New Deal May Aid Globe, Guild As Talks Begin Again

"We are optimistic about the prospects for reaching an agreement after our most recent talks with the company," Guild President Dan Totten said in a statement.

Messages left with Totten and a Globe spokesman were not immediately returned Wednesday, and it was unclear whether the Guild would further delay their next appointment with the NLRB.

Scott Allen, a Globe reporter who serves on the Guild's governing board, said even though cutting the lifetime guarantees was unpopular, most discussions now are focused on "pocketbook issues," such as reducing the 8.3 pay cut by decreasing vacations or holidays or slicing the number of sick days allowed under the contract.

"The Newspaper Guild knows the $10 million is not going to change, we've got to get the $10 million," Allen said. "There's all these things that we can do that the company would value, which doesn't take a direct hit on our pay checks."

And if the Guild eventually approves an agreement, the Times Co. is more likely to get employees interested in helping reshape a newspaper that lost $50 million last year and could lose $85 million this year.