Union officials said Thursday that 63 of 230 Chicago Tribune printers who have been on strike since July 18 will return to work Monday.
The move follows an unconditional offer by the union to return to work and means that, in a legal sense, the printers` strike is over.
But the Chicago Typographical Union No. 16, which represents the printers, will continue to picket the newspaper, alleging unfair labor practices relating to the company`s refusal to hire back all 230 printers. Strikes by two unions representing mailers and pressmen, who walked out with the printers, continue.
A company spokesperson would say only that The Tribune had notified the union of the 63 vacancies and had created a preferential hiring list for the remainder of the printers in case of future openings. The exact circumstances and timing of a return to work by the 63 were still unresolved, the spokesperson said.
Dave Donovan, president of the printers union, said the company notified 63 strikers, apparently chosen on a seniority basis, to report for work at 8:45 a.m. Monday. But he acknowledged that several major questions were left unanswered.
In particular, union officials said the company had not specified what job duties the returning printers would have, whether a lifetime job guarantee bargained by the union in 1975 would remain in effect and under what wages and conditions the printers would return.
It is the union`s position that all its members must be returned to lifetime jobs related to the paper`s composing room under the 1975 agreement. It contends that the offer to return unconditionally, and end the strike, does not affect that agreement.
In large part, the strike resulted from bargaining conflicts between the company and three unions over the company`s right to hire, assign and direct employees in the production area.
The company contended that traditional union control of hiring was no longer efficient in the light of technological changes. The unions said the control sought by the company could result in arbitrary and unfair treatment of workers and, in the case of the printers, allegedly violated their 1975 accord.
The return of some printers to work also would mean that they would be crossing the picket lines of mailers and pressmen, as well as pickets of their own union charging the company with unfair labor practices.
Robert Hagstrom, president of the Chicago Web Pressmen, Local No. 7, said some of his members might be unhappy with the printers` return, but that he understood the union`s position and ”this will not destroy the unity among our three unions.”
Union officials said they assumed, but did not know for sure, that the total of 63 vacancies reflects the number of printers hired on a temporary basis since the strike started.
A company letter told the union that 31 printers have been hired on a permanent basis, according to union officials. The company has told the Chicago Mailers Union Local No. 2 and the pressmen`s union that all their striking members have been replaced on a permanent basis, officials of those unions said.
Under labor law, substantial rights are given to permanent replacements hired during most strikes. Generally, such workers hired during a strike must remain after the strike concludes.
Negotiations will continue between the company and each union.
Moreover, a hearing has been set for next month as a result of a complaint issued against the company by the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board. It results from pressmen`s union allegations of unfair labor practices and could ultimately result in the mandatory return of at least 73 pressmen.
Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO executive council, meeting in Bal Harbour, Fla., passed a resolution as a result of the strike placing The Tribune on its list of unfair employers.
