Murdoch, Unions Reach N.Y. Post Accord

A coalition of unions and owner Rupert Murdoch agreed after marathon negotiations that ended early today on a plan to save the New York Post, one of the nation’s oldest continuously published newspapers.

After more than 16 hours of talks in a mid-Manhattan hotel, employee unions and Murdoch struck a deal for major concessions so the paper could be sold to real estate developer Peter Kalikow, who had demanded million of dollars in savings before he acquired the money-losing, vividly written tabloid.

Bargainers for both sides, eyes red with fatigue, shuttled between suites of hotel rooms as the plan took final shape. And while other union leaders stood in a hallway it took a special session with the head of the drivers’ union to bring him into agreement on the pact.

At one point, when Murdoch met with some of the union leaders, there was applause over the apparent settlement.

The mood was in sharp contrast to Friday morning, when Murdoch said he would to close the Post later in the day. But at dinner time, as he was pursued down a corridor by a throng of reporters, Murdoch announced, “We are publishing tomorrow.” His words served notice that serious progress was being made.

Shortly before 2 a.m. Murdoch announced that there was an agreement pending ratification by the rank and file of the newspaper’s unions. He said “considerable concessions” had been achieved including the reduction of 130 jobs and savings of $22 million.

“I want to say at this time, I wish Mr. Kalikow very successful publishing of the New York Post,” Murdoch said. “ . . . He gets the newspaper now in better shape.”

As part of the package, the unions will get a $2-million across-the-board bonus in the third year in the third year of the three-year pact.

Murdoch had vowed to shut the 187-year-old paper at 2 p.m. Friday but let the deadline pass so that cost-saving discussions with the coalition of unions could continue. Sources said the chief issue on the bargaining table was how to find an additional $3 million in savings.

Unions Pledge Savings

The unions already have pledged $21 million in savings.

“It’s a very tight situation,” Jerry Cronin, president of the Post’s drivers’ union, said earlier in the day. “But, as long as the talks keep going, we have a paper and people have jobs.”

Union negotiators had asked that Kalikow, who agreed to buy the Post if enough cost savings could be achieved, become a participant in the talks. That happened, at least indirectly, when Murdoch left negotiations to meet with Kalikow.

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, at the urging of the newspaper’s unions, “is talking to all of the parties and he’s offering ideas, encouragement, anything he can to be helpful,” gubernatorial aide Gary Fryer said Friday night.

The governor pressed Murdoch and Kalikow to “do everything possible to save the newspaper for New York City,” said Howard Rubenstein, spokesman for both Kalikow and Murdoch.

Murdoch’s search for a buyer for the flamboyant afternoon tabloid was precipitated when Congress enacted a law barring further waivers of a federal regulation that prevented him from owning both a newspaper and a television station in the same city.

When Murdoch first arrived at the mid-Manhattan hotel where the talks were being held Friday morning, he declared that he would not stop the clock to save the paper. As the 2 p.m. deadline approached, police officers were sent to the Post’s plant in lower Manhattan to ensure order if the paper were shut down.

An Open Line to Talks

Reporters in the city room kept an open line to union representatives at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Fearing the worst, some already had removed their personal belongings from the paper on Thursday.

But, just after the 2 p.m. deadline passed, Murdoch said the clock was being stopped for 15 minutes--an extension that grew into hours. And, as time stretched on, optimism grew that a settlement eventually could be achieved.

“I feel that Murdoch is certainly bargaining in good faith,” said Mort Malis, secretary treasurer of the drivers’ union. “He’s negotiating for Kalikow.”

When asked if he were optimistic, Malis replied: “Absolutely.”

Murdoch had demanded concessions from the unions totaling more than $20 million over a three-year period as part of his deal to sell the Post to Kalikow for $37 million. His deal with Kalikow gave him until Monday to negotiate the concessions.

Wants More Job Cuts

In addition, Murdoch demanded further job cuts beyond the 116 agreed to by the unions, according to Barry Lipton, president of the Newspaper Guild of New York. The Post work force numbers 1,200.

After Murdoch met with Kalikow late Friday to discuss the union negotiations, Kalikow reiterated his demand for financial concessions to complete the deal, Rubenstein said.

“(Kalikow) felt that the paper was bleeding to death and wished to go no further in terms of the contract,” he said.

During the day, more than 50 reporters and a dozen camera crews chased a tight-lipped Murdoch and union negotiators as they shuttled from room to room at the hotel. At one point, when the Post’s owner repeatedly refused to comment on the substance of the talks, a reporter asked: “Can you at least tell us how tall your bodyguard is?” (Six foot, 11 inches, the guard replied.)

Gallows humor has pervaded the Post newsroom during the last few weeks. Reporters there held a contest to name the condominium tower they feared would replace the paper’s building if the paper was forced to close. The winner: “Ex-Post Condo.”

Paper Founded in 1801

The New York Post was founded in 1801 by Alexander Hamilton and has shown remarkable staying power in a city that has lost numerous newspapers over the years. In 1976, Murdoch purchased the paper from Dorothy Schiff and made it far more flamboyant.

In the midst of the negotiations, Schiff sent the staff a message of “encouragement and affection,” reporters said.

The tabloid known for its catchy headlines treated its readers to a bit of double-entendre on the front page Friday as the 2 p.m. deadline loomed. Under one of the last photographs taken of the murder victim in a celebrated New York trial, the Post deadpanned: “Only Hours to Live.”