• Guild Family Picnic

    June 17, 2018 /

    New venue: Krause’s Grove
    2 Beach Road, Halfmoon, NY

    Noon to 6 (Food served till 3:30)

    All members in good standing are invited to attend with their spouse and children. Singles bring a guest. Dads also get in free in honor of Father’s Day.

    Join us at the Pavilion for an Old Fashioned Family Picnic!
    Includes the following selections:

    • Hot Dogs, Hamburgers,
      Cheeseburgers & French Fries,
    • Clam Chowder
    • Raw Clams
      (2 pm–3:30 pm)
    • Corn on the Cob
      (Home-grown in season)
    • Hot Sausage & Peppers
    • Steak Sandwiches
    • BBQ Spare Ribs
    • Cole Slaw, Macaroni Salad
    • Watermelon, Fresh Fruit
      & Yogurt Dip,
    • Beer (including N.A.) and Soda till closing

    To round out a fun-filled day, take advantage of our many recreational facilities, including music and a dance floor, 3 volleyball courts, 4 horseshoe pits, bocci ball and softball on the Mohawk River!

    Let us know if you’re attending:

    Error: Contact form not found.

    read more

  • Agreement reached on company cell phone stipend policy

    April 20, 2018 /
    In response to a new company mobile phone stipend policy, members of the Newspaper  Guild met this week with company representatives to discuss concerns over what appeared to be company access to the personal phones of our members, up to and including the potential review and deletion of any and all data if the company felt any company email on the phone had been compromised.
    Accordingly, the policy no longer contains any requirement that our members install any company app that can provide access to the phone and its contents.
    Our members will be required to report to the company upon learning their phone is lost or stolen, which then affords the company the ability to act to protect that email account, most likely by changing the internal email password to prevent unauthorized access.
    Due to the imminent upcoming payroll accounting software upgrade, the stipend agreement forms that some of you may have already signed that contain this now-inoperative language will be allowed to stand, although a revised agreement form reflecting this change will become available shortly. Anyone who has already signed a form can later sign and submit an updated form to Human Resources.
    The requirement that workers must respond to calls from supervisors during working hours is tempered by HR acknowledgement of special circumstances (such as courthouse rules, or lack of service). However, a pattern of non-response could be raised by the company as a disciplinary item, and the Guild would be able to investigate the specifics of any such claims.
    read more

  • 2018 Health Insurance Update

    November 29, 2017 /

    The news for the 2018 health insurance coverage is a mix of good and bad. First, the good: The company’s health insurance consultant, the local firm of Brown and Brown, was able to negotiate a 4.9 percent premium increase from our current provider, MVP. There will be no need to change health care providers.

    Given the current uncertainty in the health care market, due to the current political outlook on potential changes in the federal Affordable Care Act, a premium increase in the low single digits was very favorable.

    Now, for the bad news. As you know, the Guild has long maintained a so-called “composite” health care rate, in which separate rates for single (one person), double (two people) and family (parents with children) coverage are blended in a single rate that applies to all members. Guild policy has been to use a blended rate so that all members are treated equally, with risks and benefits shared, regardless of family status.

    Unfortunately, an increasing proportion of highest-rate family members covered in the Guild plan, which is being driven by a steep decline in the number of single members, has resulted in a larger percentage increase in this blended rate.

    Accordingly, the total MVP monthly blended rate will increase from $958.97 to $1,054.98, an increase of 10 percent.

    There is also going to be a premium increase in the dental insurance component, driven by claims filed for dental coverage in 2017. However, that increase is being mitigated by a change in the dental insurance carrier, from Cigna to Guardian.

    The current Cigna rate is $50.77 a month, while the new Guardian rate will be $63.53 a month. Remaining with Cigna would have resulted in a monthly rate of $82.60.

    Use this search tool to find dentists who accept Guardian coverage in the Capital Region: https://www.guardiananytime.com/fpapp/FPWeb/dentalSearch.processNews about your

    Accordingly, the new MVP rate, combined with the Guardian rate, will result in a total monthly premium increase from $1,185.82 in 2017 to $1,294.59 in 2018.

    As has been the case since 2008, the Guild contract requires our members to cover 23 percent of this cost. So, the current weekly deduction will be increasing from $62.95 to $68.71, an increase of slightly more than 9 percent. Over the course of the year, that will be an extra $300 per employee.

    Current individual deductible levels of $2,000, with the employee being responsible for the first $750, remain unchanged. Prescription out-of-pocket will also remain unchanged from current levels of $10/$30/$50.

    read more