Saying, "I want to get my newspapers delivered on time," U.S. District Chief Judge Bruce S. Jenkings on Friday helped set a date for negotiations between printers and the Newspaper Agency Corp.
NAC--in charge of printing, districution and advertising for the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune--had requested a restraining order against the Graphic Communications Union for a claimed slowdown over reductions in overtime. Also discussed during the two days of hearings was the expiration of the contract between the two parties, which is to take place on June 30.Jenkins declined to issue an order and asked the union and NAC to talk abut a new contract. At his urging, they agreed to meet in the Tribune Building starting at 1 p.m. Monday.
Witnesses called by the NAC detailed what the company believed to be deliberate sabotage over the past two weeks. Whatever the cause, delays forced both papers to be late, sometimes by more than an hour.
Union witnesses blamed the delays on a reduction in maintenance crews and other non-threatening reasons. They said the company had no fixed policy over crimping of printing plates and that uncrimped plates were not intended to fly off the press and cause delays.
Larry Milburn, president of the union local, was quoted Thursday as saying the union would "go to war" over NAC's reducing overtime. But when he testified Friday afternoon, he insisted he meant legal actions, not a strike, which is forbidden by the contract.
Milburn said he meant filing grievances and holding a harder line about lunch-break changes. "That was part of my battle strategy," he said.
"I do not believe in sabotage or any illegal activity," he said. thrice he told union members not to take illegal actions "because of the ood of my membership."
John Mansfield, assistant night foreman in the press room, testified he saw inky footprints and found scratch was gouged in hs car while he was working.
Milburn said he didn't think a disgruntled printer damaged Mansfield's car but said that he talked to the membership about it because Mansfield did think there was a connection.
Milburn said he told members that if they had a problem with the foreman or his assistant, they shouldn't take it out on their cars. Instead, he advised, "got to those people, and they would be more than hapy to go to the street."
By that, he said, he meant a fist-fight would be better than sabotage.
In the end, the court session became informal, with Jenkins questioning union members about their suggestions for improving production. They stood in the audience and told him their ideas.
Occasionally, foremen and printers disagreed with each other across the court room.
"We're down here to do one thing, and that's go to work and make a living," Milburn said. "That's our livelihood."
Dominic Welch, NAC president, said the newspaper industry is dying and "if this (slowdown) goes on for two more weeks" local papers would be in trouble.
Sharon Sonnenreich, an attorney for NAC, said, "It's not fair to ask us to negotiate under the threat of losing subscribers" because of late papers.
But Jenkins asked if it wouldn't make sense "if we simply take people at face value," believing the printers when they say they want the operation to improve.
"A lot depends on attitude, it seems to me," the judge said. Meanwhile, "if there's some kind of a special problem" he would be available.