MEMBERS ONLY: Rules for Nomination and Election of Executive Committee Vice Chairs

RULES FOR NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF FOUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
ADOPTED BY THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK LOCAL ELECTION COMMITTEE
April 15, 2022

The nomination and election to fill four vacancies in the position of Executive Committee Vice Chair shall be conducted in accordance with the Bylaws of The NewsGuild of New York, Federal Law, the TNG Constitution, the CWA Constitution, and these rules adopted by the Local Election Committee on April 15, 2022.

Nominations shall be via virtual Zoom meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (all times in these rules are Eastern Time). Written nominations will be accepted as well, under the rules described below, starting on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 2 p.m.

Guild members who have signed a membership card and are in good standing shall be nominated to fill the following vacant positions:

Executive Committee Vice Chair (4)

Nominations will be held via Zoom membership meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 1 p.m. via Zoom: 

Topic: Executive Committee Nomination Meeting
Time: Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 1 p.m.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 859 7518 4042
One tap mobile:568436

SECTION 1: Officers to be elected:  
Executive Committee Vice Chair (4).
 
SECTION 2: Election Date: 
In the event of a contest, an election shall be held entirely by mail among members of The NewsGuild of New York, with results to be tallied on or about June 16, 2022.

SECTION 3: Term of Office: 
The term of office shall be through 11:59 p.m., January 1, 2023.

SECTION 4: Nominations:

1. To be nominated, a member must be in good standing as of April 5, 2022.  To be
   nominated, a member must be nominated by a member who was in good standing as of April 5, 2022.  To be nominated, a member’s nomination must receive a second from one member in good standing as of April 5, 2022 .  Self-nomination is permitted.
2. A nominations meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Notice of the date, time,
   and location of that meeting is contained in these rules. Nominations may also be done in
   writing pursuant to the rules outlined in section 4(c) below.
3. In addition to the nominations at the meeting, nominations may be made in writing. 
   Written nominations and seconds must be received by the Guild no earlier than Wednesday,
   April 20, 2022 at 2 p.m. and by no later than Monday, April 25, 2022  at 11:59 p.m.   All written
   nominations and seconds must be delivered to Local Secretary Treasurer Anthony Napoli at
   either of the following email addresses: anapoli@nyguild.org, or treasurer@nyguild.org.
4. For all nominations, the nominator or his designee must provide Secretary-Treasurer Napoli
   with an email address and telephone number where the nominated candidate can be reached,
   and do so by no later than 11:59 p.m. , Eastern time, Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
5. The Guild will notify all nominated candidates of their nomination.  For a nominated candidate to appear on the ballot, the Guild must receive email written confirmation of the candidate’s willingness to run by no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, April 27 , 2022. Such notice shall be provided to Secretary-Treasurer Napoli.
6. If, at the close of the period for nominations, only one person is nominated for a position, that person shall be declared elected without contest.

SECTION 5: Local Election Committee: 
This election shall be supervised by the Local Election Committee.  No candidate for office may serve on the Local Election Committee.

SECTION 6: Election Notice: 
An election notice and mail ballot will be mailed to all Guild
members no later than May 19, 2022.

SECTION 7: The Ballot:

1. The Local Election Committee shall supervise and be responsible for the preparation of the
   ballot. The ballot shall be arranged so that the voter will have the choice of voting for individual
   candidates by marking boxes for the candidates.
2. In designing the ballot, the Local Election Committee shall comply with the Local bylaws, the
   TNG Constitution, and the CWA Constitution.

SECTION 8: Voter Eligibility: 
All members in good standing as of May 6, 2022 may vote in this election. Instructions for members not receiving a ballot on how to obtain a duplicate ballot will be provided on the Guild’s website.  

