Guild gets a seat at the table

The Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild was named last week to the creditors' committee in the Tribune bankruptcy filing. The committee also includes Merrill Lynch Capital Corp., JPMorgan Chase Bank, Deutsche Bank Trust, Warner Bros. Television, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. and Vertis.

The Guild's inclusion on the committee follows its success last week in securing Tribune's commitment to pay promised severance and health care benefits to Guild-represented employees who recently accepted a company buyout. Payments were cut off for Tribune employees who were not covered by union contracts. The payments were threatened by Tribune's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

“Our ability to get a seat on the committee ensures that the voice of Tribune Company's workers will get heard in the proceedings,” said Bernie Lunzer, president of The Newspaper Guild-CWA.

Though it's not the table the union would prefer to be seated at, inclusion gives the Guild the opportunity to watch out for its members' best interests.

Edited