WHEREAS, about 2000 of our union brothers and sisters are on strike against the Detroit News Free Press; and

WHEREAS, this strike, which began July 13, 1995, represents a classic confrontation between the richest publishing chains in the US and the solidarity and dedication of Detroit’s Metropolitan Council of Newspaper Unions; and

WHEREAS, there is no question that this strike was deliberation and maliciously provoked by the Detroit News Agency, operating as the management arm for Gannett and Knight-Ridder, and provoked solely as a means to destroy jurisdiction and assault the very foundation of labor strength and solidarity within the publishing industry; and

WHEREAS, this strike is emblematic of the inequities and imbalances that have hobbled labor relations in the US for the past generation with publishers wallowing in profits which they are unwilling to share with their workers; and

WHEREAS, this perverse situation has resulted in publishers such as Knight-Ridder and Gannett adopting as their ultimate objective at the bargaining table not the attainments of the Labor Movement in the publishing industry;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we in Pride at Work pledge our support for our brothers and sisters on strike in Detroit, and affirm our commitment to:

Encourage local and national advertisers to use other outlets for their message as long as the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press continue their unfair and anti-union behavior.

Encourage subscriptions and advertising in the strike newspaper, the Detroit Sunday Journal, as a means of generating added revenues for strikers and to shore up the solidarity and commitment of the striking workers.

Endorse Labor’s continuing boycott of Knight-Ridder’s flagship publication, the Miami Herald, and Gannett’s USA Today, encouraging readers to buy alternative newspapers, advertisers to refrain from supporting the anti-union objectives of these publishers and discouraging hotels. airlines, and others from providing free distribution of these publications as long as this struggle continues.