Court Won’t Hear Daily News Challenge to NLRB Ruling

WOODLAND HILLS — Los Angeles Daily News reporters and other editorial employees have a won a major victory in a labor dispute that could net them more than $1 million in back wages.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear the newspaper’s challenge to a lower court ruling that had upheld a decision in favor of the employees by the National Labor Relations Board, according to a lawyer representing them.

The employees had filed a complaint in 1989 accusing the Woodland Hills-based newspaper of freezing their wages, including unilaterally discontinuing merit increases without bargaining.

“The court’s decision concludes the fight over liability at last,” said Ellen Greenstone, a Pasadena lawyer. Greenstone, who was notified of the court’s decision Wednesday, said the NLRB has preliminarily determined that the company owes employees $1.2 million in back pay.

Managing Editor Ron Kaye declined to comment except to note that the NLRB has set a hearing for April 7 during which the paper can contest the amount.

The decision affects about 200 reporters, photographers, artists, editorial assistants and lab technicians, members of the Daily News unit of the Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, Greenstone said.

The NLRB ruled in their favor in 1991. It said that Daily News management had improperly ended an “established practice” of granting annual wage increases based on employee performance.

The newspaper appealed to the U.S Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia in 1991. The court sent the case back to the NLRB for reconsideration on a legal issue, but the labor panel again ruled in favor of the employees. After the appeals court last year refused to hear the newspaper’s second appeal, the Daily News asked the high court to rule.

The court denied the paper’s request Tuesday without comment.