Can't Boston Globe reporters do simple math?

Last night, the Newspaper's Guild, a union of Boston Globe reporters, voted 277-to-265 against a contract that would have cut their pay by 8.4 percent and forced a five day furlough to help the Globe save $20 million. Following the vote, the Globe's parent, The New York Times (NYT), said it will cut their pay by 23 percent starting next week. Hey, Boston Globe reporters, 23 percent is worse than 8.4 percent!

The details of the package the Guild rejected were indeed onerous. In addition to the 8.4 percent pay, the one-week unpaid furlough is equivalent to a pay cut of 1.9 percent. The deal also included the elimination of company contributions to retirement plans.