The New York state AFL-CIO has invited the all of the members of the Albany News Guild and their families to its annual Michael Burns Labor Day Celebration picnic.

Hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage and peppers, raw and steam clams along with a lot of other food and drinks will be served from noon to 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 2, at the American Legion, 275 Grooms Road, Clifton Park.

A rock wall, video truck, inflatable games and a bounce house will be available for the kids.

The FREE picnic honors hard work, dedication and contributions of workers everywhere.

More information is available by emailing Mark Emanation at memanation@cdalf.org.

The Albany Newspaper Guild negotiating team reports that substantial progress was made during a two-hour off-the-record bargaining session with the Times Union on Monday, July 8, 2024.

Details of the talks cannot be disclosed due to the agreement that the talks are off-the-record in order to hold frank discussions between our union representatives and the company’s team.

Local President Ken Crowe, Vice President David Johnson and Chief Steward Wendy Liberatore met for several hours before and after negotiations to discuss the bargaining.

Our negotiating team members agreed that progress was made and they are hopeful that additional strong advances will be made when the two sides reconvene on July
29 and 30.

The Times Union was represented by Publisher George Hearst and Chief Financial Officer Andy Lennartz.

At the quarterly membership meeting held Thursday, June 13, 2024, four members of the Executive Board were unanimously elected.

David Johnson was elected vice president.

Wendy Liberatore was elected chief steward.

Kathleen Moore was elected secretary.

Justin Wisner was elected to an at-large board position.

Their terms of office run until Dec. 31, 2024.

“David, Wendy, Kathleen and Justin have all contributed to our local.  David and Wendy are shifting into key positions on the board where their experience will be critical.  Kathleen and Justin are joining the board to bring fresh insights and representation for all of us,” said President Ken Crowe.

The Local offers its thanks and best wishes to former vice president Ty Stewart and chief steward Rob Gavin.

The Albany Newspaper Guild negotiating team met with Times Union representatives on the afternoon of Monday May 20, 2024.

The bargaining session was off-the-record which means we can’t go into details.

The Guild presented a comprehensive proposal covering wages, health insurance, retirement and contract language to reach a new contract.

The Company representatives are reviewing the proposal. We expect to hear from them in June after the holiday weekend.

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 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.