Windsor Star production facility prints its final newspaper before printing shifts to Toronto

A large roll of paper is fed up a multi-level printing press. As it travels from level to level, different colours are applied to the paper — blue, then red, then yellow, then black. A set of rollers brings the paper back down to the floor where it is ready for distribution, already folded and cut.

It’s how the Windsor Star is able to print about 30,000 newspapers in just one hour, according to union officials representing workers at the publication’s Starway Printing Facility.

That all ended Friday, following a decision from publication owner Postmedia to relocate printing efforts of the Windsor-based paper to Toronto. According to the union, Postmedia is making the move as a cost-cutting measure.

Colin Brian, a press operator at the Windsor Star production plant for nearly three decades, said he does not understand how printing the paper in Toronto will cut down on costs.

“They’re going to be driving it all the way down the highway. If you can figure out the cost savings, you're welcome to let me know. I don't think so,” said Brian. “But they're the ones that own the company and they do the math. So if they want to do it, they're going to do it anyways.”

For Brian, being a press operator isn’t just a normal job. He’s a fourth-generation worker. In fact, his parents even met inside the Starway facility.

“This is a place that I planned on retiring from one day. Now, just like my co-workers. I have to go find new work — or retire early and unexpectedly,” said Brian, who is also the president of Unifor Local 517-G which represents workers at the printing plant.

The closure of the plant also prompted a visit from Unifor National President Lana Payne, who was also in town to visit striking workers at the Windsor Salt mine Friday.

Payne said she sent a letter to Postmedia’s CEO Friday morning, asking for assurances that the Windsor Star’s archives will be maintained.

“There's 135 years of stories in these archives, including workers’ stories,” said Payne. “We have to do everything we can to make sure it's preserved.”

She added, “Many of the stories of our members are contained in those archives, including ones I just looked at from the 1945 Ford strike where we gained the Rand Formula in Canada.”

According to Payne, the challenges with maintaining the Windsor Star’s current printing operations became a challenge after Postmedia became controlled, in majority, by a U.S. hedge fund.

“They have a different approach to business than if you were a local company, committed to making sure you're preserving jobs,” said Payne.

She added, “But I think that trying to say that printing a newspaper in Toronto, putting it on a truck and bringing it to Windsor is more efficient makes absolutely no sense…Unfortunately, those arguments fell on deaf ears with Postmedia News.”

The Windsor Star has been printed from the Starway facility since 1996. The closure of the plant will put about 75 people out of work.