For the past several months, the Guild has been quietly meeting with the Company in the hope of bringing to an end the years of stalled negotiations and to finally get employees the long overdue raises they deserve.

For legal reasons, the talks have remained off the record – which means their contents cannot be disclosed – to avoid the possibility of the Company being able to impose a new set of changes.

On Thursday, it became clear that those talks, despite the Guild’s best efforts, would not yield an acceptable agreement at this time. No further talks are currently scheduled.

Guild President Tim O’Brien was joined in the talks by Treasurer Marianne Mahr, Chief Steward Brian Nearing and International Representative Jim Schaufenbil.

“We have been and continue to be willing to offer flexibility on the issues of out-of-seniority layoffs and outsourcing,” O’Brien said. “We have offered all kinds of compromises. But our members deserve and need a say in such decisions.”

At a time when the Chicago Sun-Times saw fit to lay off every photographer, and when ad sales people are understandably nervous about Local Edge encroaching on sales, it would make no sense to surrender bargaining rights on outsourcing.

Likewise, the Guild was and is willing to offer flexibility in layoffs. We even would be willing to explore the idea of laying off out of seniority in return for enhanced severance for those who would suffer a pension hit. Unfortunately, under the law, if you agree to such a change, the Company could come to the table at the next negotiations, say it wants to keep the ability to lay off whomever it pleases but eliminate the enhanced severance. The Company could then legally impose that change. It cannot legally impose giving itself unfettered rights to lay off anyone without members’ consent now.

“Our members continue to be better off under the imposed conditions,” O’Brien said. “We remain willing to talk whenever the Company is willing to be flexible, and our members remain deserving of raises they have been denied for far too long.”

Congratulations to Courtney Rubin and Bill Blais!

They won the $25 gift cards to Roma Foods! Thanks to everyone who went to Roma and who came up to the cafeteria for the drawing.

The Guild will draw two names for the $25 gift cards from Roma Foods at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the cafeteria.

Come see which of your colleagues will win and tell us what advertiser we should support next.

Guild President Tim O’Brien and Photographer Cindy Schultz will represent the union next week at the Newspaper Guild’s international sector conference in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The event begins Friday morning and ends Saturday night. Local representatives from around the United States and Canada gather every other year to discuss what is happening in the newspaper industry, in the union and in the media.

“It is a good place to go to get advice on issues that arise and to meet with International leaders about our needs in Albany,” O’Brien said. He has been a regular attendee at these events. Cindy Schultz will be attending her first union convention.

The CWA convention follows on the heels of the Guild’s event. Cindy Schultz will fly back home, while O’Brien stays through the CWA convention as the sole delegate from our local. The CWA convention — which features members from a diverse collection of industries, from flight attendants to telecom workers — starts with registration Sunday. The convention runs all day Monday and Tuesday.

The Guild had asked people to volunteer to serve as delegates. Since the Guild had two delegate slots for the TNG convention and one for the CWA convention, and that’s how many people volunteered for each, an election was not required.

We’re disappointed Tim was eliminated from the TriCity ValleyCats’ media bobblehead tournament. Tim had pledged to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

To honor his efforts, the Guild is donating $100 in Tim’s name to the cause of finding a cure for cancer. He may be out of the running, but he’s still an inspiration to us.

If you’d like to donate too, you can do so online at cancer.org or by mail to American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.