Gannett’s Arizona Republic Buyouts Get Labor Board Scrutiny (1)

The Gannett Co.-owned Arizona Republic may have broken federal labor laws by not consulting with a newly formed bargaining unit about employee layoffs and voluntary separation agreements, the National Labor Relations Board said.

The federal agency issued a complaint Thursday, saying that the news organization “has been failing and refusing to bargain collectively and in good faith with the exclusive collective bargaining representative.”

A Gannett spokesperson denied violating the company’s duty to bargain under federal law.

“In fact, a union representative recently admitted that the Guild ‘negotiated buyouts rather than layoffs at the end of the year,’” the spokesperson ...