The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, which have had a rollercoaster ride since being bought by a local group led by businessman Brian Tierney in 2006, are likely to be auctioned off to new owners today.

The papers have survived union strike threats and bankruptcy. But it is unknown what today's credit auction will mean. Three bidders are reportedly in the running.

“Pending negotiations with the newspaper company's 4,000 unionized workers are already casting a long shadow over the auction, which will take place in the private offices of a law firm in Manhattan,” the Inquirer reported. “All three of the investor groups bidding for the newspapers have put labor contingencies into their bidding proposals, the company's top financial adviser disclosed yesterday at an auction-eve hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.”