This week, Guild members will receive surveys to gauge their views on a variety of issues for the upcoming contract negotiations. These surveys are an important resource for the negotiating committee to help formulate the Guild’s contract proposal.

Negotiations will begin sometime in February.

In December, the Post-Gazette sent letters to the presidents of the newspaper’s unions and asked that contract negotiations begin in January. The Unity Council, composed of the union leadership, met on Jan. 4 to discuss the company’s request. The unions decided to request a meeting between the Unity Council and the company on Feb. 4 if possible. The company confirmed the date a week later.

The first meeting will be a preliminary exchange in which the company is expected to provide a general outline of its overall proposal for all the unions and also provide guidelines of its proposals for each individual union. As a reminder, the Guild and other unions bargain individual issues separately and economic issues (wages and health benefits) jointly.

Please turn in your survey as soon as possible so the results can be tabulated and used to help craft the Guild’s proposal.

Save these dates

In response to a membership survey last month, the Guild has finalized its list of meetings and social events for the year. The most significant change is that membership meetings this year will be Wednesdays and Thursdays instead of only Wednesdays. The lineup:

First-quarter membership meeting: Thursday, March 2

Spring party: Saturday, April 1, at PNC Park’s Keystone Corner

Second-quarter membership meeting: Wednesday, June 7

Beach Party: Saturday, Aug. 26, at Sunset Beach

Labor Day Parade: Monday, Sept. 4

Third-quarter meeting: Wednesday, Sept. 6

"Off The Record": TBA

Holiday party: Saturday, Dec. 2

Fourth-quarter membership meeting: Thursday, Dec. 7

The Guild vs. Point Park: the battle continues

The Guild’s battle with Point Park University over the college’s refusal to recognize the union’s right to represent its full-time teaching staff entered a new phase last week when all sides argued their legal cases before a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Point Park’s hired legal gun, Arnold Perl of Memphis, tried vainly to convince the judges that the case had a “smoking gun” in the form of an accreditation report that he purported shows the professors are managerial and not eligible for union membership. The judges paid little heed to Perl’s claim that the Guild should have produced the document two years ago during a representation hearing before the National Labor Relations Board.

Perl, echoing unsuccessful arguments of Point Park’s previous attorneys, also continued to criticize the April 2004 decision by the NLRB’s regional director that concluded Point Park’s professors were eligible for union membership.

The Guild has won at every stage of the NLRB case, and when it ran out of administrative options, Point Park appealed the case to federal court. The NLRB is defending its decision in the Guild’s favor against Point Park’s refusal to comply with federal law and recognize the Guild.

The union’s case was argued by James B. Coppess, associate general counsel of the AFL-CIO. Coppess craftily fielded questions from the judges and said it was clear Point Park was a “top down”-run university at which faculty have little input on final academic decisions that affect curriculum and programs.

The appeals court is not expected to issue a ruling until perhaps May – three years after the Guild’s organizing campaign began at Point Park.

Do you know who your steward is?

With difficult contract negotiations looming, it will be more important than ever that we communicate regularly. The Guild stewards will be the contact point and will relay information from the negotiating committee to the membership. That’s why everyone should know to which steward they’re assigned. If you’re not sure, ask R.J. Hufnagel, the chief steward. The stewards:

Ann Belser, Eleanor Chute, Jill Daly, Rick Davis, Anita Dufalla, Sharon Eberson, Joe Fahy, R.J. Hufnagel, Willa Kindle, Teresa Lindeman, Bill Lowenberger, Tim McDonough, Pam Panchak, Pat Peters, Alyson Rodriguez, Seth Rorabaugh, Jon Schmitz, Jerome Sherman, Margi Shrum, Pohla Smith, Cathy Tigano, Kurt Weber.

Pension beneficiaries

Several Guild members have asked: Who is the beneficiary of my Guild pension benefit?

Under the terms of the pension plan, the following beneficiary class applies: first, the legally wedded spouse; then, the children equally; the father and mother; the brothers and sisters equally; and finally, the Guild member’s estate. A party other than a family member can also be designated as a beneficiary with limited benefits.

The above order of beneficiaries should be of particular interest to Guild members who are single or to single members with children who are minors. It also should be of concern to those whose parent(s) or siblings may not be capable of making a rational decision where monetary matters are concerned.

Each of us wants to ensure that our pension benefit, like our life insurance benefit, reflects our wishes and benefits our loved ones. If you think you need to designate a beneficiary or if you have any other questions, we urge you to contact our pension coordinator, Mary Alice Grusch, for the appropriate forms. Mary Alice’s office is on the fourth floor, across from the cashier’s windows. Her telephone extension is 1221.