Newspapers
Globe union finally okays new contract
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jul 21, 2009 - 1:06:14 AM

The New York Times Co. finally got the concessions it wanted from the Boston Globe’s biggest union. Now the big question in Beantown is who will buy New England’s largest newspaper.

The Boston Newspaper Guild, which represents the bulk of the advertising and editorial departments, approved a new contract 366-179 in yesterday’s vote, coming six weeks after voting down the first offer from the Times.

The new contract will slash salaries by almost 6 percent, compared to an 8.3 percent cut proposed in the initial offer. Pensions will be frozen and additional benefits will be cut.

The Times Co. demanded the changes in order to save $10 million. Earlier cuts by the paper’s other unions totaled an additional $10 million.

After the BNG voted down the first contract, the parent company imposed an across-the-board 23 percent pay cut.

NYTC had threatened to close the paper last spring if the cost cuts weren’t approved, saying the Globe was on track to lose some $85 million.

Though the Times Co. later backed off that threat, it hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of the paper. That seemed a steep order against a background of general disinterest in the category because of the prolonged advertising slump that’s already led to several newspapers across the country shutting down.

Analysts say the Times Co. needed the union cuts in order to make the paper more attractive to potential buyers, three of whom have emerged: Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos co-founder Jack Connors, Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca and former Globe electronic publishing head Stephen Taylor.

Whether the paper will have the same number of employees under the new owner remains to be seen.

Though the BNG deal paves the way for a new owner, it may also clear the hurdles to massive layoffs. Job guarantees that the union had hoped to protect were eliminated in this new deal, which received only lukewarm support from union officials and many in the advertising department.



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