Buffalo News cuts contract extension with union

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2007/07/30/daily46.html

News cuts contract extension with union
Business First of Buffalo - 1:53 PM EDT Friday, August 3, 2007
by James Fink
Business First

In a complete turnaround from recent history, The Buffalo News was able to negotiate a new, three-year pact with its largest union.

The News and the Buffalo Newspaper Guild CWA 31026 reached an agreement Thursday that will extend the contract between the two sides through 2011. The current union contract is due to expire next year.

"There was good for the Guild and for the News," said Henry Davis, a Buffalo News reporter and member of the Guild negotiating team.

The 350-member Guild covers the News' newsroom, circulation, classified and advertising departments. It is the largest of the 14 unions at the paper.

The deal is a reversal from recent negotiations where talks frequently went beyond the contract's expiration date. The new deal was completed in just nine bargaining sessions, talks that began earlier this summer. The Guild members are expected to vote on the deal on Aug. 28. During the last contract talks, it took 25 sessions to strike a deal, which came months after the pact had expired.

"It was a no-nonsense bargaining session," Davis said. "Both sides got what they wanted."

FULL story at link.