Leaders of the Guild and other unions began discussions Thursday on health care for
2014.

No decisions were made, and the talks will continue next Thursday. The Company also based its numbers on an assumption Guild members will pay a share of the Company deductible, which our union has not agreed to do.

The Company’s consultant, Rowlands and Barranca, presented multiple options and were recommending a switch from Blue Shield to Empire Blue Cross. That plan would not include coverage for going to doctors outside Blue Cross’ national network, which we now can do at a cost. The firm’s Michael Barranca said about 2 percent of the medical payments tend to be for doctors who are not part of the network.

Employees now pay $46.17 a week for health care. Under the numbers presented by the Company, that would rise to $54.91 a week if we stay with Blue Shield, an 18.9 percent increase. If we switch to the Empire Blue Cross and keep the $750 deductible, it would rise to $53.13 weekly, a 15 percent hike.

The company’s consultant presented three alternatives that would raise the deductible to $1,000. The Empire plan with the higher deductible would cost $51.93 a week, up 12.4 percent.

Guild President Tim O’Brien noted the slight savings on the premium would not make a $250 increase in the deductible worthwhile. He said there would be a backlash if the Company tried to raise the deductible.

As the Guild examined the numbers afterward, it became clear the Company is assuming our members would pay 23 percent of the Company’s reimbursement of its part of the deductible and would cover part of the cost for Rowlands and Barranca to administer the plan.

This stems back to a discussion last year where the Company sought to change the definition of “total cost” to include these items. We went into off-the-record negotiations last year, and the only agreement reached was to pay a set dollar amount.

“We have not reached any agreement on these numbers, and we maintain our right to bargain over exactly what our members will pay,” O’Brien said.

While the Company said its brokers had found a plan that would increase premium costs only about 4.5 percent, the bill to Guild members would rise substantially more than that due to the Company’s attempts at cost-shifting.

“Like last year, we are committed to bargaining on behalf of our members and we will carefully examine all these numbers in detail,” O’Brien said. “We will also keep our members informed every step of the way. With no raise in more than six years, Guild
members cannot afford more shifting of health care costs from the Company to
the employees.”

Adam McAvoy became the newest member of the Guild’s Executive Board Thursday when he was elected third vice president by the membership.

McAvoy, a customer service representative in the Circulation Department, has worked for the Times Union since December 2010. He and Photographer Cindy Schultz will go to Baltimore later this month for the annual New Officers Training Seminar. Each year the local sends one or two delegates to be taught how to bargain, handle grievances and other aspects of being a union leader.

“We’re grateful to Adam for joining the board. It will be great having a representative from Circulation again, and we know Adam’s outgoing personality will make him a strong representative of his colleagues,” said Guild President Tim O’Brien.

O’Brien, a reporter, was re-elected, as were Secretary Mark Hempstead, a marketing media specialist; Treasurer Marianne Mahr, an SEO specialist in advertising; Chief Steward Brian Nearing, a reporter; First Vice President Lindsay LaFountain, an advertising salesperson, and Second Vice President Jeff Boyer, an editorial artist. Nearing is on a leave of absence but plans to return October 1.

The Guild deeply mourns the loss of our dear colleague Jim McGrath. The newspaper’s chief editorial writer, Jim was a longtime supporter of the Guild, even when he was no longer a member, always stopping to offer words of encouragement. We send our condolences to his wife Darryl and his family.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 14th at 1:00 pm. at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 235 Lark Street (corner of Lark and Lancaster).

Jim McGrath, longtime Times Union editorial writer, dies

Long fight yields 5-year contract at San Francisco Chronicle

We have asked our Hearst colleagues in San Francisco for details so we can review them in the hope of finding some guidance for us in Albany.

Of course, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in Albany is that a few years ago our colleagues at the Chronicle were told to agree to a contract or the paper, which was losing millions, would fold. That deal included significant reductions in layoff protections and greatly weakened the outsourcing language.

It is understandable why that language was accepted in San Francisco, given the dire straits the newspaper was in and the threat to fold. The Times Union has never been anywhere close to that situation and in fact as we saw this summer remains very profitable. The fact that the two papers are owned by the same Company does not mean the same concessions are reasonable in both places.

We will gladly review all the language in detail and intend to discuss what we find at our upcoming membership meeting.

and nomination of officers for election to all Executive Board seats

time: 12:30 pm
date: Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013
location: Colonie Town Library

The Guild will hold its annual membership meeting September 12 at the library. This year, all seven seats on the Executive Board are up for election, and nominations will be made at the meeting or can be done via petition.

The positions are: President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chief Steward and the First, Second and Third Vice Presidents.

Members must be in good standing to run for office and to attend the nomination meeting. If you want to check your standing, contact the Guild office at 518-466-8700 or by email at office@albanyguild.org.

If there is only one nomination for any office, and the person accepts nomination, the person will be elected at the meeting. If there is more than one candidate for any office, a Local Elections Committee will be appointed and a mail-in ballot election will be held.

Terms are for three years beginning January 1, 2014 except the person elected President would take office immediately after the election. The position of Second Vice President is being vacated because Tim Neff is leaving the newspaper. If there is only candidate to that post, the person will take office effective immediately.

Nominations for any office may be from the floor, by petition or in the form of a slate of candidates. Petitions may be for an individual candidate in which the name of the candidate, his/her Local unit (if applicable), and department worked listed. Such petitions must also contain the names of at least 25 members or 5 percent of the Local’s membership, whichever is greater. Individuals signing a petition must be members in good standing as of September 30 preceding the election. These petitions must be filed with the local Secretary at the membership meeting. The secretary shall notify all candidates of their nomination and shall receive from them a written notice of their willingness to serve.