The workers in the Los Angeles Times pressroom have voted to be represented by a union for the first time in nearly four decades. Here's my video report:
I just sat in on the counting of the votes at the National Labor Relations Board's regional headquarters downtown - no cameras allowed during the tallying, but I kept score myself. It felt like a sporting event - with multiple lead changes and a final come-from-behind run at the end by the "yes" side. The official tally was 140 for the union, 131 against - one vote off from my personal scorecard. The Times has five days from Monday to challenge the vote.
Before I went to the NLRB, I met Ed Padgett of the Los Angeles Times Pressmens 20 Year Club blog for breakfast at the Original Pantry. His blog incorrectly has the vote total at 140-139, so this is another exclusive LAO report. According to the NLRB, there were 288 eligible voters, no voided ballots, and 271 valid counted votes (275 if you add the 4 ballots that were challenged by the union).
Here's Jim Rainey's preview story from this morning's Times on the vote count.
* Edited