Newspaper Strike Continues; Apparent Saboteur Electrocuted

Renewed talks to end San Francisco’s five-day-old newspaper strike produced no progress Sunday, the same day that a striking worker was electrocuted as he tried to disconnect a power line to a distribution center for the city’s two daily newspapers, authorities said.

Negotiations between representatives of the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle and their unions took place Sunday in the office of Mayor Frank Jordan, who mediated the talks.

The death of striking driver Kent Wilson “should serve as a serious wake-up call to everyone involved,” Jordan said.

Police said Wilson, 45, of Sunnyvale, was electrocuted Sunday morning when he tried to disable power to a newspaper distribution center in Mountain View, sending up to 12,000 volts through his body.

He was thrown about 15 feet; cables in a power box were clearly marked “high voltage,” a police spokesman said.

Steve Chin, spokesman for the Conference of Newspaper Unions, the umbrella organization representing the eight different striking unions, called it “a great tragedy. We can’t let Kent’s life be wasted.”

The Examiner published a Sunday edition of 48 pages, about half the usual Sunday run.

Both sides agreed Saturday to renounce violence, declaring that “any violent acts or threats of violence by either side are unacceptable,” according to a statement responding to reports of arrests and vandalism on picket lines.

Chin downplayed the reports. “A lot of the arrests were for throwing apples, paper cups or croissants.”