MEMBERS ONLY: Rules for Nomination and Election of Local Chair and Vice Chair

MEMBERS ONLY
RULES FOR NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF LOCAL CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR
ADOPTED BY THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK LOCAL ELECTION COMMITTEE October 28, 2021

The nomination and election to fill a vacancy in the position of Local Chairperson and Local 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 October 28, 2021.

There will be a nomination meeting and election for The NewsGuild of New York to fill a vacancy in the position of Local Chairperson and Local Vice Chair. They 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 October 28, 2021.

Nominations shall be via virtual Zoom meeting on November 5, 2021 at 2:00 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 November 5, 2021 at 3:00 p.m.

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

• Local Chairperson
• Local Vice Chair

Nominations will be held via Zoom membership meeting on November 5, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. via the following:

Local Chairperson and Local Vice Chair Nomination Meeting
November 5, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvdeCtpzwuE9eGuqRivAJDGMhtUbifq2IQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email
containing information about joining the meeting.

SECTION 1: Officers to be elected: Local Chairperson, One (1) Local Vice Chair.

SECTION 2: Election Date: In the event of a contest, an election shall be held entirely by mail among members of the NewsGuild, with results to be tallied on or about February 4, 2022.

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

SECTION 4: Nominations:
(a) To be nominated, a member must be in good standing as of October 29, 2021. To be nominated, a member must be nominated by a member who was in good standing as of October 29, 2021. To be nominated, a member’s nomination must receive a second from one member in good standing as of October 29, 2021. Self-nomination is permitted.

(b) A nominations meeting will be held on November 5, 2021. 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.

(c) 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 November 5, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. and by no later than November 12, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. All nominations and seconds must be delivered to Local Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Napoli at the following email addresses: anapoli at nyguild.org and treasurer at nyguild.org.

(d) 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 midnight, Eastern time, November 12, 2021.

(e) 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 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on November 13, 2021. Such notice shall be provided to Secretary-Treasurer Napoli.

(f) If, at the close of the period for nominations, only one person is nominated, 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 Local Chairperson or Local Vice Chair 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 December 29, 2021.

SECTION 7: The Ballot:
a) 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.

b) 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 December 17, 2021 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
a) The election will be conducted by mail ballot.

b) 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 December 29, 2021. 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 February 4, 2022.

c) The ballots shall be collected at the Post Office box by 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on February 4, 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. Candidates may have observers observe the stuffing and mailing of the ballots. To make arrangements to do so, the candidate and or his/her representative must contact counsel to the election committee, Hanan Kolko, by email, by no later than December 27, 2021, at 5:00 p.m., Eastern time.

d) 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.

e) The results shall be certified by the Chairperson of the Local Election Committee and immediately sent to the Local Secretary-Treasurer.

(f) 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. 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 at 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 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.