San Jose Paper Slowly Restores Home Delivery After Stoppage

Newspaper delivery service for the San Jose Mercury News slowly was being restored Friday after a work stoppage by several hundred carriers reduced home delivery in previous days.

Publisher Jay T. Harris met with a few carriers at the West Valley delivery branch in Campbell early Friday morning and assured them he would reinstate the contracts of four carriers terminated earlier this week.

Harris also confirmed that a 12% pay raise was in effect for all carriers, with an additional $200 bonus for those who came back to work immediately on Oct. 10 upon request.

Many of the carriers began to strike Sunday, and by Wednesday 582 carriers refused to work.

As of Thursday, 434 carriers still were refusing to deliver, holding out for a 15% pay increase. Mercury News spokeswoman Patty Wise said some papers arrived late Friday, but the publication hoped to restore full service by the weekend.

The newspaper’s 1,080 home delivery carriers are nonunion independent contractors.

The strike has affected delivery in parts of San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Milpitas. The carriers said they needed a raise, in part, because rising gas prices eroded their pay.