Job guarantees hamper 'Globe' talks; 'Times' union OKs pay cut

BOSTON -- Negotiations between The Boston Globe and its largest union reached an impasse Monday, largely over lifetime job guarantees that the 137-year-old newspaper says it has to end if it will survive.

Globe management backed off — at least temporarily — on a threat to file a notice required by federal law to begin the process of shutting down the newspaper. Both sides said they would resume talks in coming days, but did not specify when.

Employees covered by a different union at the Times Co.'s flagship paper, The New York Times, agreed to accept a 5% pay cut through the end of the year to help the newspaper avert more layoffs.

The Newspaper Guild members approved the wage reductions by a vote of 377 to 36 in balloting completed Monday night, according to The New York Times' website.

Management plans to restore pay to its previous levels next year if the newspaper's advertising revenue rebounds. Employees are receiving 10 days paid vacation in return for the concession. The same terms have been in place for nonunion workers, including management, since April 1.

The New York Times Co. hopes to save about $4.5 million in costs and hold onto 80 newsroom positions with the salary reduction.

The Boston Newspaper Guild said it had offered more than the $10 million in concessions demanded from it by the Times Co., but that did not include changes to the job guarantees. At least one of the smaller unions agreed to changes in the guarantees for its members, but the guild's president, Daniel Totten, has called ending that job protection a "non-starter."

Nearly 470 employees across six unions have the guarantees, including about 190 Newspaper Guild members. Most got the promises in a contract ratified in 1994, shortly after the Times Co. bought the Globe for $1.1 billion, in exchange for other concessions at the time. Workers can still be fired for cause, but the newspaper says the guarantees reduce its ability to pare its operational structure.