On Friday, June 18, 2021 raises will be included in this week’s paychecks for members of the Albany Newspaper Guild unit. There will be retroactive pay back to the beginning of June.

The raises are from a merit pay pool that Publisher George Hearst described in a recent all hands meeting.

The Guild has taken the position that under the McClatchy Doctrine a merit pool distribution, as portrayed by the publisher, should be subject to negotiations between the Guild and Times Union management. The company disagrees citing the merit pay provisions of our contract. The Guild has not waived any of its rights to take future action on this issue.

Our Guild recognizes that many of us have gone without a raise since Aug. 1, 2007. We don’t want members to miss out on a chance at a raise. This is the first time that merit pay raises have been paid across the unit.

The company has been working on this merit pay pool since last year. The raises range from 1 percent to 6 percent from an overall pool of about 3 percent.

The Guild has not been idle while the company has developed the metrics and components of its merit pool system. In March, we asked for a 2 percent pay hike to be applied directly to the top scales of each job classification. The Guild believes that everyone deserves the same percentage raise.

The company rejected this saying it was planning to pay out merit raises in the next several months.

The Pay Equity Study that was presented to the company in May pointed out issues with the way past merit pay had been awarded to some members of our bargaining unit while others were ignored completely.

The study findings forced the company to delay issuing the raises while it reevaluated who would be awarded raises from its newly configured merit pool. As a result, some changes were made by the company.

The Guild will receive information on all the raises, including percentages and amounts, and will review each of them closely.

Future work by the members of the Pay Equity Committee will assess these same raises in terms of pay equity. An additional study will also be conducted to evaluate advertising commissions in terms of equity. This area of compensation is a complex topic that the committee was unable to include in this year’s pay study. However, the Guild is committed to reviewing this aspect of wages within the framework of pay equity in the near future.

Special Membership Meeting — Monday, June 21 at 6 p.m. on Zoom

The Albany Newspaper Guild and the Times Union reached a tentative agreement for buyouts to be offered to unit members.

The Albany Newspaper Guild Executive Board has called a Special Membership Meeting for 6 p.m. Monday, June 21, 2021 on Zoom to vote on a proposed Buyout Agreement.

The Executive Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to recommend approval of the agreement.

The company is seeking to cut staffing by 8 to 10 people across the newspaper. The company said staff reductions would be from the Guild membership and employees not represented by the Guild.

The tentative agreement reached includes:

A minimum of 12 weeks pay up to a maximum of 62 weeks to be calculated in six month increments. Pay to be determined by highest week’s pay exclusive of overtime and those receiving commissions will have commissions calculate on a 52-week average since June 1, 2020.

The last day on the job will be no later than Saturday July 31, 2021 unless otherwise approved by the publisher.

Employees will receive health insurance equal to severance with the company paying the employee’s share of the premium. Employees may opt out of health insurance and receive 50 percent of the premium but must provide prove of health insurance.

There is a bonus payment of $2,500 for employees with 0 to 10 years of service; $5,000 for 11 to 20 years; and $7,500 for those with 21 years or more.

Employees remain eligible for pension benefits they are entitled to or vested in.

Employees will receive all accrued vacation, personal days and makeup days except for the five 2020 Covid days.

The company will not challenge unemployment as long as employee answers employment questionnaire truthfully and accurately.

The company may turn down any application. The Guild may request a meeting with management and the employee to discuss why the application was rejected.

The departing employee must sign a confidential separation agreement and general release.

Departing employees will receive a one-year digital subscription to the Times Union.

Contact us at office@albanyguild.org for Zoom login info.

The company has asked to meet Friday with the Guild to discuss buyouts.

The Executive Board was informed earlier this week about the contact from the company and advised again at the June meeting Thursday night that the company wants to commence buyout discussions.

Ken Crowe and Jeff Boyer will meet with Publisher George Hearst and Human Resources Executive Director Ruth Fantasia at the Times Union building Friday afternoon.

Updates will follow.

Stewards will be contacting you

A Guild team recently met with the company to discuss the planned phased return to the Times Union building on Albany Shaker Road. This would be completed by the beginning of September.

The plans are very similar to what was to occur last year before the resurgence of COVID-19 cases led to most of us continuing to work remotely. There will be three phases to returning to the plant. Most of us in the Guild unit would be back at the beginning of September.

President Ken Crowe, Secretary Massarah Mikati and Chief Steward Rob Gavin discussed the matter with Publisher George Hearst and Human Resources Director Ruth Fantasia.

There was a candid discussion about many unit members wanting to work a hybrid schedule which would see them return to the office for a few days each week. We’ve all shown that we’re productive working at home or from other locations.

Massarah suggested the Times Union investigate securing co-working spaces around the Capital Region for reporters, advertising salespeople and other employees to use.

George Hearst explained how the company wants to maintain the interactions among employees, sharing of ideas and the Hearst ethos. He acknowledged the strong feeling among all employees for hybrid schedules.

The company presented proposed remote work rules. The Guild presented its proposal seven months ago. The company’s proposal is under review and a response will be made.

What you can do:

During the next two weeks your shop steward will be contacting you with several questions. One of the questions will be about return to work and what you want to see. Please respond when contacted. This will help the Guild help you.

We have heard from some members about a few managers saying they want everyone back inside. A letter has been sent to the company raising concerns about this.

Also, listen to the all-hands meeting the company is holding on June 3. That’s when full details of the company’s plans will be reviewed.