The Guild and the Times Union agreed Wednesday that the return to office schedule would be delayed as the Capital Region leads the state in COVID-19 infections.

The new schedule calls for those who were to return on Aug. 16 to now go back on Sept. 7. Those who were to initially return on Sept. 7 will now go back on Oct. 4.

This schedule may be changed again based on the COVID-19 infection rates. The Guild and the Times Union agreed to monitor the numbers as the Delta variant continues to be prevalent.

You Must Get Vaccinated

The Guild and the Times Union also discussed protecting our colleagues, families and friends from getting infected with COVID-19. The company is requiring everyone to get vaccinated and to provide proof to human resources. You must do this.

In the past week, the Guild has heard from members concerned about their children who are too young to be vaccinated and regarding family members who immunologically compromised and face health issues. These issues have been raised with the Times Union. The delay in the return to the office and getting vaccinated will help protect everyone from COVID-19 and protect these family members.

Under the law, the company can mandate vaccinations. The vaccinations also will fulfill our contractual guarantees to a safe and healthy work environment. The only exceptions to the mandate are to provide an excuse based on religion or for a medical condition. The Guild and the Times Union discussed this situation.

The Guild urges you to get vaccinated if you have not yet done so. If you are vaccinated, provide the required proof to the company as indicated in a companywide email sent Wednesday at about 5:20 p.m.

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact the Guild at office@albanyguild.org, a Guild executive board member or your shop steward.

The Guild and the Times Union discussed the COVID-19 situation on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. These latest discussions were continuation of the talks both sides have held on a regular basis since the pandemic struck in early 2020.

Please help protect our colleagues, friends and families.

The Executive Board decided Sunday that given the increasing COVID-19 infection rates that a meeting should be held to seek a delay in the return to the office. Exposure to the Delta variant is too dangerous to be ignore.

Local President Ken Crowe sent a letter Sunday to Publisher George Hearst and Human Resources Director Ruth Fantasia requesting a meeting. They asked for a delay to consult with corporate.

On Wednesday, Crowe, Hearst and Fantasia met. It was agreed that the Aug. 9 return would be postponed until Aug. 16. This does not impact the September return planned for some.

The company will send out an email announcing the one week delay.

The Guild is monitoring the COVID-19 rates in the Capital Region. Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties have all exceeded the CDC levels that would require wearing a mask indoors.

The Guild will request additional meeting and action as the as the review of infection rates dictate.

Corporate is apparently pushing to get employees back into the newspaper offices around the country.

Everyone is supposed to be able to have a hybrid schedule mixing work in the office and work at home. If you are anxious about returning to the office let the Guild know via office@albanyguild.orgor contacting an officer or your shop steward. The Guild will bring your concerns to the company.

The company has asked that you let Ruth Fantasia know at rfantasia@timesunion.com know whether or not you are vaccinated. Currently, 53 percent of the employees have been vaccinated. They don’t know the vaccination status of about 45 percent.

Any questions contact the Guild office, officers or stewards

The Albany Newspaper Guild membership unanimously approved a buyout agreement with the Times Union at a special meeting held Monday night, June 21, 2021.

Executive Board Member Jeff Boyer will sign the agreement on behalf of the Guild Tuesday afternoon at the Times Union building.

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.