Member update on contract negotiations

The Albany Newspaper Guild and Times Union met on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 to continue off-the-record talks for a new contract.

The bargaining Tuesday dealt with salaries, pension, 401K and health insurance. Due to the talks being off-the-record, details cannot be discussed at this time.

The Guild negotiating team has repeated that the membership wants annual contractual raises. This was made clear in membership surveys and at the March membership meeting.

The goal remains to achieve an agreement by the end of June.

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.

The talks continue as the Guild was instrumental in obtaining passage in the state budget of the Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs program.

For papers the size of the Times Union, it’s estimated it will generate $300,000 per year for three years in tax breaks. CWA District 1 and the NYS AFL-CIO worked with the Guild on the bill. The New York News Publishers Association worked with the Guild in securing passage.