I heard today from many of my colleagues about anti-union comments posted by Kristi Gustafson Barlette on her Times Union Facebook page.

“I find unions protect the weak, and don’t produce viable results. People don’t DESERVE raises, they earn them,” Kristi wrote in response to a reader. She went on to add: “If you believe you should earn more, and your company doesn’t give it to you, then leave — find another job.”

Kristi’s comments were viewed by many of her colleagues in the newsroom as a slap in the face. It has been five years since employees at the Times Union have had a raise, and it is not because employees don’t “deserve” one. And they should not have to leave to get one.

But let me back up a minute: I have to say any interaction I’ve ever had with Kristi has been pleasant. We have a good professional relationship. Recently we’ve worked well together to boost traffic to the Getting There blog, and her advice has proven successful. I expect to continue to work well with her.

But I agree with the many employees who contacted me after seeing her remarks. They are offensive. I think Kristi owes her colleagues an apology. It is distasteful and unprofessional for a member of management, which Kristi now is, to suggest her fellow employees who have not received raises don’t deserve them and that they should quit if they don’t like it.

And she is dead wrong about unions, in general and the Guild specifically. Ironically, I remember when Kristi was an editorial assistant and came to me, upset because a member of management had said if she wanted to be a reporter, she should leave, get experience elsewhere and then apply to come back. I told her that two of her colleagues, Bob Gardinier and Dennis Yusko, had been told the same thing. They persevered and became reporters. I advised her to do the same. She did and succeeded.

To say the Guild exists to protect the weak is nonsense. I could go on at length but let me give just a couple of real-life examples of what the union actually stands for.

When the Times Union wanted to outsource our print shop coordinator’s job to Connecticut, the Guild worked with him, proved he did more than the company gave him credit for and saved his job. When a colleague named Terri Currie was dying of cancer, her co-workers wanted to donate some of their sick time to her. The company would not allow it. I fought for years to obtain that benefit and finally did during our last round of negotiations (even though that did not lead to a contract). Two employees since have been able to be out on extended sick leave without losing pay, thanks to the Guild.

We’ve bargained a paid week off for new parents, a benefit for those who adopt and space for nursing mothers to pump breast milk.

That’s not “protecting the weak.” And those are the “viable results” good unions produce.

A federal court has ordered the NLRB and company to see if the parties can work out a settlement in the case of the 11 illegally laid-off employees.

After the NLRB ruled the layoffs were illegal, the company appealed the decision to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. As a matter of routine, the court orders the parties to first see if they can find a settlement.

This differs from the negotiations that occurred between the union and company. In this case, the NLRB is directly involved in the talks, the Guild gives input, the 11 affected employees are consulted directly, and the contract is not part of the discussion.

Details of the discussions are off the record and cannot be made public until and unless an agreement is reached. If an agreement is not reached, the case goes to court. Given the Guild’s track record in this case, we are very confident of the strength of our case.

Rex Babin, who served as the Times Union editorial cartoonist from 1989 to 1999, died Friday at age 49 after a two-year battle with cancer.

For the past 13 years, Babin was the cartoonist for the Sacramento Bee. While at the Bee, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003. He was also a past president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

At the Times Union, Babin succeeded Hy Rosen as cartoonist. Rosen, an expert caricaturist, belonged to an earlier era of cartooning, when the panels were thick with commentary. Babin strived to put as few words as possible into his cartoons.

“Rex signaled a transition,” said current cartoonist John De Rosier, who followed Babin into the role. “He brought editorial cartooning at this newspaper into its contemporary form. He has a legacy here, and he had an impact.”

Babin is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and son, Sebastian, 10. The Bee is setting up a trust fund for his son. Checks should be made out to Sebastian Babin and can be sent to:

Pam Dinsmore
Community Affairs Director
The Sacramento Bee
2100 Q St
Sacramento CA 95816-6899

For more about Babin’s career, read the Times Union obituary written by Guild president Tim O’Brien or visit The Sacramento Bee’s coverage.

Guild leaders and members met Tuesday with the company to discuss its plans to use a Hearst-owned company, Local Edge, to sell advertising into the newspaper.

Local Edge used to sell ads into the Talking Phone Book, which no longer exists, and Publisher George Hearst said the aim is to try to keep that revenue. He said the firm, which is on Wolf Road, will sell print, digital and search engine optimization ads, all work our employees do. They will have access to Salesforce, the same tool used by ad sales staff to schedule appointments.

Naturally, the union was concerned about the potential of losing the work or the commission revenue.

Under the imposed conditions, the company must negotiate over outsourcing if it would replace or displace an existing staff position. Hearst said it would not. There are currently vacant positions in SEO sales.

Local Edge employs 10 people including eight salespersons.

Hearst said the firm is largely focused on selling in the northern part of the market in Saratoga County. He said they had 275 active advertisers who bought into the now-defunct phone book, only 20 to 25 of which were also TU clients. Those who already work with TU salespeople would stay with TU sales staff, he said.

Rick Barber, one of the members attending the meeting, told Hearst of a disturbing situation involving a Local Edge salesperson and one of Rick’s clients. The salesperson arrived unannounced, interrupted a business owner during a meeting after being told she was occupied, and then shouted “You are rude!” at the owner when told to make an appointment. Barber had to do damage control on an account he worked hard to sustain.

The business cards for Local Edge workers identify them as working for “Hearst Media Services in conjunction with the Times Union.” But the key words a potential customer will hear is that the person is a Times Union representative, and Guild members worry about the potential impact on the value of the brand they helped to build.

Guild leaders said they worried about potential issues with the professionalism and high turnover of salespeople common in these kinds of firms.

Guild Vice President Lindsay LaFountain asked if the Times Union would get credit for revenue. Under the company’s plan, the Local Edge salespeople could call on any account that a Times Union salesperson had not contacted in 30 days.

LaFountain said a TU salesperson might know that a customer usually buys $10,000 in ads a year, while a Local Edge person could not know that and book a $1,000 ad and consider it an accomplishment.

“It’s going to be an ongoing management challenge. Members of that group will be held accountable to goals,” Hearst said. “If it doesn’t prove to be a successful venture, we’ll have to reconsider.”

Managers at the Times Union will be actively involved in these blended sales efforts, Hearst said.

Hearst said the Local Edge staff will start selling inactive accounts at month’s end. Asked by LaFountain who would design any print ads sold, Hearst replied that the Times Union’s advertising art staff would do so.

Guild members at the meeting, which also included President Tim O’Brien and salesperson Linda Rocke, thanked Hearst for his time. The union, as always, is reviewing the information and welcomes input from sales staff about any concerns or questions they may have.

Decades of hard work have earned Guild members benefits that matter. Vacation scheduling protections are just one of them.

When obtained: The current vacation scheduling language by and large first appeared in the 1970-73 contract. In between the 2000 and 2004 contracts, the parties agreed to move the dates earlier after some members had trouble booking vacations when they didn’t know what weeks they would have off until May.

How it works: By February 15, the Company must notify all employees of the amount of vacation they are entitled to. Ten days later, employees must tell the Company in writing of their preferred weeks off. If an employee fails to do so, the Company can assign the time. Selection is based on seniority. After everyone has selected their first two weeks, the schedule is open again on a seniority basis. By March 5, the Company must post what weeks you will get. Please let us know if a supervisor fails to do so. The Company and employee can mutually agree to change assigned vacation time. In an emergency, the Company can change an employee’s vacation on two weeks’ notice.

Where to find: Section 16.B, inside cover of contract. The information on Page 36-37 has the incorrect (original) dates but is otherwise accurate.
Got a benefit you want explained? E-mail the Guild at office@albanyguild.org.