Detroit Papers Told to Rehire Strikers

DETROIT — In a major victory for unions involved in one of the nation’s highest-profile labor disputes, a federal administrative law judge ordered Detroit’s two newspapers to give more than 1,000 striking workers their jobs back.

Judge Thomas Wilks, in a decision released Friday by the National Labor Relations Board, upheld most of the unfair labor practice complaints brought by the six unions against the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press in the nearly 2-year-old clash.

The newspapers said they were likely to appeal the decision, and such challenges sometimes delay reinstatement orders for years. However, the NLRB is expected early next week to consider seeking an expedited federal injunction that, if successful, could return strikers to work swiftly.

In 1995, the NLRB took similar action to end the historic strike by major league baseball players.

“We’re absolutely thrilled and overwhelmed with emotion because this shows that there are laws in America and the system works,” said union spokeswoman Nancy Dunn.

But Heath Meriwether, publisher of the Free Press, said: “We’ve maintained and still maintain that we bargained in good faith and have done nothing unfair, and we look forward to proving that in a court of law.”

Unless the newspapers overturn Wilks’ decision on an appeal, strikers who return to work will be eligible for back pay, said William Schaub, the NLRB regional director who brought the unfair labor practice complaint. Union officials said the tab could amount to $80 million a year.

Wilks’ decision means that the approximately 1,500 replacement reporters and distribution and production workers hired by the papers may be fired, if necessary, to make room for returning strikers.

Since the unions made an unconditional offer to return to work in February, only about 10% of the strikers have been rehired, said one union official.

Included in Wilks’ ruling is a finding that Detroit Newspapers Inc., the two newspapers’ joint operating agency, violated a promise to bargain jointly with the six employee unions. Wilks also found that the News imposed a merit pay plan on Newspaper Guild members without union permission.

The News is owned by Gannett Co., while Knight-Ridder Inc. owns the Free Press. The papers are editorially independent but jointly published by Detroit Newspapers.

Because of advance planning and tight security measures, the papers have published every day since the strike began on July 13, 1995.