More than 100 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette union members lined the Boulevard of the Allies yesterday, holding signs such as "No News is Bad News" and "Journalism = Democracy" as they rallied to drum up support for contract talks and to draw attention to the industry's thinning ranks.

Contracts expire Dec. 31 for 14 bargaining units representing more than 1,100 employees at the Post-Gazette, and management has said it is prepared to put the 220-year-old paper up for sale if negotiations do not produce significant cost savings, including job reductions and work-rule changes.

Talks have been proceeding on and off for several months, and although neither side wanted to engage in specifics, union spokespeople said that they were willing to give up millions of dollars in concessions.

"It's going to be painful and everybody knows that," said Mike Bucsko, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. "We're trying to retain our membership."

The Post-Gazette has more than 40 fewer newsroom employees than it did five years ago, including at least 15 jobs lost this year alone, said Post-Gazette columnist Brian O'Neill, speaking for the union at the rally.

Joe Molinero, president of the newspaper's 375-member Teamsters union, said that there would "definitely be some reductions" in jobs. "How we accomplish that we just don't know yet," he said.

A statement from the company noted that the Post-Gazette is headed for a $20 million operating loss in 2006.

"We understand the concerns expressed at today's rally," the statement said. "But we know that the best way to preserve jobs in the long run is to address the financial issues at the Post-Gazette."

Yesterday's rally coincided with a nationwide "Day of Action" declared by the Communication Workers of America to increase public awareness of a news industry that has seen more than 44,000 workers lose their jobs in the last five years.

The challenges currently facing the Post-Gazette are worse than the newspaper industry as a whole, said Post-Gazette marketing director Tracey DeAngelo, noting that the average newspaper profit margin is 19 percent.

"The newspaper industry has serious challenges as a whole," she said. "The ones here are far more dramatic."