Past Events

The Newspaper Guild of Albany will hold a membership meeting at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the BVMC Church Hall across the street at 250 Old Maxwell Rd. All seven seats on the Executive Board are up for election. The terms are for three years. The positions require attendance at the monthly Executive Board meeting, held at 6 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. Board members develop bargaining proposals, make decisions on health care and other proposals, and decide on any grievances or other issues that arise.  Also, this will be an opportunity for members to raise any issues or concerns, and to hear about any potential new approaches toward reaching a new contract.   Election Information: The positions are President, Treasurer, Secretary, Chief Steward, Vice President, and two Board Members At-Large. The terms 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 will be appointed and a mail-in ballot election will be held.  Nominations for any 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 Secretary at the membership meeting. The secretary shall notify all candidates of their nomination and shall receive from them a written notice of their willingness to serve.

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. 

A special membership meeting for the Albany Newspaper Guild, Local 31034, TNG-CWA has been called for 6 p.m. Thursday April 8, 2021 to fill the vacant post of president and to deal with any other business that may come before the local. The remaining 20-plus months of the president’s term will be filled.  If there is more than one nomination for president an election will be held by mail ballot. The Executive Board will set the guidelines for the election at its monthly meeting immediately following the membership meeting. You must be a member in good standing (paying dues) to participate in the meeting and to vote on any measures that come before the local.  It is anticipated the membership will be asked to approve a special severance package for the circulation customer service representatives. The membership meeting will be held via Zoom for safety reasons due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The monthly Executive Board meeting will follow on the same Zoom call. Please email office@albanyguild.org for Zoom login info.   Election Information: The open position is President. 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 the 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. In the case of the office of president, the person elected will take office immediately upon acceptance. Nominations for the office may be from the floor or 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 Local Secretary Massarah Mikati before the election at the membership meeting. The secretary shall notify all candidates of their nomination and shall receive from them a written notice of their willingness to serve.  

The annual membership meeting of the Albany Newspaper Guild, Local 31034, TNG-CWA has been called for 6 p.m. Thursday September 9, 2021.  Due to the continuing coronarvius pandemic the meeting will be held via Zoom. At the meeting members will be asked to fill the vacancy of vice president and to act on any other Executive Board vacancies that may occur.  The member elected vice president will serve the remaining 16 months of the term of office. (Election Information is posted below) You must be a member in good standing (paying dues) to participate in the meeting and to vote on any measures that come before the local. The membership will also be asked to elect delegates to represent the Local at any TNG-CWA meetings for the year ahead. Any other matters may also be brought up at the annual meeting. The monthly Executive Board meeting will follow on the same Zoom call. Please email office@albanyguild.org for Zoom login info. Agenda Call to Order Elections — Vice President, delegates for year and any other vacancies. Update on COVID-10 Update on TNG support Election Information: The open position is Vice-President. 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 the 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 or 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 Local Secretary Massarah Mikati before the election at the membership meeting. The secretary shall notify all candidates of their nomination and shall receive from them a written notice of their willingness to serve.  

A special Albany Newspaper Guild membership meeting has been called for 6 p.m. Thursday December 9, 2021 to vote on a severance package for three unit members who have opted not to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Severance, unemployment and health insurance coverage would not be offered in this case except for a tentative agreement reached with the Times Union. The package calls for two to eight weeks of severance pay, an equal amount of weeks in health insurance coverage, which may be taken as a cash payment, unemployment, signing of a separation agreement and accumulated benefits. The membership meeting will be held via Zoom due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Capital Region. Email us at office@albanyguild.org for Zoom login information.