I just heard on the CTV Toronto newscast that the Toronto Star could be on strike as of Saturday.

Late Wednesday night, union members voted 96 per cent in favour of strike action.

If they do hit the bricks, it would be the first strike at the paper since 1992. But both sides say they want to avoid a strike.

Here's some excerpts from a Financial Post story:

Negotiations continue in a dispute that saw the two sides far apart on many issues -- including overtime pay and use of freelancers -- before the mediator imposed a blackout on specific details. ...

The union reported turnout at the strike vote meeting of 80%. Officials have said as about 765 employees are affected by the labour dispute, with staff from several departments including editorial, advertising, circulation, pre-press and finance who could be involved in a strike.

Here is what the Southern Ontario Newspaper Guild has to say about some of the key issues:

IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBOURHOOD: We've already told you (Bulletin #13) about the nastiness the company hopes to impose on the Editorial department. That no-specialist, wide-open freelance agenda will cripple our ability to live up to the Atkinson Principles and will do serious damage to the precious Star brand. But nobody is immune; all of us are in grave danger. Here's a nutshell version of what the company wants to do to our other departments. Read Bulletin #15 (Jan. 15)

TAKING YOUR MONEY: The financial impact of the company's bid to shift its costs onto you is remarkable. After years of us helping our paper by accepting inflation-only raises and higher costs on benefits, the company is attempting a breathtaking raid on our pocketbooks. We've done the math, and checked it more than twice. It's very scary. At the end of the day, the least affected of us will suffer an annual financial loss of at least 5%. In most cases, the loss will be much more. Read Bulletin #14 (Jan. 14)

I saw this at the CanCult blog, but I can't vouch for its veracity:

In a memo to staff last Friday, Toronto Star publisher Jagoda Pike said the Star had lost $32-million in advertising revenue by the end of 2006, compared with 2004 when the last collective agreement was signed. During that time, the overall economy was growing, she noted, adding there are now growing concerns about the possibility of a recession in the U.S. and Ontario.

“The Star’s challenges are no different than those being experienced by other major dailies across North America,” the publisher said. “The fundamental issue is the need to accelerate the transformation of our workplace in the face of the dramatic challenges facing major metropolitan dailies.”

According to union documents, Star management is seeking to eliminate job titles and create journalists who do everything from writing stories to shooting video and producing graphics.

“The company would diminish specialists and promote generalists - while paying less,” the union says.

Fagstein pointed to another, presumably earlier Financial Post story: (no timestamps)

According to the union, the newsroom is being especially hard hit by company demands, including the elimination of seniority when determining layoffs, cuts to overtime pay amounting to thousands of dollars for some employees, an increase in the use of freelancers, and no pension benefits for new hires.

Newspaper owners across North America have been attempting to adjust to lost revenue as readers shift from newspapers to online options for news and information.

Cost-cutting plans have included voluntary buyouts and layoffs.

In June, for example, executives at The San Jose Mercury News announced plans cut newsroom staff by 17% as readers and advertising dollars migrated to the Internet.

The F-P story appears to be the source of the Jagoda Pike story.  Here's an additional snippet:

Three financial analysts interviewed yesterday who track Torstar say they are concerned about the possibility of a strike at the Toronto Star.

"It's an issue to watch carefully," said one of the analysts, who spoke on condition he not be named. In some cases, management is able to step in and put out a newspaper, but strikes and lockouts at Torstar's Brabant Newspapers, now known as Hamilton Community Newspapers,and Quebecor Inc.'s Journal de Quebec have taken a financial toll, he said. The battle between Quebecor and the Journal de Quebec is into its eighth month.

The Toronto Sun Family blog has this update on the Journal de Quebec dispute.