Our Contract

The Globe agrees that those full-time employees on the payroll prior to January 1, 1992, whose names appear in Exhibit A to this Agreement, will not be subject to a layoff. This job guarantee will not extend to employees hired subsequent to January 1, 1992. The named employees listed below may, however, be discharged for just cause and will also be removed from the job guarantee list upon resignation, retirement, abandonment of job or death. This job guarantee does not preclude the Globe from eliminating or consolidating jobs or positions as provided for in the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. A transfer to other available work, with no loss of pay, shall not be considered a layoff.

In the event the Globe permanently ceases publication, the above guarantee will thereupon cease and, provided further, in the event of an “Act of Godâ€? or strike by or a lockout of another union(s) with whom the Globe has a collective bargaining agreement that results in a period of temporary suspension of the Globe’s operation, this job guarantee will be suspended for such period of temporary suspension only; and provided, further, in the case of strike by the Boston Globe Employees Association against the Globe, this job guarantee will cease during the strike but will be reinstated for those persons on the job guarantee list who return to work to available positions after the strike has ended, pursuant to both parties’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

In the event of a dramatic and apparently irreversible downturn in the Globe’s business, placing in jeopardy the continued existence or survival of the Globe, the parties will meet to discuss what reductions, if any, are necessary to this no-layoff list. During the discussion period, the Employer will provide to the Union a “top-lineâ€? summary of its current financial condition and its market and economic projections upon which it bases its need to request the reduction. These discussions, which will not exceed thirty (30) days, may include consideration of possible alternatives proposed by the Union to reduce labor costs other than through reductions to the no-layoff list. If the parties cannot reach agreement, it will be subject to binding arbitration for resolution, and the arbitrator will not be strictly bound by the no-layoff provisions of this Supplemental Agreement and will be empowered to make equitable adjustments as appropriate. The arbitrator shall also be empowered to require the Globe to submit its financial records to an independent accounting firm (limited to one of the “Big Sixâ€? that has not been retained in an auditing function for the Globe in the last ten years) solely to verify the bona fides of the Globe’s financial representations as provided to the Union. The independent accountant shall share its conclusions and findings (but not the Company’s financial back-up data) with the arbitrator, the Union and the Company. However, the arbitrator, upon request, shall have confidential access through the independent accountant to any specific financial back-up data provided by the Globe. However, no layoff of the named employees on the list attached to this supplemental agreement may be made (unless mutually agreed upon) prior to the arbitration ruling on such equitable adjustments.

The arbitrator may also consider any of the alternatives presented by the Union as a resolution or rule that no reductions to the list are appropriate.

February 1, 2001