The Toronto Sun, the conservative tabloid and home of the Sunshine Girl, became a union paper for the first time last night.
The newsroom staff of the 32-year-old newspaper voted 82-33 in favour of joining the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
"We're ecstatic," Brad Honywill, the assistant city editor, said over the din of his celebrating colleagues last night. "It's like the fall of the Berlin Wall."
Mr. Honywill said the overwhelming decision to unionize should not be seen as the beginning of a confrontation with the Sun management.
"We're still very loyal Sun employees," he said. "We hope this makes the Sun even stronger. We just want to share in the rewards."
Les Pyette, former Sun publisher and now vice-president of Sun Media, said he was saddened by the result of the vote.
"The Sun was so wide open for so many years," he said. "We climbed a lot of mountains and had a lot of success.
"When you close the shop it always hurts the spirit of the place."
Still, Mr. Pyette lauded the professionalism of the staff, and said he was confident it would be "business as usual" when doors opened this morning.
The union will spend the next two months canvassing its new members and preparing to negotiate its first contract. Management and union are expected to begin initial contract discussions in April.
The successful union drive follows years of layoffs and cost-cutting by parent Quebecor Inc. of Montreal. Quebecor, a printing and publishing giant, acquired Sun Media Corp. for $983-million in January of 1999.
Cost-cutting efforts took on increased urgency in 2000 after the $5.4-billion takeover of Groupe Vidéotron Ltée. The purchase of the Montreal cable company pushed Quebecor's long-term debt to $7.9-billion as of Sept. 30.
The Sun's corporate culture has changed radically under Quebecor. To quell union sentiment, Sun founder Doug Creighton created a folksy corporate culture that rewarded loyal employees with sabbaticals, annual awards and lavish parties.