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Guild Annual Membership Meeting and Special Election

September 17, 2020 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Make sure your voice is heard on the selection of a new secretary to the Albany Newspaper Guild executive board. 

Members will vote to fill the vacant post of local secretary as well as weigh in on a limited special buyout package during the local’s annual membership meeting at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17.

The meeting will be held via ZOOM. Meeting information will be provided in an email. If you do not receive the information, contact the Guild office at office@albanyguild.org.

LOCAL SECRETARY ELECTION

Due to the promotion of a Guild member to an exempt management position, the Guild must fill the vacant post of local secretary. The member elected to this post will serve the remaining two years of the three-year term of office and participate in Executive Board meetings and other activities supporting the local’s mission to represent our unit members.

Election Information:

The open position is Secretary. The term will run through December 31, 2022.

Members must be in good standing to run for office and to attend the nomination meeting. If you want to check your standing, email the Guild office 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 appointed by the Executive Board will conduct a mail-in ballot election.

Nominations for the office may be from the floor, by petition. 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. Individuals signing a petition must be members in good standing. These petitions must be filed with the local officer designated as acting secretary due to the permanent secretary post being vacant before the election at the membership meeting. The acting secretary shall notify all candidates of their
nomination and shall receive from them a written notice of their willingness to serve.

SPECIAL BUYOUT PROPOSAL

Members will also be asked to vote on a tentative special buyout package with the Times Union, which is limited to six members in the unit. 

The buyout, which is being offered as a voluntary option to selected employees at the Times Union, includes a minimum of 15 weeks of pay; four months of health insurance with the company paying the employee’s weekly deductible; 50 percent of the premium in a cash payment for employees who do not receive health insurance from the company; and payment of all accrued vacation, makeup and personal days. The buyout is part of a Hearst Newspaper Division offering across the newspaper chain, with the money for the buyout coming from corporate coffers.

This will not trigger Section 3 of the Guild contract involving Job Security and the beginning of blanket buyouts. The Company must notify the Guild prior to any further reductions in the workforce. 

The Contracts Committee of the NewsGuild-CWA, the entity given authority over Guild contracts and other negotiated agreements through the provisions found in the NewsGuild’s Constitution, reviewed the terms of the Albany Guild’s tentative agreement on the special buyout package Friday and has approved it for submission to the membership for a ratification vote. The local unit’s Executive Board, in an emergency meeting Friday afternoon, approved putting the special proposal to a full membership vote. 

Details

Date:
September 17, 2020
Time:
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Event Category:

Venue

Zoom
NY