Company asks to discuss editorial buyouts

The Times Union is asking to discuss a buyout to be targeted at editorial employees.

Guild President Tim O’Brien was contacted by Publisher George Hearst at 5 p.m. Friday. His proposed offer included three weeks of pay per year of service, with a minimum of 15 weeks and a maximum of one year. Health insurance would be provided for the same time period.

O’Brien was asked to come upstairs to review and sign the agreement. He said he could not act that fast and needed time to review the proposal. The publisher then came down to the newsroom and gave O’Brien a copy of the proposal. The Guild president spent time Saturday reviewing past buyouts, the contract and the imposed conditions. Any buyout offer is subject to a ratification vote of the membership as outlined in Section 6.G. of the contract. (That language, like most of the contract, remains in effect.)

We will be appointing a committee to negotiate with the company. We will provide more details as soon as we can.