Globe union talks accelerate as deadline nears

Bargaining between The New York Times Co. and unions at The Boston Globe to gain $20 million in concessions from the unions continues at a rapid pace. The Times Co. has set tomorrow as the deadline for the unions to reach an agreement on the cuts.

Yesterday, management and Teamsters Local 1, which represents about 250 full- and part-time mailers who insert advertising and editorial material into the paper, bargained for 10 hours, made "serious progress" and agreed to schedule another session, said Mary White, the union president. The Times Co. is seeking $5 million in concessions from the mailers, according to White.

The paper's largest union, the Boston Newspaper Guild, which represents more than 600 editorial, advertising and business office employees, followed the mailers yesterday and bargained into the early morning hours, according to a union spokesman. Another session with the Guild is scheduled for tomorrow. The Times Co. is seeking $10 million, or about half of the union concessions, from the Guild.

In a memo to staff today, Boston Globe publisher P. Steven Ainsley today described the union negotiations as "substantive" and predicted the paper will "emerge from this difficult period in better shape than when we entered it."

"While there is much work yet to be done it is fair to say all parties are negotiating sincerely," Ainsley said in the memo. "The stakes are simply too big to do otherwise and it is apparent all involved understand this."

The Times Co. has threatened to shut down the Globe unless the paper's union's agree to the concessions.

Click here to read Ainsley's memo.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)