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NFL Players Union Backs Boston Globe Workers in Labor Fight (EXCLUSIVE)

Gene Maddaus
·2-min read

The NFL Players Association is lending its support to the unionized employees of the Boston Globe, who have gone nearly two years without a contract.

The Globe employees are seeking to step up the pressure on John W. Henry, the owner and publisher of the paper. Henry is also a major figure in the sports world, as the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C.

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The Boston Newspaper Guild will stage a rally at 1 p.m. on Sunday outside Fenway Park, shortly before the Red Sox home game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The demonstrators are calling the action “Fairness at Fenway,” and plan to wear masks and maintain social distance.

In a statement to Variety, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith said the union was proud to stand up for the reporters, editors, advertising and production employees who are working without a contract.

“We are a union which has alliances across organized labor and we are proud of that,” Smith said. “We are thrilled to support the members of the press who exist for the sole reason of telling important and true stories that make our country stronger and better by holding those in power accountable. We support their desire to work as a team and will help in any way we can.”

The Newspaper Guild represents about 300 employees at the paper. Their last contract expired at the end of 2018. The union is seeking to retain seniority protections and to prevent workers from being fired without just cause, among other issues.

The negotiations have been contentious. The guild staged a lunchtime walkout to protest the stalled talks in August 2019.

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