Guild examines San Francisco settlement

Long fight yields 5-year contract at San Francisco Chronicle

We have asked our Hearst colleagues in San Francisco for details so we can review them in the hope of finding some guidance for us in Albany.

Of course, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in Albany is that a few years ago our colleagues at the Chronicle were told to agree to a contract or the paper, which was losing millions, would fold. That deal included significant reductions in layoff protections and greatly weakened the outsourcing language.

It is understandable why that language was accepted in San Francisco, given the dire straits the newspaper was in and the threat to fold. The Times Union has never been anywhere close to that situation and in fact as we saw this summer remains very profitable. The fact that the two papers are owned by the same Company does not mean the same concessions are reasonable in both places.

We will gladly review all the language in detail and intend to discuss what we find at our upcoming membership meeting.