One of the most succinct definitions of morale came from Albert Sydney Johnson, a Kentucky native who was a Confederate general during the Civil War.

Morale, he wrote, is “faith in the man at the top.”

This month, it brought the Albany Newspaper Guild no pleasure to reveal that morale among the hard-working families at the Times Union, in a word, stinks.

And also to say there is only one place to lay responsibility. At the top.

The Hearst Corp. has imposed a wage freeze that will reach its 8th year in August. That has come at a time when staff in various departments continues to shrink, and those workers who remain are being asked to do more and more as goals continue to climb. Due to their efforts, the work continues to get done.

But as the work load grows heavier and heavier, people who work at the Times Union continue to see their standard of living erode, year after year as bills rise, but the paycheck never changes.

Meanwhile, the company continues to demand exactly what it started demanding in 2008: Workers must hand over complete rights to outsourcing of any job and also destroy a seniority system where a 20-year employee would be shown the door before someone hired the day before yesterday.

Even then, the wages will not move. The company offers a one-shot payment, most of which will get swallowed up by taxes and the inevitable increase in health insurance costs.

Multiple attempts to negotiate a reasonable compromise have ended with the same answer: NO.

People who work here are not stupid. They know that agreeing to such one-sided terms will mean that some people will lose their jobs right away and others will lose their jobs in the days that follow. How many people is anyone’s guess.

Morale can only further suffer the longer this goes on…

Each year, the Times Union asks workers around the Capital Region to rate their workplaces. And each year, the places that score highest proudly tout their scores as the best employers the region has to offer.

The test is really a test of employee morale. And sadly, the Times Union is failing its own test, and failing it badly.

As Albany Guild President Tim O’Brien reported here this month, the Guild asked workers to answer the same questions that the Times Union asked other workers elsewhere. And the results were not pretty.

Three workers in four said they no longer feel appreciated. That was a mirror image of workers at the top workplaces.

More than half of workers said they no longer had confidence in their future at the Times Union. And nine workers out of ten said they felt left in the dark as to how important decisions get made.

And as Johnson noted, morale is really about confidence in leadership. Eight out of ten TU workers said they no longer had that confidence. Eight out of ten…

To quote another American military icon, former President Dwight David Eisenhower: “The best morale exists when you never hear the word mentioned. When you hear a lot of talk about it, it’s usually lousy.”

It is inspiring to see the top workplaces in the Capital Region and know that workers there have confidence where they are being led. But the Times Union has work to do before it can make its own best-of list.

And this raises the question as to the role of the Times Union — or any paper for that matter — in its community. That role is not just about writing corporate checks to get a name on, say, the Times Union Center, or another prominent building.

I say one of the most important roles for a newspaper is to be voice for the community and its standards. And when people in that community are in a position where those standards are not being met, to speak up for fairness and justice. To not let those situations fester in the dark…

For those in the community who think the time has come for the company to try a new approach, please call 454.5555. Your support is needed. Thank you.

The Times Union would not meet the standards it sets to be named a Top Workplace, according to a survey taken by the Newspaper Guild of Albany based on the TU’s own questions.

A whopping 78.57 percent of respondents disagreed when asked if they feel genuinely appreciated. A total of 47.62 percent said they strongly disagreed.

Another harsh assessment came on the issue of whether people had confidence in their future at the company. A total of 57.83 percent strongly disagreed and 80.72 percent disagreed to some extent.

The worst grade of all came when employees were asked if they feel well-informed about how important decisions are made at the Times Union. An overwhelming total of 91.57 percent disagreed, 56.63 percent strongly.

“The Top Workplaces section is an excellent annual description of what it means to be a great workplace,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “The stories describe places where the top executive stops regularly to say hello to employees, where communication is constant, where people feel engaged in the decisions that get made, where camaraderie is built through joint activities and where hard work is properly rewarded. The Times Union was once such a place. It isn’t now. Money isn’t the only answer, but the general public would be greatly surprised how little the Times Union resembles the workplaces it honors. This is a fixable problem if the leadership is willing.”

All the questions were taken directly from the Times Union’s own Top Workplaces survey including whether people had confidence in the company’s leader. A total of 79.16 percent disagreed, 49.40 percent strongly.

