Herald employees to pay for parking at new location

When the Boston Herald moves from the South End to the Seaport District in early 2012, it will be accompanied by a hefty bill for some Herald staff members: up to $150 a month for parking. That’s according to a “Dear Herald Employee” letter from publisher and owner Pat Purcell, obtained by Media Nation earlier this week.

“Free parking in Boston is a rarity and, sadly, there will not be free parking for any employee — myself included — when we move to the Seaport Center,” Purcell writes.

Employees currently pay nothing to use the expansive parking lot next to the Herald’s plant. So having to pay $1,800 a year for 24/7 parking amounts to a considerable reduction in pay.

Purcell begins his letter by saying he has been unable to meet with the staff in person because of recent hip-replacement surgery, and goes on to say that the new location has extensive public-transportation options, including a free shuttle bus that travels back and forth to North Station. He adds that there are other non-monthly parking lots in the area, though no rates are mentioned.

You can read the full text of Purcell’s letter here.

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7 thoughts on “Herald employees to pay for parking at new location”

  1. Wow, that is a major blow to workers. I would be quite displeased if I was on the staff.

  2. So, presuming 21-22 work days in a given month, you now have to pay about $7 just to go to work.

    An $1,800 reduction at my last newspaper job would have amounted to about 6.25%, nothing to sneeze at in an era of permanent salary freezes. Hope the Herald folks have a better deal than I did.

  4. I’m sure lots of reporters and people who work on the night desk will be able to avail themselves of the “extensive public transportation options.” That statement just looks like a second middle finger to the staff.

    How, again, is the Guild working on behalf of newspaper staff?

  5. This won’t affect Howie Carr and Michael Graham; they just phone their stuff in, both literally and figuratively.

  6. The contract used to require Guild employees to have a car for reporting on the editorial side and account servicing on the commercial side and that’s why the owner (Murdoch, then Purcell) was required to have free parking available. Is that no longer part of the contract?

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