SECTION 9: Voting Procedure and Ballot Count

1. The election will be conducted by mail ballot.
2. The American Arbitration Association, or some other recognized neutral organization with experience conducting union elections, under the supervision of the Local Election Committee, shall mail ballot packages to all members by no later than May 19, 2022. For a ballot to be counted, a voter must mail the ballot back, in conformity with the voting instructions, so that it is received at the applicable Post Office Box by no later than 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on June 16, 2022.
3. The ballots shall be collected at the Post Office box by 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on June 16, 2022. At least one representative of the Election Committee, and interested candidates and/or their observers may observe the emptying of the post office box and the counting of the ballots. Candidates may have observers observe the stuffing and mailing of the ballots. To make arrangements to observe the stuffing and mailing of ballots, the candidate and or his/her representative must contact counsel to the election committee, Hanan Kolko, by email, by no later than May 18, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time at hkolko@cwsny.com. To make arrangements to observe the emptying of the post office box and the counting of the ballots,
   the candidate and or his/her representative must contact counsel to the election committee, Hanan Kolko by no later than June 15, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, at hkolko@cwsny.com.
4. AAA or the selected neutral body will tally the ballots. The count will continue until completed.  The Election Committee will supervise the process to ensure that only ballots of eligible members are counted, using an up-to-date eligibility list.
5. The results shall be certified by the Chairperson of the Local Election Committee and immediately sent to the Local Secretary-Treasurer.
6. The ballot envelope shall contain an instruction slip. It shall state, in sum and substance: “After marking your vote on the enclosed ballot, fold it face in.  Do not otherwise mark the ballot. Do not put your name or any other identification on the ballot. A ballot with your name or other identifying information on it will not be counted.  Place the folded ballot in the smaller envelope and seal it.  Do not sign or otherwise mark the smaller envelope containing the ballot. Place the smaller envelope containing the ballot in the addressed return envelope. Sign and print your name on the designated lines in the addressed return (outer) envelope (hand written and hand printed signatures only).  Only ballots in the official return envelopes in the Post Office Box by designated due date will be counted.

Section 10 - Election Disputes:
Unit election disputes shall be decided by the Local Election Committee. All election protests and appeals of any nature must be received by the Local Election Committee no later than one day after the ballot count at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.  Such protests should be emailed to Local Election Committee counsel at hkolko@cwsny.com. Appeals from rulings of the Local Election Committee shall be made to the Local Executive Committee, and must be received by the Local Executive Committee by no later than 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time,  fourteen (14) days after the ballot count.  Such protests should be emailed to the Local Executive Committee, c/o assistant@nyguild.org.

Section 11 - Campaign Procedures:
All candidates must be treated equally by the union regarding the opportunity to campaign. Union and employer resources may not be directly or indirectly used to support the candidacy of any candidate. Union officers and employees may not campaign on time paid for by the union, and members may not campaign on time paid for by the employer. Union members may support the candidate of their choice, and in the exercise of that right, may not be subject to penalty, discipline, or reprisal of any kind by the Guild.

Section 12 - Inspection of Membership Lists:
Once within 30 days prior to the mailing of ballots, each candidate has the right to inspect a list containing the names and last known addresses of all Guild-represented members subject to a collective bargaining agreement which covers the employees of the Unit. No candidate may photocopy the list. The list will be maintained at the Guild office in New York, New York. Any candidate wishing to inspect the list must contact Anthony Napoli, Guild Secretary-Treasurer at anapoli@nyguild.org to schedule an appointment. Due to COVID-19, list inspection may, at the union’s discretion, be conducted electronically.

Section 13 - Distribution of Campaign Literature:
The Guild will comply with reasonable requests by a candidate to distribute campaign literature at the expense of the candidate. Any candidate who wishes to mail campaign literature must contact Eddie Acosta at Candid Litho. His email address is ea@candidlitho.com and his phone number is 212-431-3800. Payment instructions and terms, prices, and other instructions and requirements will be set and provided by Mr. Acosta. Candidates may also send emails to the personal email addresses which the Guild has. The vendor for this service is AMFAX Corporation. The contact person there is John Petallides. You can reach him at 212-785-5900 or 917-806-3456.  His email address is jp@amfax.com.  Please contact him directly for payment instructions and terms and other instructions. If either vendor is unwilling or unable to provide mailing services, the Local Election Committee shall arrange for an alternate vendor.

Section 14 - Observers:
Each candidate is entitled to have observers present when ballots are stuffed and mailed, picked up, and counted. A candidate may act as their own observer. To the extent possible, in light of COVID-19, the union may provide for remote observation.

Section 15 - Preservation of Records:
The Guild will preserve records of all elections for one year.

Section 16 - Notification of Membership:
The Guild will notify the membership of the results of the election in its newsletter and on its website.

Section 17 - Retention of AAA or Neutral Organization:
The Committee may retain the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) or another neutral organization with experience in conducting elections to help with the mailing and counting of election ballots.