After 15 months of bargaining, the Chicago Newspaper Guild and the Sun-Times Media Group have reached an agreement, which would allow the company to hire back 28 photographers it had laid off in May, but with adjusted job descriptions to allow for more flexibility in tasks. The agreement is a move by both sides to stay relevant in an ever-changing industry. Due to the rehire of the photographers, including a Pulitzer prize winner, the Guild has dropped a complaint it had filed with the National Labor Relations Board over the mass layoffs. The contract also does away with a two-week, unpaid furlough, that once served to cut labor costs, but recently hampered flexibility for both newspaper staff and management.
See "Sun-Times may rehire some photographers under new union contract", Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, November 25, 2013