Union releases details of Globe management offer

Boston Newspaper Guild employees who currently hold lifetime job guarantees would lose the guarantee and receive a $33,000 payment, on top of severance, if they are laid off as part of a $10 million cost savings proposal that will be presented at membership meeting tonight. But the proposal also prevents the layoff of any workers with guarantees before next January.

The Guild, which represents more than 600 editorial, advertising and business office workers, today distributed the terms of Globe management's final offer, which members will be asked to ratify. Guild leadership did not strike a tentative agreement with the company, but only reached an understanding to present the offer to its membership, without a recommendation for or against.

As part of the proposal, Globe management said it will reinstate a previous offer of a 23 percent across the board pay cut if Guild members don't ratify the plan.

In addition to the elimination of job guarantees, the management offer includes:

-- An 8.4 percent wage cut for most employees

-- Five unpaid days of furlough;

-- A pension freeze

-- Elimination of company contributions to 401(k), and 401(a) retirement plans

-- A cut of more than $800,000 in company contributions to the healthcare plan

-- An increase in the work week to 40 hours from 37.5 hours.

-- Elimination of various benefits, including life insurance, eye care expenses, tuition reimbursement and retiree death benefits.

-- Elimination of Globe subscription discounts for retirees.

The proposal also provides for some of the wage cuts to be restored if the Globe's nonunion managers, who recently took a 5 percent pay cut, have some or all of their wage reduction restored. It would establish a joint labor-management council to review and make recommendations about the Globe's business plan, and create a profit-sharing plan that would deposit 1 percent of employees' salary into retirement plans if the paper's cash operating profit exceeds $10 million a year.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)