Agreement with Globe is near, union leader says

The Boston Globe and the paper’s largest union went another day without an agreement, but the union president said the two sides are close to finalizing a pact.

Negotiators from the Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe, and the Globe’s owner, The New York Times Co., did not meet as scheduled today, but communicated by phone to review language and terms. Guild leaders have scheduled a ratification vote for July 20.

‘‘The Boston Newspaper Guild continues to have productive discussions with the New York Times Company and Globe management,’’ the Guild’s president, Daniel Totten, said in a statement. ‘‘We feel we are close to reaching an agreement that we can bring to Guild members for a vote.’’

Globe spokesman Robert Powers said, ‘‘The talks have been constructive and are continuing.’’

The Guild, which represents nearly 700 editorial, advertising, and business office workers, is the only major union at the Globe that has not approved concessions sought by the Times Co. Two weeks ago, Guild members rejected a $10 million package, in part over the size of a pay cut, 8.4 percent. A new agreement is likely to reduce that cut by making deeper reductions in other benefits to provide the $10 million demanded by the Times Co.

In April, the Times Co. threatened to close the money-losing Globe unless it got a total of $20 million in concessions from Globe unions.

In a note to members yesterday, Totten acknowledged that nearly three months of negotiations have been ‘‘incredibly stressful,’’ but said negotiators have a duty to carefully review the proposal. ‘‘That process is continuing as we work amicably with the company to arrive at an agreement,’’ he said.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)