<<  <  >  >>

Page 12

Members of the Newspaper and Magazine Drivers Union

(NMDU) who drove for the New York Post and New York Times

joined in the threats against the News dealers.  According

to reports, a Wall Street Journal truck commandeered by

the union repeatedly picked up copies of the News to pre-

vent sales.  An NMDU official admitted meeting with

activists in the Roofers union hall--just a few blocks

from the News's printing plant--to coordinate attacks.46

Advertisers were threatened.  Unionized retailers who

advertised in the News were threatened with strikes.  The

owner of Castro Convertibles, a furniture maker, received

death threats for continued advertising.47

Local politicians turned against the News.  Mayor

David Dinkins refused to grant the News permission to

recruit salesmen in the city's homeless shelters.  The

News was forced to sue the Metropolitan Transit Authority

for the right to sell the paper in subways.  Because the

police department, courts, public defenders, district

attorneys, probation officers and security guards in New

York City are all unionized, the institutions of law

enforcement were reluctant to condemn or rein in the news-

paper unions.  Even Governor Mario Cuomo, whose political

base was in the city, downplayed the violence and absolved

the unions of any conspiracy.  The unionized writers at

the competing newspapers also gave the strikers great lee-

way.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was already inves-

tigating the NMDU for racketeering.  But citing the con-

straints of Enmons, the FBI declined to investigate union

coordination of strike violence.48

Detroit News

On July 17, 1995, the six unions whose members worked

for the Detroit News, including the Newspaper Guild and

the Teamsters, struck over wage and work-rule issues.

From the outset, according to an investigator for the com-

pany who spoke to NILRR on condition of anonymity, the

newspapers were forced to surround their facilities with

security guards toting video cameras to record union

assaults.

On the Sunday morning before Labor Day, more than

3,000 union militants prevented delivery of the News and

Free Press for more than 12 hours.  The police did not

intervene.  The militants came back on Labor Day, but this

time the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd away

from the gate.  At one point, the union militants rushed