Unions Fight to Keep Racing Form in L.A.

Unions representing employees at Daily Racing Form, the nation’s leading horse-racing publication, say they hope a carrot-and-stick approach--offering wage concessions and threatening a boycott campaign--will persuade the company to drop its plan to close the paper’s office at 170 S. Bimini Place.

The company announced what it termed a “tentative plan” this month to move about 25 of its 150 Los Angeles employees to Gardena, transfer editorial and statistical operations to Phoenix and close the Bimini Place office, resulting in the loss of about 100 jobs.

The company cited several reasons for its plan, including outdated equipment that prevents conversion to color printing, a shift in its Western market toward Arizona and Texas and concerns about crime and the possible effects of earthquakes on its 25-year-old office, said Mark Greenberg, a company spokesman. “It’s not a place where you want to plunk down a lot of new money,” he said.

William J. Dow, the paper’s CEO, said in a statement that an investment of $7 million would be needed to overhaul the plant and equipment.

While acknowledging the need to update some of publication’s operations, union officials say the company should be able to make the changes at its present site or at another local location.

Tim Reed, president of the Typographical Mailer Union, Local 17, which represents about 80 of the employees, said he feared that New York-based takeover specialists Kohlberg, Kravitz, Roberts, whose holding company runs the paper, are trying rid the paper of union employees and then sell it.

Greenberg denied the charge. The company “isn’t interested in milking the newspaper and presiding over its sale,” he said.

Sal Bonnello, a typesetter at the paper for 28 years at Bimini Place and at its previous location in Hollywood, called the safety issue “a smoke screen. We’ve had no problems in this neighborhood.” He said even during the spring riots employees put out the paper without disruption.

The three unions representing the paper’s employees began talks with management officials last week. Reed said the unions were willing to discuss a wage freeze and other concessions. Daily Racing Form experienced a dip in circulation last year, but remains profitable, Greenberg said. The paper has a weekday circulation of 90,000 copies, 135,000 on weekends.

If negotiations fail to persuade the company to stay, Reed said, the unions would consider calling for a boycott--asking people not to buy the paper, seeking support from union printers and other unions in AFL-CIO--in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco.

The company promised to consider all offers of assistance from the city and state before reaching a final decision, Reed said.