The Boston Globe Lives On

The Boston Globe just announced that it reached a settlement with one of its largest unions that will allow it to remain open.
It's heartening that this major newspaper that has been operating for 137 years and that broke the priest-sex abuse scandal, will remain open at least for now. That's great news for Boston and the rest of the country.
Whether it's great news for the staff of the Globe remains to be seen. The Times Co. had asked for the Boston Newspaper Guild, representing 700 editorial, advertising and business staff to take cuts of a whopping 23 percent. The guild had offered cuts of 5 percent. Apparently the agreement is somewhere in the middle, according to the Associated Press.
Another issue was the lifetime job guarantees held by 470 employees, including about 190 guild members, that makes it harder for the Times Co. to lay people off. The guarantees were given to employees in 1994 when the Times Co. bought The Globe.
Lifetime job guarantees seem like a luxury no company can afford, especially newspapers. But employees should have some job protections in this era when there are such deep cuts in many companies but especially newspapers. Unfortunately, as The Globe case proves, newspaper owners essentially can hold the newspaper hostage with a gun aimed right at its head. If employees don't give in to their demands, they can kill the newspaper and then everyone loses.