Bargainers left the confines of the conference room and walked around the building to discuss health and safety issues today.

Beforehand, the union and company negotiators discussed concerns about air quality and the dangers of simply walking across the parking lot in rainy or icy weather.

Terry Brown of Editorial discussed how the air in the building aggravated his system, already sensitive from his service in the first Gulf War. “I can tell when there is mold in the room,” he said. “In the course of a year, there are some days when the system takes in pollutants you can see, feel and even taste.”

The tour stopped at Terry’s desk, where the vent over his desk was thick with dirt and dust.

Guild bargainers also talked about the hazards of the parking lot. Stacy Wood noted several pregnant women have fallen in icy weather.  “I kind of had a hard time finding people who hadn’t taken a spill in the parking lot,” she said, noting it’s a real potential liability for the Company if someone is injured.

Associate Publisher George Hearst said the Company has to install a storm drainage system to handle runoff as part of building a new press.

The walking tour started with a view of the carpeting in advertising. After looking at a spot a former employee just left, you could see the clear difference between the space where a former plastic mat had been and the filthy carpet next to it.

Next stop was advertising art, where employees talked about the often frigid temperatures in the former computer room and the fact there is only one exit from the room during an emergency.

After making sure the room was clear, the parties then stepped into the area in the downstairs women’s rest room that is supposed to be available for nursing mothers. In our last contract, the Company agreed to provide a room for nursing mothers. A sink was installed that was meant to be used only by mothers, but no sign was ever installed instructing employees not to use that sink for other purposes. A chair for the mothers was not bought, either.

To his credit, George Hearst has asked for signs to be placed in the room and he has arranged to get a refrigerator in the room for the sole use of mothers. Anyone who places food in there will find it immediately discarded. A sign will make that clear.

The area for mothers is only sectioned off by a curtain, while ideally it would be best to have a separate room. The completion of the nursing mothers’ area took on new life after four women in editorial became pregnant. (Congratulations, Jennifer Gish, on your newborn twins!)

The Company said it would look at all the issues raised and respond to the Guild. If there are any health and safety concerns you would like addressed, please contact a bargaining committee member or contact the union by phone at 482-9218 or by e-mail at office@albanyguild.org.

Melissa Nelson said she felt like she was in a Bill Murray movie.

Nine years after she left the Times Union, the former Guild local president was once again in a conference room, hearing George Hearst proclaim the Company’s need for “flexibility” as an explanation for why it needed to gut section 1(D) of the contract.

Melissa, now the Guild International’s director of contract bargaining, led our local in 1995 when the company tried to remove the same protections that keep your work from being outsourced to independent contractors and nonunion part-timers.

“We talked about this for two years,” Nelson reminded Hearst as she showed the contract from back then that she still had, with its “I Love 1(D) sticker” still firmly attached. In honor of Melissa’s return this week, the bargaining committee wore duplicates of the “I Love 1(D) stickers.”

What could eliminating Section 1(D) mean to you? Well, as part of that contract settlement, an exception was made to the language affecting drivers. At the time, the Times Union employed 49 drivers. Today, there are five.

So imagine what could happen: Classified ad calls, taken by an independent contractor. Circulation calls, ditto. Billing and other business office functions? Outsourced. Features writers? Sorry, we only use freelancers. Covering local towns? You reporters are being fired and we’ll use Empire News Service for that.

Don’t think it could happen to your job? Talk to a driver — if you can find one.

With Melissa Nelson back at the bargaining table today, the Company got a good history lesson.

She reminded the Company where the letter came from that outlines the policy on allowing employees to recapture unused sick leave when seriously ill. (The Company has said it may seek to end the practice.)

Back in the late 1980s, Melissa was among a group of pregnant employees. Some were allowed to use back sick time, and one woman was declined. The Guild filed a grievance, which resulted in the letter still in the contract today spelling out the practice to allow unused back sick time to be used when people are on a long-term illness.

Ironically, the Company’s threat to end the practice comes when several Guild members are pregnant (and one just had twins), as the Company has noted on its internal Web site. Congratulations on the baby, but you can’t use back sick time: That’s a helluva of a family-unfriendly message to send.

Melissa also reminded the Company why we have language that requires layoffs to be in reverse order of seniority — another bit of language the Times Union bosses want to eliminate. Under former Publisher Tim White, she noted, the Company first put out a seniority list and then a layoff list that skipped over some newly hired employees.

Current Local President Tim O’Brien recalled that the Company refused to tell people where they stood on its layoff list and insisted the union do it. O’Brien recalled how horrified one fairly recent hire was to be told he was skipped. “How do I go back and face my friends?” he asked.

As a result of that horrible experience, both sides decided that it was in everyone’s best interest to make sure that never happened again. It’s a lesson that should not be lost in time.

The parties also began a discussion on exempt titles that will resume when negotiations start at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Executive Conference Room. Members may attend on their own time.

The newspaper launched a very nice revamp of its internal newsletter, renamed the Inside Scoop. We especially loved the photo of our four expectant mothers in editorial.
There was an item we weren’t so crazy about:

“A compensation review committee will evaluate all of our options to lower payroll costs next year without significantly impacting service and quality. The group will consider all aspects of base compensation, wage escalators, merit increases and bonus plan designs. Plan to be implemented in fall 2008.”

The Company was swiftly informed that this message is false. Oh, a committee may be meeting all right. It might even be chatting about these issues. But these are all mandatory subjects of bargaining. The Company cannot implement anything unless it is negotiated with the Guild and — here’s the truly great part — ratified by the membership.

That’s right. You get to decide what changes can be made to base pay, wage escalators, merit raises and bonuses. It’s your right. And no (insert favorite cuss word here) “compensation review committee” is going to take that right away from you.

Melissa was so appalled to hear that the Company was again proposing to eliminate protections against outsourcing our work, she is making a beeline back to Albany to remind George Hearst what happened the last time that was tried. She might even wear one of the old “I Love 1(D)” stickers.

Our local’s immediate past president, Melissa is today the Executive Secretary of the Guild International’s Contracts Committee. With our usual International Representative Jim Schaufenbil away, Melissa will be joining our bargaining committee for some September sessions. You can see Melissa and the commitee in action from 2-5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4. Members are welcome to attend the sessions during their breaks.