Newspaper workers strike in San Francisco

Newspaper workers strike in San Francisco

By Norm Dixon

SAN FRANCISCO — Newspaper workers struck here for the first time in over 25 years when they walked out on November 2. Eight unions representing 2600 workers employed at the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner and their jointly owned San Francisco Newspaper Agency have kept scab-produced editions from reaching the streets with effective and militant picketing at printing plants and distribution centres.

The union's contract expired in November 1993. Workers are demanding wage increases and job guarantees while management is demanding a range of concessions and job reductions.

The newspapers' owners, the Hearst dynasty, have brought in experienced strike breakers from as far away as Detroit and stationed guards in paramilitary uniform to prevent picketing. Workers suspect that management's real intention is to break the newspaper unions so that one of the newspapers can be closed down completely, throwing hundreds out of work and making San Francisco a one-newspaper town.

Messages of solidarity can be sent to: Conference of Newspaper Unions, 433 Natoma St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA. Fax: 1 415 421 3751.

From GLW issue 167