The Newspaper Guild of Albany, Local 31034, TNG-CWA will hold its annual membership meeting via ZOOM at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in order to protect the membership’s health, the Executive Board voted unanimously at its Aug. 12 meeting to conduct the annual membership meeting virtually. The information to log in to the Zoom meeting will be provided to the membership before the meeting.

The position of local secretary is vacant and is up for election for the remaining time of the three-year term of office. The person elected secretary will take office immediately.

The position requires attendance at the monthly Executive Board meeting, typically 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.

The meeting will be an opportunity for members to raise any issues or concerns, and to hear updates on local actions for the past year.

Election Information:

The 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.

The Guild has heard from many members about concerns in going back into work inside at the main plant. We’ve also heard from people who are looking forward to getting back to their desk after leaving it behind in mid-March.

Yes, it’s been a tough and challenging time for all of us as we’ve adapted to working at home. The Guild has held numerous meetings with the Company to discuss safety and various other matters that have arisen during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Executive Board has worked with International Representative Melissa Nelson, a former Albany Guild president, to draft a proposal to provide for unit members who want the option of continuing to work from outside the building.

We have all demonstrated that we can work remotely. Studies show both employees and employers benefit when a person wants to work remotely and is accommodated. It’s a morale boost and a productivity boost for remote workers.

We would like to hear from you about this.

When it comes to returning to work, the company has divided our unit into four Groups — A, B, C and D. Not everyone is included in a group. Photographers and district managers are not listed in any of the groups. There are 113 people split among the four groups on the list.

The company’s first phase for reopening the main building on Albany Shaker Road calls for Group A to start back on Aug. 17. There are 15 members of our unit who are in that group. There are no return dates yet set for Groups B, C and D.

If you have concerns about going back in, Guild representatives are prepared to talk to the company on your behalf. Management has indicated they will take into consideration each of our own circumstances. Some of us may have health or family issues that may cause a delay in returning.

Guild stewards are in the process of contacting everyone to check in, find out what’s on your mind and to hear your concerns. Please respond to them if you miss their call.

Keep Aug. 17th in mind. That’s when Group A consisting of 30 people will return to work inside the Times Union building, according to a presentation by Publisher George Hearst, Operations VP Dan Couto and Human Resources Director Ruth Fantasia Monday.

The Guild has been met with the Company on a regular basis since March when nearly all of us began working at home. Most of the information you had advance notice of through our earlier postings.

The key items to keep in mind are that George Hearst said the Company will put the needs of the employees first. If you have a pre-existing health condition, family issues or other events that make it difficult or dangerous to return to the office instead of working from home, you should speak to the Guild and the Company. We are concerned about your safety. That’s what our local with support from the International staff has been working on since March.

Everyone should have received an email from Ruth Fantasia early Monday evening about downloading the Health APP. It takes effect Aug. 17. The Company recommends getting into the habit of completing it for each day you are assigned to work. If you should report a YES answer to any of the questions, make sure you contact a Guild officer or steward. We will provide updated contact information in the near future.

Also, if you do not have a smart phone you can complete a paper form. If you fall into this situation, please let the Guild know so we can make reporting in as easy as possible.

The Company has told the Guild that we will be notified when anyone in the local is scheduled to return. George Hearst said there would be a two-week notification before you are scheduled to go back in. He also indicated that the earliest Group B would go back in is in the weeks after Labor Day.

Here are the four return groups as presented by the Company:

Group A – Executives, managers and employees required to be on site to perform critical business/operations functions. Approximately 30 employees.

Group B – Employees voluntarily returning to work or as required by business/operations functions. Approximately 50 employees.

Group C – Employees less reluctant to return. Approximately 58 employees.

Group D – All other employees. Approximately 48 employees.

If you have any questions please contact the Guild office at office@AlbanyGuild.org or call Vice President Ken Crowe at 518-505-0610.

The Guild has worked vigorously since the coronavirus pandemic struck to obtain information from the Times Union and to make suggestions in the spirit of cooperation and more importantly to protect everyone’s health.

The Company will soon be issuing information about a Health APP to be used on smartphones for a daily check of everyone’s health when dealing with COVID-19.

We feel it’s important that everyone see the Company’s response to our questions which were formatted with the assistance of our International Representative Melissa Nelson (who just happens to be a former Albany Guild president!)

Key responses deal with discipline, health insurance and the option of completing a paper form.

Here is the email sent to Vice President Ken Crowe by Human Resources Manager Ruth Fantasia on July 27.

Dear Ken,

In response to your letter of July 20 requesting information on the Health Self-Assessment App, it may help if I begin with an explanation of how the app works and how the information is handled.

Like the written forms we are currently using and which are required by NY, the purpose of the app is to help the company comply with the NY requirement as well as remind everyone to think about their health before going into the office or working in the field. It could also help identify employees with potential cases of COVID-19 prior to their entering the workplace.

When the employee opens the app, they answer a few simple questions: Company Name, Dept. Entity. The app automatically fills in the date and state. The app then moves to the page with a place to select your work status for the day and the five health questions. Once the employee answers the questions, they hit submit. This again is no different that the paper form practice that has been in place since June 1, 2020.

