Lerner and Labor: A Decomposing Relationship
The Chicago Typographical Union calls this a sneaky trick. Gilbert Cornfield, the union attorney, tells us Web Set is a corporation created by the CompuComp Corporation of Broadview strictly to do Lerner’s printing. Lerner has leased space in the Niles building and that’s where Lerner’s production manager and makeup editors now have their primary offices. And they aren’t the only familiar faces.
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In other circles, however, the names Post-Dispatch and Pulitzer carry the stamp of enlightened liberalism. On the strength of this progressive image, Lerner employees held out hopes in 1985, when Pulitzer bought the financially straitened 49-paper chain, that an era of amity and deep pockets was dawning. In fact, the Post-Dispatch had always been a tough bargainer, taking a 43-day shutdown in 1973 over automation, a 54-day shutdown in ’78-’79 over economics. Its style hasn’t changed.
If the Chicago Typographical Union gets anything, it will have to be in court. And the Lerner papers just seem to be toying with the Newspaper Guild. The editorial employees have been working without a contract for more than two years and talks are going nowhere.
“Lerner in my judgment acted according to the contract,” said the former executive.
“But I don’t know how much longer everyone is going to be patient with this. We have the full spectrum of opinion ranging from despair to red-hot anger.”
“Lerner needs concessions to compete with the other community presses around them without unions,” he said. “The Reader’s competition. You wouldn’t live with restrictions in either area–editorial or production.”
