May 1, 2009 5:49 pm US/Eastern
Boston Globe Union Asks For Deadline Extension
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
As the 137-year-old Boston Globe's toughest deadline approaches, talks continue with its largest union.
The New York Times Company, which owns the ailing paper, had threatened to shut it down unless its unions agreed to $20 million in concessions by Friday. The Globe's projected loss for 2009 is $85 million. Ron Sanders reports union leaders are asking for an extension of the deadline.
Anger competed with hope inside the Globe as negotiators for the Boston Newspaper Guild and the New York Times Company met for talks at Labor Guild offices on the day set as the company's deadline for union givebacks.
"I'm angry. I feel we're being treated unfairly. I think we have a gun to our heads. I don't think the pain is being shared equally by managers," said Brian Mooney, who has worked as a political reporter and columnist as well as covering local and regional news for the Globe.
"There's tension. We feel it. Most of us have families that are counting on us as well," said Sean Murphy, investigative reporter and editor for the paper. Murphy is also a lawyer.
The Guild asked the company to extend its deadline because of a $4 million accounting error in the $10 million of concessions demanded from its largest union, which would mean deeper cuts for that union.
"I mean, you can't rule out rank incompetence here. I mean this, after all, is a company that moved its customer service call center to Asia, prompting cancellation of thousands of subscriptions," said Mooney.
A Times Company spokeswoman's only comment Friday was, "Negotiations are continuing."
"We're hoping we're going to get a suitable resolution to this for all parties concerned," said Murphy.
Mooney added, "We're putting out a paper. That's what we do 365 days a year, and we think we're going to continue to do that."
The Boston Newspaper Guild, has scheduled a membership meeting for 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Boston Teachers Union Hall. They hope for a good turnout and a good outcome.
The Globe's Human Resources department put out an internal memo Satuday asking employees to maintain their normal working schedules and activities, saying they'll be notified of any changes.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments