Cleveland newsroom staff at Plain Dealer backs agreement to protect jobs after pending layoffs

12/12/2012

CLEVELAND— Unionized newsroom employees at Ohio's biggest daily newspaper have ratified an agreement intended to minimize layoffs after job cuts planned next year.

The Plain Dealer in Cleveland plans to lay off 58 reporters, photographers, artists and researchers beginning in May.

The paper said the agreement endorsed Tuesday by Newspaper Guild members would minimize future layoffs and provide job guarantees through 2019. The Guild's Harlan Spector said the deal would provide improved severance for anyone laid off.

Publisher Terrance C.Z. Egger said no decision had been made on changing the paper's seven-day publication schedule as its parent company Advance Publications has done with some other newspaper properties.

The Guild has waged a billboard campaign to preserve jobs and Cleveland's seven-day publication schedule.