New printer forces changes to Labor Citizen
Beginning with the August 2025 edition, The Labor Citizen will now be printed by Fort Wayne Newspapers in Fort Wayne, Ind. This image was taken in their mailing room.
With the switch to the Fort Wayne press, which is one of the newest presess in America (pictured above), The Labor Citizen is now printed on better newsprint stock.
The August 2025 edition of The Labor Citizen should look and feel a little different, as a result of contracting with a different printing facility.
In March 2025, the owners of the Canton Repository Press sent notice that after July 2025, they would no longer print the monthly pro-labor publication.
No reason was provided with the termination notice. Eventually, Labor Citizen staff determined Canton would be printing numerous additional publications owned by the Gannett Co., following the closure of a printing facility outside Detroit, Mich. This ended a working relationship that went back decades, possibly longer. No one currently affiliated with The Labor Citizen has ever worked with any other printer.
The search for a new, suitable printing partner began immediately.
“Being able to communicate with our members is extremely important,” said Dave Wondolowski, Executive Secretary/Business Manager for the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council. “I know that most of our members value The Labor Citizen and enjoy reading it, so we had to find a way to keep it going.”
The CBCTC owns The Labor Citizen, which is the oldest continually published labor newspaper in America. Union marketing agency, BMA Media Group, is contracted by the CBCTC to design and produce The Labor Citizen.
Dozens of printers were contacted across five different states, but most could not meet one or more printing requirements, including deadlines, full-color printing capability or the ability to prepare copies for the U.S. mail.
A new partner was eventually found in Indiana. Fort Wayne Newspapers produces several traditional newspapers serving communities in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio, as well as other print publications.
The Fort Wayne Newspapers’ press is configured for a different size paper, so the pages of The Labor Citizen are now different. The press is one of the newest in the country, which means color reproduction will be better. It also uses a higher-quality stock of newsprint.
“I’m looking forward to a new and improved look,” Wondolowski added. “For the cost of this publication, compared to other news sources, you can’t beat it. Not even close.”