Members approved a merger of the Guild pension fund into a Hearst fund by a 45-14 margin Tuesday.

Turnout was relatively low, partly due to the fact that a delay in getting a written agreement meant the vote had to happen Christmas week.

The decision clears the way for the pension trustees to vote Wednesday on merging the two funds. In return for the merger, the parties have agreed benefits will continue to accrue at current levels for the next two years. At the end of 2011, however, the Company could make decisions to reduce or freeze benefits without the union’s input. Any benefits earned to date, or over the next two years, are protected and cannot be reduced once they are earned.

“Our members weighed the benefits and risks and considered what is happening both in the newspaper industry and with pensions in general,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “The Company should realize, of course, that with great power comes great responsibility. Our members agreed to allow the merger in order to make the fund more financially secure. Future  decisions about pension benefits should be based on the fund’s financial health and not any other factors including a corporate desire to ‘get out of the pension business.’ The retirement health of employees is based on their ability to get a pension.”

The company must continue to contribute the 85 cents an hour into the Hearst fund to pay for our pensions. That money comes from wages that were deferred over the years. Any change in that contribution must be negotiated.

The Guild also made clear it retains the right to bargain over pension benefits in the future.

The merger agreement language was finalized Friday, clearing a way for a vote on Tuesday.

The vote will be  from noon to 2 p.m. and 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday at the Colonie Public Library.

Like you, we are frustrated that the company’s delay in producing a written document is pushing a vote into Christmas week. We understand some employees have previously scheduled holiday parties then.

There is little excuse when the conceptual agreement was reached Dec. 2 not to have had a written agreement before Dec. 18.

The language change in the contract is simpler and an agreement has been reached. It would simply remove the reference in Section 14.C that refers to the fund having joint trustees. Publisher George Hearst and President Tim O’Brien have agreed on that language change.

At the meetings, our aim is to have the trustees discuss the proposal with you and answer your questions before you decide.

Guild President Tim O’Brien issued a statement explaining his position, which is that members need to vote with a complete understanding of all the pros and cons and the potential impact of their vote. Many of you have heard from Chief Steward Ray Pitlyk as well, who strongly supports the merger proposal. Other Executive Board members also will speak at the meeting, but we hope most of the time will be taken up by questions and answers before you vote.

As soon as we get word that the final merger document is in hand, we will rush out a flier. The challenge, of course, is that we continue to work at our jobs while we wait for the lawyers to finish.

To vote, you must be a member in good standing, which means no more than 30 days in arrears. It does mean some people will have to pay several months of dues before they can vote, but we have repeatedly encouraged members not to fall behind to prevent just such events.

Dear colleagues:

I know you’ve been waiting for some word on the pension. At this point, the pension fund lawyer, who is independent, has read the proposed merger agreement and raised a number of questions and concerns. We are awaiting the response from the Company’s lawyers.

We need the lawyers to work out the final language before we can bring it to you. We hoped to do so by early next week. It may have to wait until after the holidays if we don’t get the language worked out soon. (The Dec. 31 deadline, it turns out, is not hard and fast.) We certainly won’t want to have a vote Christmas week, when many people are off.

You will have to be a member in good standing in order to vote. That means you can be no more than 30 days in arrears in your dues. Please make the effort to catch up now. We would like all our members to participate in this very important vote.

We’ll keep you posted when we have more information. We know the delay is frustrating.

After a contentious week of sharp disagreements publicly aired, Thursday marked a day of unity and recommitment to purpose for the Guild.

First, the Guild is pleased to announce that Ken Crowe and Christine Wright have agreed to remain on the pension board as trustees, and they concur the membership must vote before a merger of the fund can occur. They did so after a legal opinion from Guild International attorney Barbara Camens indicated the contract required such a membership vote.

You can read her opinion here.

A vote cannot be scheduled, however, until the Company puts its proposal in writing. It has not yet done so, and the union sent Company leaders a letter after its Executive Board meeting Thursday urging them to do so.

At the Executive Board meeting, the officers unanimously approved a statement of principles as suggested by International Representative Jim Schaufenbil. The principles were moved by Chief Steward Ray Pitlyk and seconded by President Tim O’Brien (who handed the chair to First Vice President Lindsay LaFountain in order to do so).

The principles are:

• Agreement of all board members that a ratification vote is legally required to merge the pension plan.
• The union and trustees agree to negotiate with the company to protect pension benefits as long as possible. That agreement needs to be in writing. We retain the right to negotiate pension benefit changes in the future through collective bargaining.
• That we would work together in settling our differences.
• The Executive Committee and the Guild pension trustees all acknowledge they are ultimately accountable to the membership.
• Executive Committee votes should be taken in a forum where all members have adequate notice and opportunity to present debate on the issues.
• The Executive Committee reaffirms its goal to get a reasonable, honorable contract with the Company.

The Guild’s Executive Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. today, and certainly the pension issue will be a top topic of discussion. International Representative Jim Schaufenbil is coming to the meeting to help the board members come together in a consensus.

As was mentioned at Tuesday’s membership meeting, the Executive Board meetings are always open to the members. They occur on the second Thursday of each month at the Guild’s office at the Albany Labor Temple, 890 Third St. in the city of Albany. Call 482-9218 if you need help with directions.

The Guild is still awaiting a written proposal from the Company on the proposed merger. Once that is received, it must be reviewed by counsel and final language agreed upon before it is sent to the membership for a vote. Normally it would take 15 days to call a membership meeting, but the Executive Board can  call an emergency meeting with two days’ notice.

The union leaders are working to put together a fact sheet on the issue for members to be distributed and posted to the Web site. The fact sheet will be reviewed at tonight’s board meeting so that all members have the chance to speak their piece on what should be included.