Members are asking questions about taking vacation and the five bonus personal days for this year.

2020-21 Vacation

You have until April 15 to use any remaining vacation time from last year. Our vacation period runs from April 15 through April 14. If you don’t use it, you lose it.

Many members have not taken their vacation saying they had nowhere to go. PLEASE take your vacation if you have not done so. You have until April 14 to take it.

US Personal 2020

The Hearst Corp. proposed five additional personal days for anyone who met the criteria and was on the payroll as of Dec. 31, 2020. The Guild agreed to this. You will see at the bottom of the list of various times off on your time card US PERSONAL 2020. For full-time employees you will see 37.5 hours. Fill out the time card just as you would for vacation or regular personal or make-up time by putting in the hour amount.

This time will not be paid if you leave before taking it. You should take it first after exhausting any vacation time left over from last year. These five bonus days must be used by the end of the year

Regular Personal Time

We all received our regular allotment of two personal days as of Jan. 1. They must be used by the end of the year and will be paid if you leave the Times Union.

2021-22 Vacation Scheduling

It’s nearly time to think about scheduling vacation (Contract Section 16, pages 35 to 37) for the upcoming vacation period beginning April 15. Here are some key dates:

• Feb. 15 — Company must notify you of your available vacation time.
• Feb. 25 — You must notify the company of your vacation selection in writing.
• March 5 — The company will prepare and post the vacation schedule.

Any questions or issues please contact a Guild officer, steward or the office.

The Guild has agreed to a Times Union plan to pay some members of our bargaining unit a 1 percent bonus in the Jan. 29, 2021 paycheck.

The bonus payment is similar to one made in 2020. There will be a minimum payment of at least $350.

The qualifications set by the company to receive the bonus payrment are you must be hired before October 1, 2020, you must have worked at least 1,000 hours in 2020, you must still be working at the company and you must not be on any sort of commission/bonus plan.

President Mandy Fries responded to the company to say Guild would not bar our bargaining unit members from receiving the bonus payment.

“However, notwithstanding this agreement, the Albany Newspaper Guild is not waiving its representational rights nor its legal right to bargain over the terms and criteria of the Hearst Bonus Plan,” Mandy stated in closing.

The Guild’s Executive Board discussed this bonus at its monthly meeting. The Guild remains committed to securing our first pay raise since Aug. 1, 2007 and is working to obtain a raise for all unit members.

The stewards will be checking in with everyone in the weeks ahead. Please let us know your thoughts.

Yours in Solidarity.

Dear Colleagues:

It’s with strong emotions I write to let you know that I am leaving the Times Union, and my role as your Guild president, for a new job as a public information officer for the state Department of Motor Vehicles and the Governor’s Task Force on Traffic Safety.

While I am excited about this new opportunity, I will deeply miss so many friends I have made here as well as the work I have enjoyed so much.

I will also miss being your president. I have held the office for more than 17 years, the longest tenure in our local’s history. It has enabled me to get to know so many people, upstairs and down. It’s also made me a better employee as I have come to a greater understanding of how all the various departments work and how they pull together to create this wonderful newspaper.

I also want to thank our members. These recent years have not been easy, but you all have held together so well and made clear you appreciate the benefits the Guild provides. I hope the company and your new leadership will find a way to give you the contract and raises you deserve. You have my full support. (And I will remain a union member with PEF.)

With my departure, there will be three open seats on the Executive Board as Cindy Schultz and Mike Huber left before me. Please consider taking a seat on the board. Now more than ever, the Guild needs your support.

I am profoundly grateful to all of the people I have served with over the years. The remaining board members — Brian Nearing, Marianne Mahr, Mark Hempstead and Jennifer Rodd — are terrific representatives but they need and deserve your help. Over the years, I was always amazed that when board members left, someone always stepped up. When we needed a chief steward, Brian took on the task and became an invaluable partner.

Please think seriously about joining the board. You are needed, you will feel good helping your colleagues, and it will make you a better employee. And it could lead to other career opportunities.

Best of luck to all and if you’re in downtown Albany, especially in summer when the lunch trucks are out, let me know and I’ll gladly meet you for lunch.

Forever in solidarity,

Tim

Members are invited to an Executive Board meeting at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Colonie Public Library to discuss the proposal.

The Guild established a committee to discuss and recommend what to do with the $50,000 bequest the union has received from longtime reporter Marv Cermak.

Here is the recommendation in the committee’s own words:

“After much discussion, all seven members agreed that offering a Guild award yearly to two outstanding Times Union employees (who are also Guild members in good standing) is the best suggestion we can offer for the funds.

The Cermak Award, consisting of $1,000, would be awarded to one Guild member in Editorial and another from Advertising, Business, Finance, Circulation etc. each year for outstanding work at the Times Union and dedication to their craft and the business of supporting and publishing the news. Such an award can also take into consideration how such a person juggled other challenges in their lives (say if their excellent work at the Times Union happened while they also took care of an ailing relative at home, or if they themselves were battling a serious condition etc. But such a hardship is certainly not a prerequisite for winning).

Nominating forms would be located in every department along with a drop box, or people could reach out to the award committee chairperson on how to nominate someone.  Criteria for nominating and selecting would be established in a document detailing the contest, and such selection would be done by a Cermak Award committee.

The selection of each year’s two winners would be a secret until it’s announced at the Guild’s annual Holiday Party.”

Please come to the meeting Thursday to participate in discussion of the proposal.

The Executive Board thanks the committee members for their work on this issue. They are Lauren Stanforth, committee chair, Lisa Morey, Tyswan Stewart, Frank Giachetti, Susan Smith, Linda Crowley and Brian Nearing.

The Times Union laid off three workers Thursday: two Guild members and one exempt manager.

The decision came despite the fact that the Company appeared to meet its stated goals under a buyout program. The Company had said it wanted to cut the number of employees by 10 to 15, with the number depending on how highly paid the workers were.

Seven Guild members accepted the buyout offer, and four managers also left. The Company also had said it would count an exempt manager who left around the time of the buyouts, and a Guild-covered employee handling obituaries also left and was not replaced. A top newsroom manager also has announced she will be leaving for a new job.

“We are very disappointed to see three people involuntary discharged,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “This was a sad day for all employees.”

One of the Guild members let go was a 26-year employee known as an energetic and loyal worker in the advertising department, often seen shuttling between sales and advertising art.

The other was a worker with 12 years of experience, who started in the circulation department before being promoted to a position in the business office.

Both are highly regarded by their colleagues, and they were told the job cuts were due to fiscal issues and not their stellar performances.

Under the conditions imposed by the company in 2009, the language that required layoffs to be by reverse order of seniority within a department was changed to “by job title.” In some cases, as with the 26-year employee, there are positions held by a single person. This was not a change the Guild favored, but it was imposed on our members.