After working more than a month without contracts, unionized Detroit News and Free Press employees have ratified a new, three-year deal.
Detroit’s two major newspapers have different owners. But their business operations are run jointly through a joint operating agreement, with Free Press owner Gannett media company holding almost all the purse strings.
The new deal between Gannett and the Newspaper Guild of Detroit promise small raises over the course of the contract, includes a $700 signing bonus, and holds employee health care costs steady.
Free Press copy editors and page designers could face layoffs after eighteen months, as Gannett looks to consolidate those jobs. But displaced employees will be eligible for extended severance pay.
