Wednesday, november9, 1977
page 7
daily nebraskan
Iowa's unionized student newspaper
may not be key to all editors' woes
By Rex Henderson
Campus newspaper editors from Michigan and Califor
nia are looking to the University of Iowa for leadership
in an experiment in college journalism.
Two years ago the Daily Iowan unionized the editorial
staff, an arrangement unique to college papers.
The union, as the editors', reporters' and photograph
ers' organization is called, h'as since successfully
negotiated two contracts with the Daily Iowan's board of
trustees. One of the negotiations required a federal arbi
trator. Like most labor-management disputes, the problems
at Iowa centered on pay. Not the amount, but the distri
bution of the pay at the Daily Iowan led to the creation
of the union.
Mike Stricklin, then the publisher of the Daily Iowan
and now a UNL assistant professor of journalism, said
the dispute began with the 1976-77 editor in chief.
Editor played favorites
At the Daily Iowan, Stricklin explained, the editor
in chief has complete control of staff salaries. The 1976
77 editor played a patronage game, paying friends on the
staff more than other employees.
Some reporters got as little as $50 a month. The editor
in chiefs friends got as much as $300 a month.
Stricklin said he originally opposed the union, but
the circumstances convinced him to support the idea.
His immediate reaction was "a perceived threat to
the freedom and flexibility that should be inherent in
a student newspaper," Stricklin said.
The Daily Iowan is neither "fish nor fowl" Stricklin
said, being neither a university controlled paper, nor
completely independent.
The paper gets $60,000 in students fees to pay for
door-to-door distribution, but the governing board,
Student Publications, Inc., is independent of the univer
sity. No serious threat
While there was never any serious threat to strike,
Stricklin said, it was apparent that the paper could not
continue to operate without solving the dispute.
He agreed to the idea because the people in the union
agreed to discuss their concerns before formal negotia
tions began and the union was an "expeditious" way of
solving the problems.
The organization of the paper caused "chaos over
time" according to Stricklin. The annual turnover of the
composition of the board of trustees, editor, publisher
and business manager "allowed for abuse" that material
ized in 1976-77.
"A student publication could work with flux in two
out of the four areas, but not all four," Stricklin said. The
Union provided some continuity and the contract defined
the responsibilities of the board of trustees, publisher
and editor.
Neither Stricklin, nor current Daily Iowan publisher
Bill Casey, nor Union President R. C. Brandeau said the
arrangement at Iowa would work at other student news
papers. National union
Since many student papers are governed by a univer
sity connected board, the union would have to be a part
of a national union, the American Federation of Public
Employees.
Brandeau also said many of the Iowa newspapers
have refused to hire former Daily Iowan employees after
graduation.
Iowa publishers tear that Daily Iowan employees will
become union activists on their papers, Brandeau said.
Casey said that after the major salary disputes were
settled, the union activists began using the organization
to voice complaints about "petty things", like noise in
the newsroom.
Last years "daily hassles" with the union have "mel
lowed out", according to Casey. The contract nego
tiated last year has satisfied the union members, and
many of the "rabble rousers" who worked on the paper
last year have left, he said.
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