Globe union votes today on second contract offer
The Boston Globe’s largest union votes today on whether to accept a $10 million package of pay and benefit cuts after nearly four months of bitter negotiations and labor unrest at the 137-year-old newspaper.
If the nearly 700 members of the Boston Newspaper Guild approve the contract, it would put into place one of the last components of a plan by the Globe’s owner, The New York Times Co., to turn around the money-losing newspaper. The plan includes management wage and benefit reductions; the shutdown of the Billerica printing plant; increasing circulation and digital advertising revenues; and gaining a total of $20 million in union concessions.
The Guild, which represents editorial, advertising, and business office workers, is the only major Globe union not to have approved concessions.
But even if the Guild ratifies the contract, it would hardly end the uncertainty surrounding New England’s largest newspaper. The recession continues, and the Times Co. and other newspaper owners have yet to solve the industry’s underlying problem: the migration of readers and advertisers to the Internet.
In addition, it’s unclear how long the Times Co. will own the paper, which it bought in 1993 for $1.1 billion. The company has put the paper up for sale, and at least three potential bidders have emerged: Stephen Pagliuca, a private equity executive and Celtics co-owner; Jack Connors, cofounder of a major advertising firm and chairman of Partners HealthCare; and Stephen Taylor, a former Globe executive and member of the family that sold the Globe to the Times Co.
Newspaper industry analysts said ratification of the contract would probably make the paper more attractive to buyers.
“It provides them some certainty on what they would be getting in terms of labor relations,’’ said Tom Fiedler, dean of the College of Communication at Boston University. “To any buyer, walking into a situation where there’s labor unrest is very problematic at best.’’
Connors, Taylor, and Pagliuca declined to comment.
Union officials and members expect the vote to be close. In early June, members rejected a similar package of concessions by just 12 votes out of more than 500 cast.
The new package has a slightly smaller pay cut but deeper benefit cuts. It still includes the major concessions sought by the Times Co.: $10 million in total savings, the elimination of lifetime job guarantees for about 170 veteran Guild employees, and a pension freeze.
If the contract is rejected, Guild members would continue to endure a 23 percent pay cut imposed by the Times Co. after the first contract offer was rejected. The company imposed the wage reduction to achieve $10 million in savings from the Guild.
“We believe the contract under tentative agreement is better for employees and the newspaper than the current wage reduction,’’ said Globe spokesman Robert Powers.
Guild president Daniel Totten could not be reached for comment. But unlike with the first offer, Totten and union leaders have endorsed the proposed contract. But some union members have questioned leadership’s support for the contract given recent e-mails that suggest rejecting the contract could dramatically lower healthcare premiums, which the company disputes. Totten has said union leaders were just sharing information with members.
Regardless, the proposal has generated strong opposition. Opponents say the Times Co. is imposing deeper cuts on rank-and-file workers than on management and that the new package is no better, if not worse, than the one rejected in June. Supporters say it's better than a 23 percent pay cut and that the Globe needs to move past the dispute and focus on long-term survival.
Robert Gavin can be reached at rgavin@globe.com. 
