Boston Globe Union Approves New Contract
July 20, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Business
After a lot of back and forth, the Boston Globe union and The New York Times Co. have agreed on a new contract that will save the newspaper approximately $10 million. Without the $10 million in savings, The New York Times Co. was threatening to eventually shutdown the Boston Globe.
The new contract will reportedly institute a 6% salary cut and includes other points including frozen pensions, a health care cut and the ending of job guarantees. The final union vote was 366-179 in favor of the new contract.
Dan Totten, the union’s president, stressed that the union will support the decision.
Said Totten: “Boston Newspaper Guild members have spoken and, after careful consideration, voted to accept the tentative agreement put forward by The New York Times. All of our members spent a great deal of time discussing and studying the tentative agreement and we respect the decision that they made.”
In June, the Boston Globe union had voted to not accept a similar contract. After that contract was voted down, The New York Times Co. put a 23% salary cut into place to offset what is expected to be more than $80 million in losses that the Boston Globe will suffer in 2009.
Said Totten: “It has been a long and difficult period for everyone and we hope that we can now work with prospective buyers to help The Boston Globe carry on with its vital mission to promote good journalism and protect free speech.”
Boston Globe (Image: Flickr)
