From Guild President Tim O’Brien:

People often stop and ask me how I cope with all that is going on at the Times Union.

It is not easy on any of us, of course. The worry about layoffs, the insecurity about the future of our business, and the rough treatment by our employer are difficult for all of us.

But what keeps me and all of the bargaining team going is the support of our members. The pats on the back, the kind words, the expressions of support, all mean more than you know.

Today, when I stopped by my mailbox, I found a card inside. I opened the envelope to find a note with today’s date that simply said: “Tim — Happy Spring, Happy Easter, Happy Vacation. Thanks for all you’re doing for us. Maybe this will help you find a distraction.”

Enclosed was a gift card. It was signed “Your membership.”

I don’t choke up often, folks. I did then. I do now as I write this. I do not know who did this, but I thank you so much.

I also got an e-mail today from one of my younger colleagues. He thanked me and said he was amazed I was standing up to one of the biggest corporations in America. He talked about how much the union meant to him and how he recognized the wages and benefits he enjoys are the results of being able to bargain contracts.

It is those moments that keep you going. I am grateful to all of you and especially to John, Stacy and Mary, my bargaining teammates, who have every bit as much “brass” as I do, and to International Representative Jim Schaufenbil for his tremendous wisdom and advice.

But I am most grateful to the people I have seen least in recent weeks: My wife Karen and my children Shannon and Kevin. And so, for the next few days, I will be reacquainting myself with my family. The timing is such that I will be unavailable for bargaining next week.

My amazing wife Karen is a former TU reporter and past Guild member. She has given me the OK to spend part of my time off next week speaking to all of you at a membership meeting. We are currently working to schedule that at lunch time on Wednesday or Friday next week. We will get details to you on Monday.

Thank you all so much. These are trying times, but I am so proud to be your president. We represent so many good people who have dedicated themselves to the Times Union. I am grateful to you every day.

A day after the Company canceled our contract, negotiations resumed without any progress.

Publisher George Hearst said he wants to begin layoffs by month’s end or early May at the latest, but he wants to eliminate those jobs without regard to seniority. He would need a new contractual agreement to do so.

Hearst said the Times Union is looking to lay off 65 to 75 workers between the exempt and Guild ranks. Despite assurances cuts would fall equally among Guild members and management, he went on to estimate that 60 jobs would come out of the 240 the Guild represents and the remaining 10 to 15 would come from the 110 people in the exempt ranks.

As the Guild has already documented, the Times Union is already top heavy with management, with one “manager” for every 2.5 employees.

“The final numbers will show whether the Company is sincere about equally sharing the pain,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “But Hearst’s initial estimates make it appear that cuts will fall more heavily on our members.”

The number of layoffs will be reduced by people taking the voluntary buyout, Hearst said.

Guild leaders said they are willing to be flexible in dealing with the seniority issue on layoffs but continued to say it was unfair to leave someone with 30 years’ dedicated service equally vulnerable as a new hire.

Despite their constant talk of flexibility, the Company remained rigid on that idea and on its proposal to be able to outsource any and all jobs.

Here’s a comparison. In his letter canceling the contract, Publisher George Hearst wrote: “We look forward to continuing to bargain with the Guild and hope to bring negotiations to a successful conclusion as soon as possible.”

At one point earlier in negotiations, however, the Company’s attorney and lead negotiator Peter Rahbar said: “We are under no obligation to move.” On Friday, Rahbar made a similar remark right after the parties agreed to three future meeting dates.

“The core of our proposals is going to remain the same,” he said.

The parties have bargaining sessions scheduled for 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22; Tuesday, April 28; and Wednesday, May 13.

You might as well change the name of the paper to the Times Anti-Union.

In an unprecedented move, the Times Union ignored pleas from dozens of labor leaders and hundreds of readers and canceled our contract Thursday. Immediately after, some 70 Guild members and leaders from other locals took to the streets outside the paper for a picket.

“This is a sad, sad day for Times Union employees, readers and advertisers,” said Guild President Tim O’Brien. “The Company is hellbent on wanting to lay off employees regardless of how loyally they have served and to outsource jobs out of the Capital Region. And because they could not convince our members of the rightness of their cause, they launched an unprecedented attack on our union.”

The negotiations will continue, and the Company cannot change the terms and conditions of the contract. What it means is the Guild has to hand collect dues, although the union is investigating possible legal action, and it cannot take grievances to arbitration. It also means we can picket, strike, and launch boycotts.

“George Hearst falsely claimed we have exaggerated the implications of this move,” O’Brien said. “The reality is this is a union town, and every union member knows what this action means. The Times Union can expect the phones to start ringing off the hook with calls canceling the newspaper. We told the Company the day it first threatened this that it was the dumbest thing the Company can do. They ignored us at their peril. They cannot say they weren’t warned.”

Here’s an interesting post about our contract fight.

The day ended in obnoxious fashion, with the Company handing over a letter cancelling the contract rather than responding to the Guild’s latest comprehensive proposal.

The union altered its contract offer to a four-year agreement. Rather than two payments the first year of $750 each, the Guild altered it to one payment of $1,500 this year, to cover the equivalent of first and second year raises. Employees would get one more $750 payment for 2010 and then a 3 percent raise in the contract’s final year.

The lump-sum payments would not affect the base pay.

The union also altered its proposal on outsourcing, bumping up to allowing the Company to outsource 3 percent of Guild work over the course of a year.

The Company offered one-time payments of $500 this year and next, but did not move at all on either the outsourcing or layoff proposals. While much attention has been paid to the seniority issue, the outsourcing proposal could have far-reaching implications as well.

If the Company was able to lay people off and outsource their work, many departments would be in jeopardy including people who take circulation and classified-ad calls, editorial and advertising artists, people in our business office, features writers and many others.

“This would be a disaster for the newspaper, its readers and advertisers,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “Customer service would sharply decline. Advertisers would face more billing problems. We’ve seen the problems Classified Plus has caused, and this would be greatly multiplied.”

The Guild already has experience with what happens when we agree to outsource jobs. The union agreed to allow drivers’ work to be outsourced, and the number of drivers has declined from 49 to five.