The Guild learned Tuesday that employees who have been working for Local Edge and selling ads into the Times Union will become Guild-represented employees.

Two of the employees are being let go by Local Edge, while the other four will join the Times Union officially effective July 1, Human Resources Director Ruth Fantasia told the union. The Company recognized that the Guild would have rights to represent them as part of the bargaining unit.

Local Edge was the successor to the Talking Phone Book. When Hearst got out of the telephone book business, it kept the staff and had its employees sell search engine optimization. While the Guild had always watched closely to be sure that Local Edge’s efforts did not displace any of our positions, outsourcing that would have required negotiation, we are glad these workers will become part of the operation and will welcome them aboard.

What will Obamacare mean for 2014?

Leaders of the Guild, mailers and pressmen’s union met with the Company Tuesday for a preliminary discussion of what the health care changes that take effect in 2014 could mean.

Of most immediate interest is the plan’s stipulation that large employers either provide affordable coverage or pay a penalty. The “affordability” standard is that individual premium rates may not be more than 9.5% of an employee’s total household income. The Company raised a concern that it’s possible a Guild employee could meet that threshold. If an employee did and sought to buy coverage through a state-based health insurance exchange, an employer could face a penalty of $3,000 per employee who receives the federal subsidy.

The health plan administrator, Rowlands and Barranca, said some employers may choose to offer multiple choices so that at least one of them meets the standards.

All of this discussion was interesting but changes may be made before the plan takes effect or its effective dates could be changed. The Guild and other unions appreciated the information presented Tuesday, and the conversations will resume in detail in the fall when more information is known.

Guild members enjoy themselves at the 2013 Guild picnic.

For legal reasons, the talks have remained off the record – which means their contents cannot be disclosed – to avoid the possibility of the Company being able to impose a new set of changes.

On Thursday, it became clear that those talks, despite the Guild’s best efforts, would not yield an acceptable agreement at this time. No further talks are currently scheduled.

Guild President Tim O’Brien was joined in the talks by Treasurer Marianne Mahr, Chief Steward Brian Nearing and International Representative Jim Schaufenbil.

“We have been and continue to be willing to offer flexibility on the issues of out-of-seniority layoffs and outsourcing,” O’Brien said. “We have offered all kinds of compromises. But our members deserve and need a say in such decisions.”

At a time when the Chicago Sun-Times saw fit to lay off every photographer, and when ad sales people are understandably nervous about Local Edge encroaching on sales, it would make no sense to surrender bargaining rights on outsourcing.

Likewise, the Guild was and is willing to offer flexibility in layoffs. We even would be willing to explore the idea of laying off out of seniority in return for enhanced severance for those who would suffer a pension hit. Unfortunately, under the law, if you agree to such a change, the Company could come to the table at the next negotiations, say it wants to keep the ability to lay off whomever it pleases but eliminate the enhanced severance. The Company could then legally impose that change. It cannot legally impose giving itself unfettered rights to lay off anyone without members’ consent now.

“Our members continue to be better off under the imposed conditions,” O’Brien said. “We remain willing to talk whenever the Company is willing to be flexible, and our members remain deserving of raises they have been denied for far too long.”

Executive Board Agenda

1. Approval of minutes
2. Treasurer’s report
   • Monthly update
3. Commission committee
4. Communications committee
   • Newsletter
   • Website
5. Mobilizing committee
6. Grievances and arbitrations
7. Contract negotiations
   • Health Care
8. Solidarity/support for other unions
9. Old business
   • Issues in Advertising
   • District Manager concerns
10. New business
    • Set date for next election
11. Adjourn

Executive Board Agenda

1. Approval of minutes
2. Treasurer’s report
   • Monthly update
3. Commission committee
4. Communications committee
   • Newsletter
   • Website
5. Mobilizing committee
6. Grievances and arbitrations
7. Contract negotiations
8. Solidarity/support for other unions
9. Old business
   • Catering and Insurance for the Summer Picnic
   • Issues in Advertising
   • District Manager concerns
10. New business
    • Annual contribution to the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District
11. Adjourn

They won the $25 gift cards to Roma Foods! Thanks to everyone who went to Roma and who came up to the cafeteria for the drawing.

Come see which of your colleagues will win and tell us what advertiser we should support next.

The event begins Friday morning and ends Saturday night. Local representatives from around the United States and Canada gather every other year to discuss what is happening in the newspaper industry, in the union and in the media.

“It is a good place to go to get advice on issues that arise and to meet with International leaders about our needs in Albany,” O’Brien said. He has been a regular attendee at these events. Cindy Schultz will be attending her first union convention.

The CWA convention follows on the heels of the Guild’s event. Cindy Schultz will fly back home, while O’Brien stays through the CWA convention as the sole delegate from our local. The CWA convention — which features members from a diverse collection of industries, from flight attendants to telecom workers — starts with registration Sunday. The convention runs all day Monday and Tuesday.

The Guild had asked people to volunteer to serve as delegates. Since the Guild had two delegate slots for the TNG convention and one for the CWA convention, and that’s how many people volunteered for each, an election was not required.

Executive Board Agenda

1. Approval of minutes
2. Treasurer’s report
   • Monthly update
3. Commission committee
4. Communications committee
   • Newsletter
   • Website
5. Mobilizing committee
   • Cash Mob promotion
6. Grievances and arbitrations
7. Contract negotiations
8. Solidarity/support for other unions
9. Old business
   • Catering and Insurance for the Summer Picnic
   • Issues in Advertising
   • District Manager concerns
10. New business
11. Adjourn

To honor his efforts, the Guild is donating $100 in Tim’s name to the cause of finding a cure for cancer. He may be out of the running, but he’s still an inspiration to us.

If you’d like to donate too, you can do so online at cancer.org or by mail to American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.