Arbitrator: Tribune/Gannett sale terms violate union contract

When Tribune Company sold it's Stamford Advocate to Gannett in March, the new owners told union members there that the collective bargaining agreement (which doesn't expire until September 30, 2008) "was not part of the sale and would not be honored."

The sale was blocked by a U.S. Court judge, at the request of the union, pending the outcome of the arbitration hearing on the contractual "successors and assigns" clause that requires Tribune to ensure that a buyer honors the contract.