The Newspaper Guild unit at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has set a contract vote date for March 27 to vote on a new five-and-a-half year agreement, the newspaper reported. The new deal includes a wage cut and a one-week furlough for each of the next three years.

“The newspaper confirmed Wednesday that it has made its final offer to the guild, which represents P-D employees in the newsroom, advertising and building service,” the story stated. “The offer asks guild members to accept an immediate 6 percent wage cut along with an unpaid, one-week furlough in each of the next three years. Wages would increase by 2.5 percent in each of the final three years of the contract, if minimum revenue thresholds are reached.”

The offer comes as newspaper supervisors were told that they would have to also take a one-week unpaid furlough in 2010, the third in the past two years.