Customer Demand for Unionized Printing Companies Still Remains Strong

Tim Burton, company president, notes that his company has an advantage when it comes to bidding on work for political and advertising clients who require the union bug. Ballot printing has been a growth area and, like Inland Press, Burton & Mayer's wages are very comparable to open shops.

"The union has negotiated that area reasonably with us," Burton notes. "With the health insurance and pensions, we're probably paying more than non-union shops. And the pensions, that whole situation with being under-funded...it's an issue we have to deal with."

As technological advances have brought about considerable changes in the production process, Burton points out that the unions have been amenable. The same goes for championing moves into ancillary products and services. Burton & Mayer sells premiums to its print customers and has moved into the retail environment with kit packing and shipping materials to stores.

Digital printing has helped fueled growth during the past 10 years, and wide-format work has taken off since it was added a few years ago at Burton & Mayer.

"Not that we command a premium for it, but we certainly are favored because we are a union printer," he says. PI