The Guild will draw two names for the $25 gift cards from Roma Foods at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the cafeteria.

Come see which of your colleagues will win and tell us what advertiser we should support next.

Guild President Tim O’Brien and Photographer Cindy Schultz will represent the union next week at the Newspaper Guild’s international sector conference in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The event begins Friday morning and ends Saturday night. Local representatives from around the United States and Canada gather every other year to discuss what is happening in the newspaper industry, in the union and in the media.

“It is a good place to go to get advice on issues that arise and to meet with International leaders about our needs in Albany,” O’Brien said. He has been a regular attendee at these events. Cindy Schultz will be attending her first union convention.

The CWA convention follows on the heels of the Guild’s event. Cindy Schultz will fly back home, while O’Brien stays through the CWA convention as the sole delegate from our local. The CWA convention — which features members from a diverse collection of industries, from flight attendants to telecom workers — starts with registration Sunday. The convention runs all day Monday and Tuesday.

The Guild had asked people to volunteer to serve as delegates. Since the Guild had two delegate slots for the TNG convention and one for the CWA convention, and that’s how many people volunteered for each, an election was not required.

We’re disappointed Tim was eliminated from the TriCity ValleyCats’ media bobblehead tournament. Tim had pledged to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

To honor his efforts, the Guild is donating $100 in Tim’s name to the cause of finding a cure for cancer. He may be out of the running, but he’s still an inspiration to us.

If you’d like to donate too, you can do so online at cancer.org or by mail to American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.

The Newspaper Guild of Albany is launching a new campaign to support those who support us.

Please stop by Roma Foods between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9. It is at 9 Cobbee Road just off Route 9 in Latham. Buy Italian groceries, pick up lunch or dinner, and thank owner Frank Bolognino for his longtime support for Times Union workers.

The Newspaper Guild of Albany is thrilled about the new press that will display our work like never before.

We congratulate the Hearst Corp. for making this major investment at a time when many others are abandoning daily delivery. It shows a real commitment to the future. We took out a congratulatory ad to show our appreciation for this historic investment.

At the same time, the Hearst Corp. has not shown a similar commitment to its employees. Without them, the new press would be printing blank pages.

It has been more than 5 years since Times Union employees have had raises and four years since we have been without a contract. The Guild has met and will continue to meet with the Company to continue to discuss getting our members the raise they have long since deserved.

We welcome Frank Bennack and Steve Swartz today, and we hope the commitment to a new press will also lead to a renewed commitment and investment in the people who helped make the Times Union the 2012 Newspaper of Distinction.