Election challenge rejected; no further appeals seen

12/09/2016

 

With their arguments rejected Thursday by the local’s independent Election Committee, New York NewsGuild President Peter Szekely said he and his Growing Stronger Coalition will not further pursue a new election.

Challenger Grant Glickson won 831-572 when the vote-by-mail ballots were counted at the American Arbitration Association offices on Nov. 18. Other members of his Members First slate won by similar margins.

“Although I disagree with some of the committee's reasoning, we recognize the challenge of making our case, given our limited resources and the margin of the vote count,” Szekely said. “Our slate therefore accepts the committee's report as the final word on the election results.” 

Glickson and the five officers and 16 Executive Committee members elected with him will take office Jan. 2, 2017.

The Growing Stronger Coalition filed a challenge seeking a new election on grounds that Glickson used his position as chair of The New York Times unit to unfair advantage in violation of union rules, federal law and Election Committee directives.

Issues included use of email, bulletin boards and other employer resources by Glickson and his supporters to reach out to the 1,000-plus Guild members at The Times — the largest of the New York Guild’s 21 units, with more than one-third of the local’s eligible voters. Szekely argued that he didn’t have the same access that Glickson did to The Times’s large voting pool.

The Election Committee rejected the Coalition’s arguments in a 24-page decision issued Thursday evening that included a detailed review of each charge and the evidence presented.

Five Guild members not allied with either slate of candidates comprise the Election Committee. They are Leslie Adler of Thomson Reuters, Noreen Browne of Consumer Reports, Eileen Guzmich and Brian Kennedy of The New York Times and Karen Rohan of Foreign Policy Association. Attorney Hanan Kolko advises the committee.

Szekely, formerly the local’s secretary-treasurer, became president in September 2015 when predecessor Bill O’Meara retired for health reasons. After more than nine years as a local officer, Szekely said he expects to return in early 2017 to his previous career as a Reuters journalist.

Go back

News Archive

Share this story