The Newspaper Guild added another legal victory this week when the 2nd Circuit Court rejected the Times Union’s appeal of a lower court decision on the cutting off of union dues.

The newspaper has been trying to prevent its workers from having a case heard over the company’s cessation of collecting dues. The court upheld the district court’s ruling that the Guild has a right to take that case to arbitration.

“We hold that the Guild’s contractual right to checkoff of union dues survives expiration of the agreement, thus subjecting the parties’dispute to arbitration,” the court ruled in its decision.

You can read the full text of the decision here.

The decision also lifts a stay the court had granted while the appeal was heard, meaning the union can now insist a hearing date be scheduled.

This is the latest in an impressive string of victories the union has won. The National Labor Relations Board prosecuted the Times Union for breaking the law when it illegally laid off 11 workers in 2009 and for illegally declaring impasse in those layoff negotiations. The union won both those cases before the Administrative Law Judge, and the Times Union was ordered to bring the employees back to work, pay them back pay and resume negotiations.

Rather than abide by the ALJ’s decision, the Times Union filed an appeal to the full NLRB in Washington, D.C. – a delaying tactic with virtually no chance of victory. In the meantime, the Times Union’s liability in the case now exceeds $500,000 and grows every day.

“The time has come for the Times Union to stop waging its losing legal war against its workers,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “We have continued to offer flexibility at the bargaining table. If the company put half the effort into reaching a settlement that the union has, we’d be done by now.”

The union had offered the company a bargaining date of May 18 for further off-the-record discussions. The company said it was unavailable but has yet to provide another date .

The Guild is especially thankful for the great legal work done by International attorney Barbara Camens.

“We are very lucky to have excellent legal counsel on our side,” O’Brien said. “Barbara has done just a stellar job for us. But the time has come for the Times Union to stop wasting money on lawyers and start focusing on a reasonable settlement and the considerable flexibility we continue to offer.”

The Guild Reporter’s article on the decision can be read here.

Tim Neff is the Guild’s newest officer after winning election Wednesday at a membership meeting in the Colonie Public Library.

But just as one seat on the board was filled, another opened up as third vice president Brendan Lyons resigned for personal reasons. The board thanked him for his service, and it is working to schedule a meeting in May to fill that seat.

Neff joined the Times Union as a copy editor in 1998 and became an online producer in February 2009. At the Editorial Awards last week, Editor Rex Smith called Neff “Web producer extraordinaire.”

“As timesunion.com’s web producer for news, Tim Neff makes sure our online audience can take full advantage of our great journalism,” Smith said. “Along with creating the homepage centerpieces and breaking news display, he adds value to our content by seeking deeper links to all that the Times Union produces, as well as other sources. He has been integral in setting up ways for the newsroom to embrace digital, working with Jim White and others to develop systems that make it easier for us to get our work before the public. He also takes the lead online role in many of our news projects, working closely with the newsroom to enhance the readers’ online experience. Tim has become the go-to guy for the Go Team and entire newsroom.”

His colleagues on the Executive Board are thrilled to have Tim join them as the second vice president. He replaces Mark Ramirez, another excellent employee, who has moved to a new job in New Jersey.

Lyons, too, is a highly regarded employee and also won kudos at the awards ceremony for his investigative work. He joined the board in September and thanked the board for its hard work and efforts in a very trying period for the Guild.

“The union has always prided itself on the quality of our work,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “You can’t be an effective Guild leader and an ineffective employee. That’s why we’re so pleased to have a recognized leader in the newsroom and on the Web team join the board. We know Tim will make a great contribution on behalf of his colleagues, and we are thankful to Brendan for his service and his willingness to continue to support the Guild even after he leaves the board.”

The off-the-record talks Wednesday between the company and the Guild involved a frank exchange of ideas and concerns.

Guild International President Bernie Lunzer and the International’s attorney, Barbara Camens, came to Albany to participate in the talks. Our International Representative, Jim Schaufenbil, also participated. They joined local Guild representatives Tim O’Brien, Lindsay LaFountain and Brian Nearing.

While no conclusion was reached, the parties agreed to keep the dialogue going in the hopes of finding a path to a settlement. Due to the outstanding legal cases, the talks must remain behind closed doors unless and until a settlement is reached.

If that happens,members will be given time to review the proposal before voting on it. Members are encouraged to get current on dues so they would be eligible to vote.

“We are so grateful to Bernie and Barbara for taking time out from their busy schedules to come to Albany,” O’Brien said. “Their presence sent a clear message that our situation is a top priority for the national union. We are  committed to continuing this dialogue in the hopes both sides can find a way to compromise and reach a settlement.”

The Guild’s top official, International President Bernie Lunzer, is coming to Albany Wednesday for a closed-door discussion in an effort to resolve our contractual differences.

He will be joined by Barbara Camens, the union’s attorney, and International Representative Jim Schaufenbil. Representing the local will be President Tim O’Brien, First Vice President Lindsay LaFountain and Chief Steward Brian Nearing.

Company and union leaders agreed to postpone an arbitration hearing originally scheduled for Wednesday on the dues checkoff case. Instead, the parties will use the day to bargain in the hope the two sides can find a way to resolve their differences.

The mutual decision to postpone the arbitration came before a court ruling Monday granting the company’s request for a stay of the hearing pending its appeal in the case.

“Our goal has always been to reach a settlement. We are grateful that Bernie and Barbara are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to bring their expertise to bear on these talks,” O’Brien said. “We are also grateful Publisher George Hearst is open to meeting with Bernie and Barbara and trying to see if there is a way we can move forward together.”

Due to the pending legal cases, the discussion will be off the record. In the event an agreement is reached, it would, of course, have to be put to a vote of the membership.

The Guild leaders will arrive Tuesday for a discussion among themselves before meeting with the company Wednesday.

The Newspaper Guild negotiated five extra weeks of severance pay for a laid-off maintenance worker after the Times Union failed to follow its imposed rules that a buyout must be offered first.

The maintenance employee was laid off last Monday, March 21. Guild President Tim O’Brien informed the company it had failed to abide by the rules it imposed that the union be notified 45 days in advance of any layoff and that the Guild be given a chance to negotiate a buyout first.

While there was a buyout negotiated last year, the union produced documents that showed the company had repeatedly said those buyouts were targeted at specific employees: district managers, advertising art/marketing workers and the Web desk.

“Those buyout negotiations cannot be the basis for layoffs in other areas,” O’Brien said. “If there are to be further job cuts, the company must give the union 45 days’ notice and bargain a new buyout package with us. We always prefer to see people leave voluntarily rather than be forced out.”

In discussing the matter, the Guild also knew it would be difficult to expect the laid-off maintenance worker to come back to work while the parties negotiated, only to be laid off again. So the Guild calculated what the employee likely would have received if the company had followed its own rules: nine weeks pay while the parties negotiated and 15 weeks pay (three weeks per year of service) for a buyout. The company had offered 19 weeks’ pay and health insurance (or equivalent pay) for the same period.

The company agreed to offer the 24 weeks’ pay and health care coverage, and the matter was settled without serving as an official, legal precedent for either side.

“While we are always sorry to see a colleague lose a job, we are glad we could bargain 5 weeks of additional pay for him,” O’Brien said. “And we are grateful the company agreed that was the right thing to do.”