Locked out union workers start free daily

Who knows how long it will last, but union employees of Journal de Québec have launched their own free daily newspaper, MédiaMatin Québec, which will operate while they've been locked out due to a strike. Editor's Weblog reports that the first edition had a press run of 40,000, and the papers were hand-distributed by workers. The new paper will publish Monday to Friday with a focus on local news. "The expertise of all the locked-out workers, whether journalists or photographers, will be put to good use," said Denis Bolduc, spokesman for the locked-out workers. The union’s dispute with the paper is over the proposed addition of four hours to the workweek with no extra pay.