The off-the-record talks Wednesday between the company and the Guild involved a frank exchange of ideas and concerns.

Guild International President Bernie Lunzer and the International’s attorney, Barbara Camens, came to Albany to participate in the talks. Our International Representative, Jim Schaufenbil, also participated. They joined local Guild representatives Tim O’Brien, Lindsay LaFountain and Brian Nearing.

While no conclusion was reached, the parties agreed to keep the dialogue going in the hopes of finding a path to a settlement. Due to the outstanding legal cases, the talks must remain behind closed doors unless and until a settlement is reached.

If that happens,members will be given time to review the proposal before voting on it. Members are encouraged to get current on dues so they would be eligible to vote.

“We are so grateful to Bernie and Barbara for taking time out from their busy schedules to come to Albany,” O’Brien said. “Their presence sent a clear message that our situation is a top priority for the national union. We are  committed to continuing this dialogue in the hopes both sides can find a way to compromise and reach a settlement.”

The Guild’s top official, International President Bernie Lunzer, is coming to Albany Wednesday for a closed-door discussion in an effort to resolve our contractual differences.

He will be joined by Barbara Camens, the union’s attorney, and International Representative Jim Schaufenbil. Representing the local will be President Tim O’Brien, First Vice President Lindsay LaFountain and Chief Steward Brian Nearing.

Company and union leaders agreed to postpone an arbitration hearing originally scheduled for Wednesday on the dues checkoff case. Instead, the parties will use the day to bargain in the hope the two sides can find a way to resolve their differences.

The mutual decision to postpone the arbitration came before a court ruling Monday granting the company’s request for a stay of the hearing pending its appeal in the case.

“Our goal has always been to reach a settlement. We are grateful that Bernie and Barbara are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to bring their expertise to bear on these talks,” O’Brien said. “We are also grateful Publisher George Hearst is open to meeting with Bernie and Barbara and trying to see if there is a way we can move forward together.”

Due to the pending legal cases, the discussion will be off the record. In the event an agreement is reached, it would, of course, have to be put to a vote of the membership.

The Guild leaders will arrive Tuesday for a discussion among themselves before meeting with the company Wednesday.

The Newspaper Guild negotiated five extra weeks of severance pay for a laid-off maintenance worker after the Times Union failed to follow its imposed rules that a buyout must be offered first.

The maintenance employee was laid off last Monday, March 21. Guild President Tim O’Brien informed the company it had failed to abide by the rules it imposed that the union be notified 45 days in advance of any layoff and that the Guild be given a chance to negotiate a buyout first.

While there was a buyout negotiated last year, the union produced documents that showed the company had repeatedly said those buyouts were targeted at specific employees: district managers, advertising art/marketing workers and the Web desk.

“Those buyout negotiations cannot be the basis for layoffs in other areas,” O’Brien said. “If there are to be further job cuts, the company must give the union 45 days’ notice and bargain a new buyout package with us. We always prefer to see people leave voluntarily rather than be forced out.”

In discussing the matter, the Guild also knew it would be difficult to expect the laid-off maintenance worker to come back to work while the parties negotiated, only to be laid off again. So the Guild calculated what the employee likely would have received if the company had followed its own rules: nine weeks pay while the parties negotiated and 15 weeks pay (three weeks per year of service) for a buyout. The company had offered 19 weeks’ pay and health insurance (or equivalent pay) for the same period.

The company agreed to offer the 24 weeks’ pay and health care coverage, and the matter was settled without serving as an official, legal precedent for either side.

“While we are always sorry to see a colleague lose a job, we are glad we could bargain 5 weeks of additional pay for him,” O’Brien said. “And we are grateful the company agreed that was the right thing to do.”

The Times Union laid off a maintenance employee Monday who worked for the company for five years, but it failed to follow the language the company imposed requiring a buyout to be negotiated and offered to employees before any layoffs occur.

This is especially important because the company is now saying other job cuts may be on the horizon in editorial and other departments.

The language imposed in 2009 states that before any layoffs occur, the company must give the Guild 45 days’ notice and negotiate a buyout offer. The parties bargained a buyout last year, but the company was very clear that while anyone could apply, that buyout was targeted specifically at advertising art/marketing and the Web desk.

“No one in maintenance, editorial, circulation or any other department would have reason to believe they should have applied,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “A negotiated buyout is not open-ended. The application period has long since ended. Before any further cuts can occur, a new buyout offer must be bargained. We’ve told the company to reinstate the maintenance worker until that occurs.”

The affected worker was the least senior person in maintenance but had been a loyal, well-regarded employee for five years.

O’Brien and Guild Secretary Mark Hempstead met with Publisher George Hearst last week to discuss issues including rumors of job cuts in editorial. The publisher did not provide specifics about cuts, but said advertising has been down this year. Most of the company’s cost reductions do not involve personnel, he said, but some job losses could be forthcoming soon. He did not set any timeline.

The Guild also discussed the closing of the Troy and Saratoga Springs bureaus. The Guild has no objection but noted the company’s announcement the reporters would become “mobile journalists” working largely in the field is a change in working conditions that requires bargaining. The company is obligated to provide the equipment needed to do the job.

The TU is giving the reporters laptop computers and will pay part of the bill for employees who already have smart phones. The Guild noted two employees do not have smart phones and have been told to share what is now the bureau cell phone.

O’Brien told Hearst it was inadequate to provide one phone to be shared between two reporters who are supposed to be working out of coffee shops and other locations. Hearst agreed and said he would discuss the matter with newsroom editors.

The Guild also discussed recent complaints from members and customers about outsourcing circulation calls to a Pennsylvania company called Telereach.

The union did not object to the switch because its members were moved to making outbound calls to drive up circulation (which has been successful, thanks to their hard work), but Telereach has done such an awful job upset customers have called various employees and even come walking into the plant to cancel their newspaper.

Hearst said the TU is working to remedy the problem. The harsh weather was partly to blame, with carrier turnover exceeding 100 percent. Hearst said calls from people who didn’t get their newspaper tie up two phone lines, one for the incoming call and one for transferring the call to Telereach. The TU is trying to fix that issue, he said.

Guild leaders asked about movement of accounts payable work to San Antonio. Hearst said one member will see a shift in some duties but no member will lose a job

Guild President Tim O’Brien served as a delegate to the Sector Conference of the Guild’s International. He was one of 89 delegates from 36 locals that discussed the state of the industry, the future of the union and ways to keep members connected. Read this report here.