The Boston Globe's biggest union has turned down a contract involving pay and benefit cuts despite threats that doing so may lead to deeper cuts, the New York Times reports. Boston Newspaper Guild members voted 277-265 against the offer from the New York Times Company after 12 hours of voting, and are now seeking to reopen negotiations.
The Globe's owners have warned that closing the struggling newspaper remains an option. The company has said it will seek to impose a 23% pay cut across the board now that its offer has been rejected, but union members accuse it of bluffing. "The company is obligated to go back to the table and negotiate, so there’s no crystal ball beyond that,” the guild's president said.
(More Boston Globe stories.)