President Pat Gormley called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m., June 30, 2009. Motion/Second/Carried, Meyer/Tan: To approve minutes of the May 2009 meeting as they appeared in the Frontier Reporter.
Correspondence
Buffalo AFL-CIO Council Labor asked if the Guild was interested in buying tickets to its annual Labor Picnic on Friday, July 31 at Elma Meadows. Four tickets have been bought in the past. M/S/C Heaney/Fischer: to buy two tickets for this year’s picnic.
Grievances
Fay and Turnbull said that the Guild met with the Classified Department in an effort to remedy grievances involving managers doing Guild work.
Turnbull informed the Guild that the unfair labor practice filed by former employee/Guild member Kevin Zielinski was dismissed by the National Labor Relations Board as having no merit. Turnbull lauded Guild attorney Bob Reden for his work on the case.
M/S/C Heaney/Fischer: To authorize Turnbull to write a letter to The News stating that Article 11, Section 3 of the contract must be enforced; that article requires that work schedules must be posted in all departments “two weeks in advance of the week for which they apply.”
New business
M/S/C Heaney/Fischer: To authorize Guild leaders in the newsroom to negotiate a non-precedent, six-month arrangement concerning Web editing and lifestyles editing involving Brian Connolly and Melinda Miller.
M/S/C Gormley/Leiser: To approve the actions of the Executive Committee on June 30, 2009.
M/S/C Gniewecki/Meyer: To authorize $500 from the Guild’s health care reimbursement fund to cover the co-pay of a member’s hospitalization costs.
M/S/C Heaney/Fischer: To sponsor two holes at the Tom Borrelli Memorial Golf Tournament at the cost of $100 each.
New members
Michael Kasza (ABC), Susan Clarke (Circulation), Edward Briele (Circulation), Sara Garry (Circulation), Erin Reid (Circulation), Jacob May (Editorial), Ja’Nay Carswell (Editorial), Tyler Dunne (Editorial), Anna Kim (Editorial), Charles Specht (Editorial), Britney McIntosh (Editorial), Daniel Yadron (Editorial), Elizabeth Simins (Editorial), Collin Binkley (Editorial) and Miguel Rodriguez (Editorial),
M/S/C Snyder/Leiser: To have Garry pay $2 for Guild re-up fee. M/S/C Snyder/Heaney: To waive the re-up fee for Rodriguez.
M/S/C Gormley/Fischer to adjourn at 7:55 p.m
In attendance: Pat Gormley, Dick Fay, Bob Snyder, Dave Irwin, Chuck Fischer, Keith McShea, Kim Leiser, Sandy Tan, Brian Meyer, Tammy Turnbull, Bev Gniewecki, Susan Kelley, Jim Heaney, Henry Davis, Brian Connolly, Aretha Willis.
Excused: Phil Fairbanks and Felice McMillon.
Respectfully submitted,
Keith McShea,
Buffalo Newspaper Guild CWA Local 31026 