THE PRESIDENT’S NOTEBOOK
By Bob DiCesare

With the resignation of Carol Goldstein, the Guild finds itself without a service representative for the second time in nine months. With the departure of Laura Dudley, The News finds itself with new personnel in the human resources department for the second time in six months.

Maybe we'll all be better off for the upheaval.

The Guild's relationship with The News has not been the best during my 18-month tenure as president of the Local. Basic grievances have lingered on the table longer than a T-bone at a convention of vegetarians. Grievances of substance have been tangled in a web of doubletalk, resulting in an unprecedented number of arbitrations filed on behalf of our members.

But in the few weeks since Dudley's departure, we've seen progress. Substantial progress. Consider: During the year-plus that Dudley represented The News in dealing with the Guild we settled -- if my recollection is accurate -- three grievances. In our first meeting with Dan Farberman, the new vice president in charge of human resources, we settled five.

Was Farberman throwing us a few bones in an effort to right the relationship? Undoubtedly. Will all of our grievances resulted in rapid settlements? Of course not.

But there is reason to believe our relationship with The News is on the upswing. For one, Farberman is not a lawyer. We won't be spending 90 minutes in a meeting -- as we did with Dudley -- debating a one-word change in a proposed settlement.

Secondly, Farberman says that his job is to find common ground, and so far he's been true to his word.

Goldstein's resignation was received prior to the last Local meeting and was discussed that night. No decisions were made, but the Guild is considering the possibility of moving on without a full-time service representative. Many members of the Executive Committee are experienced in negotiations and are capable of dealing with The News on grievance issues.

If we chose to go without a service representative, Pat Gormley, our vice president of contract administration, and myself will oversee grievance discussions. Given the changes in the atmosphere surrounding the human resources department, it seems possible the Guild can handle the load without putting undue strain on its officers.

Discussion will continue at the June 27 Local meeting.