥淏ut really, the most important thing we鈥檙e asking for is the ability to do our jobs without fear of losing them.鈥�
The Toledo Blade is one of the largest independently owned newspapers in the state, and is one of the increasingly few Ohio papers not Block Communications declined a request for comment.
King worries the paper will lose employees if working conditions don鈥檛 improve and protections aren鈥檛 guaranteed.
鈥淟ess people means there鈥檚 just less you can do,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not something we want to see happen to the Blade or to Toledo.鈥�
Editorial independence
Following the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, King said the Blade鈥檚 publisher changed the paper鈥檚 content to be more favorable to former president Donald Trump.
鈥淭his interferes with the integrity of the Blade and this interferes with the journalists who have staked their careers on the reputation of the paper they鈥檝e worked hard to maintain, 鈥� she said.
It鈥檚 another reason why she鈥檚 working to renegotiate the labor contract.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 have a strong union, and we don鈥檛 know that there鈥檚 going to be someone behind us to help organize and maintain our protections, we鈥檒l lose the ability to put our foot down when it really matters.鈥�
The company also owns the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where union asking for similar workplace improvements.
It鈥檚 a situation King wants to avoid through contract negotiations.
But, she said, the stakes are high.
鈥淭he Toledo Blade could within a couple of years be unrecognizable to the people who work there and eventually to the people in the community,鈥� she said.
