A KEY Boston Globeunion has narrowly voted down a severe pay package that was designed to save the newspaper, but management immediately responded by vowing to impose cutbacks nearly three times as large.
Two months after Globeowner the New York Times Co threatened to close the money-losing paper, its Newspaper Guild – by a vote of 277-265 – rejected a proposal to cut wages by more than 8 per cent, impose a week-long leave and make other benefit reductions.
The Times Co said after the vote yesterday that it would slash the employees’ pay by 23 per cent, as it had warned before the vote.
Anger at the New York owners has been building among the 660 newsroom, advertising and circulation employees represented by the guild, even as many warned that a “no” vote could jeopardise their jobs and the paper’s future.
In a statement, Guild president Daniel Totten said the union's message was that management "must do better". He said workers and the community "understand that the quality of the Boston Globe– an institution so vital to the life and culture of the region – depends on the fair treatment of the men and women who work so hard to produce it." He said the guild was ready to resume talks.
The Times Co has not withdrawn the shutdown threat, but executives have not spoken about it recently.– ( LA Times-Washington Postservice)
