Union at 2 papers faces strike deadline

The deadline is midnight tonight.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The owner of Philadelphia's two largest daily newspapers expressed doubt Wednesday that an agreement with the papers' largest union could be reached before its contract expires at midnight today, as editorial employees make preparations to go on strike.
"We remain optimistic that we will be able to reach agreements by our November 30, 2006 deadline with all of our unions but the Guild," Philadelphia Media Holdings told employees at The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News in a memo.
Stu Bykofsky, a spokesman for the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia, said: "I don't think that's a good sign."
Philadelphia Media Holdings, which bought the papers over the summer, sent a similar memo Oct. 30, just before the contract was extended a month.
Jay Devine, a company spokesman, said management wanted to be realistic with employees. However, he noted that there's still one day of talks left.
"It could change at any time," Devine said.
Prepared to strike
The Guild, which represents more than 900 editorial and other workers at the two papers, said members are prepared to strike if an agreement isn't reached by midnight today.
The union has said that if it is close to reaching a deal with management, it would consider extending talks by a few days. But there's no appetite among members to drag out talks much longer.
Bykofsky said that about 600 workers have signed up for picketing shifts and that 700 employees turned in strike eligibility forms to ensure they would qualify for benefits during a walkout.
The union planned to meet with its members Wednesday night for an update on negotiations and to get strike details, if needed. Workers are upset about company proposals to freeze and take over the pension plan and disregard seniority when it comes to layoffs.
The company's memo also said it has reached an agreement on noneconomic issues -- such as staffing levels -- with a union representing drivers, building services personnel, roadmen and dispatchers. It now has partial agreements with eight of 10 unions; deals with the editorial workers and workers who assemble the paper haven't been reached.
But management still has to work out deals covering financial issues with all 10 unions.
Joe Lyons, president of the Philadelphia Council of Newspaper Unions, which represents all the unions but the Guild, said Wednesday he did not think a final agreement could be reached by tonight's deadline.
Leaders of the nine unions, representing 1,100 workers at the two papers, are meeting this morning to decide what they'll do next. Lyons said they're not ruling out extending contract talks.
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