Nominations now open for Local Chair and for three Executive Committee Positions

09/18/2020

September 18, 2020 

There will be a nomination meeting held for the position of NewsGuild of New York Local Chairperson and three Executive Committee positions open to all members in good standing of the NewsGuild of New York. The meeting will be conducted via virtual Zoom meeting on September 23, 2020, from 2 p.m. until  2:30 p.m. ET.

Written nominations will be accepted as well under the rules described below. 

The nomination and election to fill the vacancies of  Local Chairperson and three Executive Committee positions shall be conducted in accordance with the bylaws of the NewsGuild of New York, the Constitution of The NewsGuild, the CWA Constitution, Federal Law, and these rules adopted by the Local Election Committee on September 15, 2020. 

Guild members who are in good standing shall be nominated to fill the following vacant officer positions:

Local Chairperson
Three Executive Committee positions 

Nominations will be held via Zoom membership meeting from 2 to 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 23,  2020, via the following Zoom link: 
 

Join Zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82098165324?pwd=blh5MHR5SnNic0F5RnhPR1hqY3J6UT09

Meeting ID: 820 9816 5324
Passcode: 686133

On tap mobile: 1-646-876-9923, 82098165324# (New York)
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kxk0Pf63k

Section 1 - Officers to be Elected:  
Local Chairperson
Executive Committee member (3) 

Section 2 - Election Date:
In the event of a contest, an election shall be held among members of the NewsGuild of New York, with results to be tallied on November 10, 2020. The following positions shall be voted upon:  

Local Chairperson 
Executive Committee member (3)

Section 3 - Term of Office:  
The member(s) shall be elected to fulfill the remainder of the current term, which ends January 2, 2023. 

Section 4 - Nominations:

(a) A virtual Zoom  nominations meeting will be held on September 23, 2020. Notice of the date, time, and location of that meeting is contained in this email to the NewsGuild of New York  membership. Nominations may also be done in writing pursuant to the rules outlined in section 4(c) below. 

(b) To be nominated, a member must be in good standing as of September 1, 2020.  To be nominated, a member must be nominated by a member who was in good standing as of  September 1, 2020.  To be nominated, a member’s nomination must receive a second from a member in good standing as of September 1, 2020. Self-nomination is permitted.

(c) In addition to the nominations at the meeting, nominations may be made in writing. Written nominations must be signed by a nominator who is a member in good standing as of  September 1, 2020, and seconded by a member in good standing as of September 1, 2020. Written nominations and seconds must be received by the Guild by no later than 11:59 p.m. September 28, 2020. Only the following delivery methods will be accepted: email. Nominations and seconds delivered by email must be emailed to President Susan DeCarava president@nyguild.org or Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Napoli anapoli@nyguild.org.

(d) For all nominations, the nominator or her designee must provide the Local Secretary-Treasurer 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. September 28, 2020.

(e)  The Guild will notify all nominated candidates of their nomination. For a nominated candidate to appear on the ballot, the Guild must receive written confirmation of the candidate’s willingness to run by no later than 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2020. Confirmation may be emailed to President Susan DeCarava president@nyguild.org or Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Napoli anapoli@nyguild.org.

(f) If, at the close of the period for nominations, only one person is nominated for the position, that member shall be declared elected without contest.

Section 5 - Local Election Committee
The 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 not later than October 12, 2020. 

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 to the left of each candidate’s name.

(b)In designing the ballot, the Local Election Committee will place candidate names in alphabetical order.

(c) Slate voting shall be permitted. 

Section 8 - Voter Eligibility
All  members in good standing as of September 1, 2020, may vote in the 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 AAA, under the supervision of the Local Election Committee, shall mail ballot packages to all members by no later than October 12, 2020.  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 AAA Post Office Box by no later than 10:00 a.m. on November 10, 2020.

(c) The ballots shall be collected at the AAA Post Office box by 10:00 a.m. on November 10, 2020. At least one representative of the Election Committee and interested candidates and/or their observers may accompany the AAA personnel when they empty the AAA’s Post Office Box. To insure safety, and in the union’s discretion, observation of this process may be done remotely.  

(d) AAA 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). No ballots returned in an unsigned outer envelope will be counted. Only ballots in the official return envelopes in the Post Office Box by designated due date will be counted.”

Section 10 -  Election Disputes
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 seven (7) days after the ballot count at 7:30 p.m.  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., 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.  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.

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:
The Committee may retain the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) or some other neutral  organization with experience in conducting union officer elections  to help with the mailing and counting of election ballots.

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