Globe, BGEA agree on new contract p. 10

By: George Garneau

THE BOSTON GLOBE and its largest union tentatively have agreed on a contract that promises to end three years of contentious negotiations, two under federal mediation.
The proposed four-year contract is subject to ratification in February by the Boston Globe Employees Association, which represents 1,100 journalists and other white-collar workers.
The agreement would formalize terms that management imposed in May after declaring an impasse. Retroactive to January 1991 and expiring Dec. 31, the contract would save the Globe an estimated $2.7 million a year.
The Globe said the agreement gives management the relief it sought in telemarketing, sick time, grievance procedures, subcontracting of noneditorial jobs, lower pay for new hires, flexible shifts and reuse of editorial content. It eliminates the no-layoff clause, bans strikes and lockouts, and removes 28 jobs from the bargaining unit.
The union gets nearly 12% in pay raises during four years, lifetime job guarantees for more than 90% of full-time members, more than $1 million a year in health care payments and improved benefits for part-time workers.
The BGEA rejected similar terms in September 1992 and August 1993. Proposed pay hikes are in line with other union agreements at the Globe, which New York Times Co. acquired last year.
"After three years of the most intense and difficult negotiations in our history, during which the Globe sought major concessions, we believe we have achieved the best settlement we could get under the circumstances," union president Bob Jordan said. Despite losing on two-tier wages and subcontracting, the union is relying on two committees formed to study alternatives.
Jordan said private talks begun in recent weeks helped restart negotiations. The union's executive committee has recommended that members ratify the contract.
If members approve the contract, the independent BGEA will focus on affiliating with the Newspaper Guild, a move "essential to our survival and our future," Jordan said. He said BGEA received Guild help in the latest negotiations and needs the international union's resources in future talks under Times.