Cleveland Newspaper workers agree to 12% wage cut to avoid layoffs

About 500 union workers at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland will take a 12% wage cut to help Ohio's largest newspaper deal with slumping advertising revenue. The drop is the combination of an 8% pay cut & 11 unpaid days off. The agreement was finalized Thursday. Newspapers around the country made similar moves. Union officials say members of the Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild Local 1 and Teamsters Local 473 agreed to the cuts to avoid more layoffs. The newspaper laid off 55 union employees since last year. In March, nonunion employees took a pay cut & 10-day furloughs. The Plain Dealer