By: Joe Strupp
Guild workers at the Albany [N.Y.] Times Union approved a new contract earlier this week, voting 145 to 42 for the deal after a meeting Sunday in which union members expressed concern about the newspaper's plan to cut early retirement benefits, according to the Business Review of Albany.
The union had soundly rejected a previous contract proposal, 170-3, early last month from the Hearst Corp.-owned daily.
The new agreement includes a 3 percent salary hike increase for each of the four years of the deal, with the first raise retroactive to Aug. 1, 2004 and the second retroactive to Aug. 1, 2005. Members also will have their share of health insurance costs jump from 12 percent to 14 percent right away, with that portion rising to 15 percent on aug. 1, 2006 and 16 percent on Aug. 1, 2007.
"Judging the contract as a package, the membership felt it was an acceptable offer after very long, protracted negotiations,'' Guild President Tim O'Brien said in a statement on the guild's Web site. "It certainly was a much better offer than the one they rejected 170-3 at the October 2 meeting.''
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