Philadelphia papers' publisher talks layoffs
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - April 9, 2008 The Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia is suing
Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, a unit of Philadelphia Media Holdings
and owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. The union is
upset that management merged the fully funded Guild pension plan
with an underfunded plan without its consent, charging that it
would put the health of the first plan in jeopardy.
But the company's lawyers told U.S. District Court Judge Berle
M. Schiller that if it has to put more money into the underfunded
North Broad Street plan, more layoffs could be necessary.
In March, the company cut over 80 non-editorial jobs, two months
after Chief Executive Brian Tierney warned the unions that it must
reduce costs by 10 percent or have difficulty meeting debt
payments.
The lawsuit, filed last week, accused the company's trustees of
violating federal employee benefits laws and breaching their
fiduciary duty. But the company argued in separate court documents
that the Guild had until the end of 2007 to find a multi-employer
pension with which to merge. Failing that, the company said, it had
the right to take over the plan as spelled out in an agreement with
the union - and directed a merger with the North Broad fund.
As of March 1, the Guild pension plan was fully funded with
assets of $193 million and liabilities of $180 million covering
2,344 members. The North Broad pension, with nearly 900 members and
almost all belonging to the Guild, is 39 percent funded as of Jan.
1, 2007.
The judge is expected to make a ruling on Friday.
