Come to the cafeteria from 12:45 to 1:15 pm today and get a free goodie bag.

You can also sign a very special Halloween card.

If you work the graveyard shift, we’ll drop by the newsroom at 7 p.m. with some goodies for you.

The company chose to accept two buyouts of Guild members, but it is not using the savings to keep a well-respected photographer.

Instead the newspaper will fill a reporting position.

A page designer in editorial and a district manager in circulation had their buyout offer accepted.

Despite that savings, the company chose to let go a photographer originally given notice two weeks ago at the same time as Editorial Cartoonist John de Rosier.

“We are certainly glad to see a reporter hired to replace Dayelin Roman,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “But we had hoped our negotiation of a buyout and finding two willing takers would enable the photographer to keep his job.”

Instead of losing two members, the Guild finds itself losing four and gaining back one.

A manager who also sought the buyout did not have his request accepted, the company said.

Hoping to prevent a photographer from being laid off, Guild members approved a buyout offer Thursday.

One employee has already notified the company of an interest in the buyout. The person has a similar number of years of experience, and the cost and benefit to the company would be similar.

The vote was 45-1, with almost all of the ballots understandably being cast by editorial employees.

Interested members have until 5 p.m. Friday to apply at the Human Resources office.

An exempt manager also commented on the Guild’s blog, asking if supervisors were being allowed to apply and expressing a willingness to take in order to save a job.

The union asked Human Resources Director Ruth Fantasia, who said the offer had not been extended to exempt workers but they were welcome to contact her about their interest. The union informed the manager who had inquired about her response.

“While we hate to lose any more employees, the Guild certainly prefers to see people leave voluntarily rather than be forced out,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “The photographer who has received notice is a great talent, known for his great care and dedication in producing images for the newspaper. With a new press about to come on line that will allow color on every page, his work would be a great asset to the paper. He has the strong support of his colleagues, who are pulling for him to be able to stay.”

A vote on the buyout offer will be held from 12:45-1:30 p.m. and 5:30-6 p.m. today in the Executive Conference Room upstairs that is outside the publisher’s suite. Members are encouraged to arrive at the start time for a discussion.

The buyout offer is two weeks for every year of service, with a minimum of 5 weeks pay. Those who receive it will be able to collect unemployment. Copies of the buyout offer will be available there.

Last week, the Times Union told two employees they would be laid off in 45 days. One remains on the job while awaiting the result of the buyout, while Editorial Cartoonist John de Rosier took the severance pay and left last week.

“We are holding this session as a meeting at two set times, rather than have people stroll in, vote and leave,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “We will still have a ballot box there, but we also want a chance to talk to our members and get their feedback too.”

Employees who produce content for the newspaper should not be laid off to pay for a new, high-priced executive, Guild leaders said in a letter to Publisher George Hearst.

Last week, Hearst cited budget woes in announcing his decision to lay off Editorial Cartoonist John de Rosier and Photographer Phil Kamrass. Both men dedicated 13 years of their lives to the newspaper and have young children.

Less than a week later, the company announced it is hiring a new senior vice president of advertising and marketing, immediately wiping out the savings from the layoffs.

In the wake of that announcement, Guild leaders called on Hearst to rescind the layoffs.

“The readers of the Times Union are ill-served by continued gutting of the people who produce the news and photography that makes people buy our NEWSpaper,” the Guild leaders wrote “Given this new hire, and how it contradicts your statements of just last week about the newspaper’s fiscal condition, we call on you to rescind the layoff notice given to our members last week.They should not lose their jobs to fund yet another top executive.”