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Guild Holiday Party
Dec. 8
The Newspaper Guild will hold its annual holiday
party on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007, at Sassy Marie's Restaurant (site of the
former James Street Tavern, and site of our spring party) at the corner of
James and Foreland on the North Side, one block off of East Ohio Street.
The festivities will run from 7:30 p.m. to midnight in the upstairs party
room, which has a separate entrance on the James Street side of the
building. Prices will be $5 per person for Guild members and retirees, and
each member is invited to bring one guest for an additional $5. For
non-members and their guests, the price will be $35 per person.
Included in the price will be a buffet dinner, music, dessert and
complimentary pop, beer and wine. There will be a cash bar for liquor and
mixed drinks.
Mike Fuoco and Marianne Mizera will collect party checks beginning later
this month.
Fourth-Quarter Meeting Dec. 6Mark your
calendars: The Guild will hold its fourth-quarter membership meeting on
Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, in our usual place, the first-floor meeting room
of the U.S. Steelworkers Building, next door to the PG. The meetings will
be held in two sessions, at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Items on the agenda will include an update on same-sex benefits and the
Guild pension plan.
Get To Know Your Contract
Many of our newer members, and even some of our
seasoned veterans, may not know everything that our contract says, or
exactly what it means. With that in mind, the Guild is undertaking a "Know
Your Contract" effort, which will result in the production of a "Contract
Cheat Sheet" for Guild members that will cover such topics as the
differences between vacation, personal and sick days, your rights as a
union member, and the definitions of some commonly misunderstood contract
terms. If you have any ideas for topics that you think should be covered,
please see (or e-mail or call) Guild President R.J. Hufnagel.
Arbitration Over Restaurant Reviews
Over the summer, after the company assigned
stringers for several weeks to serve as PG dining critics, work that is
clearly in the union's jurisdiction, then-President Mike Bucsko pointed
out the contract violation to the company. In the spirit of cooperation,
Mike told the company that the Guild would let the past violations slide
if the company immediately stopped using stringers to do Guild work.
Of course, the company kept right on using stringers, arguing that it was
its right to try out people for the dining critic job. We pointed out that
if they had come to the Guild and asked us if we would temporarily allow
them to do so, we likely would have agreed. However, the company's
unilateral decision to do so without consulting the Guild was worthy of a
grievance, which we filed.
The company continued to argue that it planned to fill the vacancy, and
when China Millman was hired, the company said the subject was moot. Of
course, it wasn't -- you can't repeatedly violate the contract and then
stop and say all is now well. After the company refused to budge on the
Guild's attempts to amicably resolve the grievance, the Guild executive
committee voted to proceed to arbitration. We'll keep you informed about
what happens next.
Your 2007-08 Guild Officers
The Guild membership, at its third-quarter
membership meeting Sept. 6, nominated new officers
for one-year terms that began Nov. 1. The following officers were elected
without opposition: R.J. Hufnagel, President; Natalie Hill, 1st Vice
President; Sally Kalson, 2nd Vice President; Marianne Mizera, 3rd Vice
President; Ken Fisher, Treasurer; Ed Blazina, Secretary; Mike Fuoco, Unit
Chairman; Dave Peters, Unit Secretary; Sam Bennett, Unit Treasurer; and
Christine Zapinski, Unit Delegate to the Executive Committee.
Welcome To Our New Members
For some, it's "welcome" and for others, it's
"welcome back," but the Guild has added several new names to its ranks of
late: Emily Escalante, Wade Malcolm, Kate McCaffrey, China Millman, Kelly
Mills,
Ron Musselman and Debbie Todd. Welcome to the Newspaper Guild and to the
Post-Gazette!
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