FREMONT,CA—Transcontinental’s soon-to-be-completed $200 million printing plant in Fremont, California, is at the centre of a conflict between the Hearst Corporation, which owns the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Pressmen’s and Teamsters’ Union.

According to a story in the Columbia Journalism Review the Chronicle, a paper that is reportedly in danger of closing, is aiming to “break the Pressman’s and Teamsters’ unions, or at least force them into accepting a nearly 50% pay cut and what the unions regard as onerous work rules.”

Transcontinental began its hiring process for the plant in January 2009, a company spokesperson said. “As far as whether the employees in Fremont will be unionized, that’s up to the employees.”

Transcontinental runs both unionized and non-unionized plants across  North America. "If the employees in California decide to unionize, we fully support them," said the spokesperson.

In 2006, Transcontinental signed to print the Chronicle worth $1 billion dollars over 15 years. That contract is scheduled to begin in June of this year, when the plant opens.