Individual managers fared better. A total of 57.15 percent agreed their manager cared about their concerns.

Asked if their pay is fair, employees — who haven’t had raises in more than 7.5 years — overwhelmingly said no. Seventy-five percent said their pay isn’t fair, with 55.95 percent expressing strong feelings.

While the TU wrote that a 35 percent employee response rate was enough to qualify, the Guild got much more than that. More than 47 percent of its members replied, a statistically excellent response.

Here is an update on several issues the Guild has been dealing with lately.

Executive Board position available

Our First Vice President, Bill Federman, retired. As was typical of his style, Bill wanted to leave quietly and with no fanfare. We appreciated Bill’s service on the board, his commitment to his colleagues and his great sense of humor. We salute our former Marine and thank him for the many ways he has served.

That means we will need to fill his seat on our Executive Board. Maybe it could be you. Or maybe there is a colleague you think would do a great job. Please let us know if you’re interested or know someone. We would gladly answer anyone’s questions about what the role entails. It would be nice to get a representative from Circulation or the Business Office or anywhere else where we are not presently represented on the board. It involves attending a monthly meeting at the Labor Temple. You get to help us put together bargaining proposals, plan the picnic and holiday party, and help your colleagues when they need assistance. Most importantly, you get to be our eyes and ears. Ears are especially important. Listening to your co-workers is the most important job we board members have.

If you’d like to chat about what the role entails, you can talk to any of our board members: Tim O’Brien, Marianne Mahr, Mark Hempstead, Brian Nearing, Jeff Boyer and Marci Schuck. Tim O’Brien can be reached at 466-8700.

Buyout update

The application period for the buyout has closed, and there were no takers. One small bit of good news is that one of the two Guild-covered employees in the magazine division, Colleen Ingerto, will be staying and moving downstairs. Sadly, the Times Union will be losing our colleague Emily Jahn next month. We appreciate Emily’s excellent work and wish her the best of luck wherever her career path takes her next.

Guild Picnic

Just a reminder, the Guild Picnic will be held June 14 at the Crossings park in Colonie. It’s free to Guild members and their families. Singles can bring a guest. We will be returning to our policy of printing tickets. You don’t need them to come, but they are a handy reminder. We’ll let you know when the tickets are available.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns or need any help, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

The Company settled a legal case over its delay in providing information needed by the Newspaper Guild in defense of one of its members.

The National Labor Relations Board had charged the Company with a failure to provide data in a timely manner to the Guild in the case over the firing of former ad salesperson Lindsay Connors. The Company had stonewalled the union, taking four months to provide relevant data the Guild had sought on the goals and revenues generated by employees in the same job title. The union had to press repeatedly to get the information and overcome attempts by the Company to claim the data was not relevant.

Companies cannot set themselves up as being able to arbitrarily decide what information unions need in order to represent their members.

Employees may notice signs posted in the building and on the Intranet that state the Company will not refuse to bargain collectively with the union by failing to provide information in a timely manner.

While the union unfortunately lost the overall case over Lindsay’s firing, this settlement is important for all members because it is critical that the union get timely answers when defending its members.

Under the settlement, the Company is required to post that it will abide by the law in providing information to the union in a timely manner. The post must remain up for 60 days.

How would the Times Union rate if its own employees completed the Top Workplaces survey?

Now we can find out. Fill out our Times Union Workplace Survey now or join us in the cafeteria on Thursday to fill out the survey and fill up with a free cupcake.

In its annual Top Workplaces issue Sunday, the Times Union said employees “being valued” is one of the main characteristics of a good place to work.

The newspaper isn’t eligible for its own award, but we wondered what employees would say. How would Times Union workers rate the TU on statements like “I feel genuinely appreciated at this company” and “I have confidence in the leadership of this company”? So we took the questions published in the section and created our own survey.

And to make it convenient for you, the Guild will also have some smartphones available from 12:30–1:30 pm Thursday in the cafeteria for you to complete it. Come on down and we’ll give you a free cupcake.

If that time doesn’t work, you can do the survey on your own computer, tablet or smartphone. Or you can contact Guild President Tim O’Brien via text at 466-8700 or email at tim@albanyguild.org to arrange a time for you to fill it out.

We’ll share the results.