Customer Demand for Unionized Printing Companies Still Remains Strong

The Contraction Factor

The shrinking union printer tracks the shrinking commercial printer in this country. RR Donnelley's 2013 acquisition of Consolidated Graphics and Quad/Graphics' megadeal that landed World Color in 2010 are prime examples of industry and union contraction.

Jim Kyger, assistant vice president of human resources for Printing Industries of America, says about 5 percent of printing industry employers have some or all production employees represented by a labor union. The Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) is the primary union in the printing industry, with a reported active membership of 33,263. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) represents less than 1 percent of industry employees.