Once submitted, an email is generated based on the employees’ answers to the questions. If all questions are answered “no” the employee receives an email with a green check mark indicating that they should go to work. If the employee answers “yes” to any one question, an email is generated with a red “x” indicating do not go to work. In the case of “Red X” result, the administrator(s) are sent an email telling them that this employee has “answered yes to one or more questions on the screening app.” The administrators do not receive any other information. The administrators are limited to five employees consisting of HR and management. The administrators will confirm that all employees are completing the form prior to enter the building and that employees are cleared to return.

Answers to your specific questions are below and the documentation that will be sent out to employees, managers and administrators is attached.

1. 1. A detailed description of the training managers will undergo in order to effectively implement and respond to the testing process identified in the health assessment process, including but not limited to:
      Not applicable. The process is same as the current process. Employees are now just completing an app instead of a paper form.
      
      1. 1. what entity will be handling such training; N/A
         2. where and when will it be administered; N/A
         3. what follow up will be included in the training process. N/A•
            
   2. A detailed description of training to be provided to employees for the successful implementation and effective daily usage of the APP.
      The app will be introduced at an All Hands meeting. Then all employees will be provided with instructions on how to download and use the app and a fact sheet on how the process works.
      •
      
   3. A detailed description of Times Union management’s response to employee usage of the APP, including but not limited to:•
      1. 1. If the employees’ daily use of the APP will be a clearly communicated job expectation required by the Times Union, including when and how that requirement will be conveyed;
            It’s the same as the current use of forms. Additionally, those working in the field will complete the app as well.
            •
            
         2. What, if any, disciplinary action will be attached to Times Union employees’ use of the APP;
            N/A. If an employee refuses to use the app, they can continue to complete the paper forms prior to enter the building.
            •
            
         3. What, if any, type of guidance will be provided by Times Union management to employees’ seeking COVID-19 testing or in response to a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, including handling the cost or costs attached to testing and COVID-19 related medical bills.
            Employees who test positive for COVID-19 will be instructed to follow medical advice. Currently the costs of COVID-19 testing and treatment are being covered at no charge by the individuals’ health plans and/or the medical facility they use. Employees are free to visit myHearst.com for COVID-19 information.
            •
            
         4. What specific guidance will be provided to those employees either working from home or from a non-Times Union plant location (depots, bureaus, etc.) when answering with a YES answer to any APP survey question.
            The same guidance that they would receive if working at the main office.
            
   4. Identify the specific way or ways in which the Times Union will:Maintain the security of employees’ personal medical data.•
      1. 1. The app does not collect any employees’ medical data. It simply responds to a “yes” answer by creating an email to the employee and an email to the administrators informing all that the employee has answered at least one question with a “yes” and should not report to work.
            •
            
         2. Accomplish the permanent purging of the employees’ digital medical records captured daily by the health screening APP.
            Again, the app does not collect medical data. However, the administrators are instructed to purge all emails related to the app daily.
            
   5. The details of plans the Times Union is contemplating for a joint labor-management response to the usage of the health screening APP including the potential involvement of Guild stewards when Guild-represented employees respond affirmatively to any of the APP survey questions.
      If an employee is told not to go to the office/plant/depot/bureau, the instructions tell employees to contact their manager and union steward, if applicable. In the case of the Guild, it is the choice of the employee to inform the union, or not.

Regards,

Ruth

Times Union management has dismissed the Guild’s calls for an inclusive and transparent process in building a company constituted Diversity Committee.

After learning managers were quietly picking individuals to serve on the Company’s Diversity Committee, the Albany Newspaper Guild sent a letter to Publisher George Hearst and Human Resources Director Ruth Fantasia requesting that the efforts for forming the committee be a joint labor-management effort.

The pair responded by insinuating that the Guild was excluding other labor unions representing employees at the Times Union.

“Diversity and Inclusion should not simply be a Guild-management or labor-management initiative,” Ruth and George wrote in the response. “In order to be successful, the work of the various committee(s) must be all-encompassing and culture-altering. For that reason we believe a Joint Committee meeting with the Guild, to the exclusion of other groups, could be detrimental. We welcome the suggestions of the Guild, as we do those of all our unions and non-union groups, and we will insist on a structure that treats all communities fairly.”

The Guild did not request a Joint Committee meeting – the mechanism afforded to members to resolve issues – nor did we suggest other labor unions should not be included in the process. We requested a joint “labor-management” committee process to ensure ALL Times Union employees (including our colleagues represented by other labor unions at the paper) were part of the formation of this important committee.

The Company touted its Diversity Committee as an “employee-led” initiative, however, selection of who is on the committee was dictated by top executives at the Times Union and the opportunity was not given to all interested employees.

While we are happy to see that some Guild members will be part of the company’s Diversity Committee, we are disappointed that management did not make the process and formation inclusive. We hope the Company will be transparent and provide regular updates regarding its committee’s formation, plans for meeting and overall efforts.

The Guild has learned that the committee is set to meet Monday, Aug. 3, however, the Company has not announced who is on the committee or the plans to meet.

In the meantime, the Guild’s Diversity Committee — which has already begun drafting recommendations to improve diversity in the workplace and our news coverage — will continue their commitment to creating an inclusive workplace that is welcoming to all.

Those recommendations include connecting with local schools and universities to create a paid internship program, reimagining the Times Union’s crime coverage and addressing implicit bias in interviewing and hiring, among others. The Guild’s Diversity Committee will be rolling out a letter with all the proposed recommendations in the next few weeks and will need all of your support, so be on the lookout!