• Bargaining team makes progress

    July 8, 2024 /

    The Albany Newspaper Guild negotiating team reports that substantial progress was made during a two-hour off-the-record bargaining session with the Times Union on Monday, July 8, 2024.

    Details of the talks cannot be disclosed due to the agreement that the talks are off-the-record in order to hold frank discussions between our union representatives and the company’s team.

    Local President Ken Crowe, Vice President David Johnson and Chief Steward Wendy Liberatore met for several hours before and after negotiations to discuss the bargaining.

    Our negotiating team members agreed that progress was made and they are hopeful that additional strong advances will be made when the two sides reconvene on July
    29 and 30.

    The Times Union was represented by Publisher George Hearst and Chief Financial Officer Andy Lennartz.

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  • Members vote on board officials

    June 13, 2024 /

    At the quarterly membership meeting held Thursday, June 13, 2024, four members of the Executive Board were unanimously elected.

    David Johnson was elected vice president.

    Wendy Liberatore was elected chief steward.

    Kathleen Moore was elected secretary.

    Justin Wisner was elected to an at-large board position.

    Their terms of office run until Dec. 31, 2024.

    “David, Wendy, Kathleen and Justin have all contributed to our local.  David and Wendy are shifting into key positions on the board where their experience will be critical.  Kathleen and Justin are joining the board to bring fresh insights and representation for all of us,” said President Ken Crowe.

    The Local offers its thanks and best wishes to former vice president Ty Stewart and chief steward Rob Gavin.

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  • Membership Meeting & Special Election

    June 13, 2024 /

    The Albany Newspaper Guild will hold a quarterly membership meeting at 6 pm on Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 6 p.m..

    The meeting will be conducted on Zoom. Email office@albanyguild.org for Zoom info.

    The membership will vote to fill the vice president’s and chief steward’s posts which will be vacant. The membership also will vote to elect a local secretary and an at-large member of the Executive Board. The term of office for all posts is until Dec. 31, 2025.

    In the event of a contested election, a mail ballot will be conducted.

    An update on contract talks will be presented. The monthly Executive Board will be held immediately following the membership meeting.

    Election Information

    The open positions up for a vote will be Vice President, Chief Steward, Secretary and At-large Executive Board member.

    The terms will run through December 31, 2025.

    Members must be in good standing to run for office and to attend the nomination meeting.

    If you want to check your standing, email the Guild office at office@albanyguild.org.

    If there is only one nomination for any office, and the person accepts the nomination, the person will be elected at the meeting. If there is more than one candidate for any office, a Local Elections Committee appointed by the Executive Board will conduct a mail-in ballot election.

    Nominations for the office may be from the floor or by petition. Petitions may be for an individual candidate in which the name of the candidate, his/her Local unit (if applicable), and department worked listed. Such petitions must also contain the names of at least 25 members. Individuals signing a petition must be members in good standing. These petitions must be filed with Local Secretary Wendy Liberatore before the election at the membership meeting.

    The secretary shall notify all candidates of their nomination and shall receive from them a written notice of their willingness to serve.

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  • News Guild continues contract negotiations with proposals on wages, health

    May 20, 2024 /

    The Albany Newspaper Guild negotiating team met with Times Union representatives on the afternoon of Monday May 20, 2024.

    The bargaining session was off-the-record which means we can’t go into details.

    The Guild presented a comprehensive proposal covering wages, health insurance, retirement and contract language to reach a new contract.

    The Company representatives are reviewing the proposal. We expect to hear from them in June after the holiday weekend.

    The Guild is represented by President Ken Crowe, Secretary Wendy Liberatore and Executive Board member David Johnson.

    The company team is Publisher George Hearst and CFO Andy Lennartz.

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