In bargaining Thursday, the Guild sharply reduced its list of proposals and offered concessions including a voluntary furlough program and a way for the Company to outsource work in areas of sharp decline.

The Guild said it would encourage its members to take at least a week of unpaid time off as a cost-saving measure. The Guild also offered a detailed proposal on outsourcing that would give the union a chance to match a contractor’s offer.

The union also removed a host of proposals its members considered important. They included raising differentials for the first time in more than 20 years, getting the Company to pay toward the personal cell phones many use for their jobs, and enabling workers to get five weeks’ vacation sooner than 25 years.

“In light of the current economy, we sharply reduced our list to those issues that are vitally important,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “We also offered unprecedented concessions.”

You can read details of the Guild’s proposal here.

The two parties did reach four tentative agreements on minor issues: 1) Employees will be able to contribute the maximum allowed to their 401(k) plans; 2) allowing non-Christian employees to swap Christmas for another religious holiday; 3) a notation that unused makeup and personal days are paid when an employee is terminated; and 4) the creation of a new title of “rack technician” for the employee who collects money from and repairs the newspaper’s rack boxes. The employee is now classified as a driver, but that does not accurately reflect his work.

It feels like death by 1,000 paper cuts.

Now the Company’s San Antonio Express-News is cutting 75 jobs in its newsroom. It feels like we’re standing on shore, watching a tidal wave heading right at us. And I am sorry, but all this talk about preserving quality with cuts this deep isn’t going to cut it. Employees don’t believe it. Readers don’t believe it. Newspapers depend on their credibility, and they shred it when they act as if everything will be fine with staffing diminished this deeply.

Every day brings more bad news from newspapers around the country, and the Hearst Corp. is no exception. The company has now announced it could fold the San Francisco Chronicle after already saying it would fold the Seattle Post-Intelligencer if a buyer can’t be found. (No one expects that to happen.)

Another Hearst paper, the Houston Chronicle, has said it would  cut “more than 10 percent” of staff. And every day the revenue picture worsens.

We do not expect the Times Union to be exempt from these forces. We return to the bargaining table at 10 a.m. Thursday and are preparing a package that will include some concessions. No one would want to be bargaining a contract in this economy, but then again our Newspaper Guild local was born in the darkest days of the depression 75 years ago next month.

Some might argue unions are not needed any more, especially as companies fight to stave off fiscal disaster. We believe our long and proud history shows that unions like ours are needed now more than ever to represent our employees as they face some of the darkest days most of us have ever seen.

With the Detroit newspapers about to deliver only three days a week, residents of the Motor City are wondering if people won’t know about their funerals. The Wall Street Journal has the story.

A colleague said the other day that she is trying to be more conscious of what she spends, perhaps scheduling interviews back to back so she cuts down on mileage. Meeting a source for coffee instead of lunch.

The Company accuses us of being insenstive to what is happening in the economy and the industry, but we’re not. (Boy, do we wish you could have been in the off-the-record sessions.) We know times are tough, but gutting a contract isn’t the answer. We’re willing to be reasonable, to offer concessions while protecting our members’ long-term interests.

But the conversation of the other day left us thinking: Do you have suggestions on steps the Company could take to save money? Are there small steps you’ve been taking to reduce expenses?

We’re not looking for sarcasm here. We’re looking for serious thoughts. Please share yours.