Rules for Nomination and Election to fill Officer Vacancies within the Forward Unit

02/06/2019

In a nominations meeting at the Guild office on February 5, 2019, Guild members in good standing were nominated to fill the following vacant positions: 

First Vice Chair -  Suzanne Shapiro
Second Vice Chair – Aidan Pink
Third Vice Chair – Ari Feldman

The nomination and election to fill the vacancies of First Vice Chair, Second Vice Chair, and Third Vice Chair at the Forward shall be conducted in accordance with the Bylaws of the NewsGuild of New York and Federal Law. 

Additional nominations may be made under the following rules:

Section 1 - Officers to be elected
First Vice Chair
Second Vice Chair
Third Vice Chair

Section 2 - Election Date
In the event of a contest, an election shall be held entirely by mail among members of the Forward unit, with results to be tallied on March 25, 2019. The following positions shall be voted upon:  First Vice Chair, Second Vice Chair and Third Vice Chair.

Section 3 - Term of Office  
The member(s) shall be elected to fulfill the remainder of the current term, ending October 31, 2019.

Section 4 - Nominations
(a)  A nominations meeting was held on February 5, 2019. Notice of the date, time, and location of that meeting was e-mailed to The Forward membership, and conveyed via discussion from the Unit Chair and Local Representative.

(b)  To be nominated, a unit member must be in good standing as of February 5, 2019.  To be nominated, a unit member must be nominated by a member who was in good standing as of February 5, 2019.  To be nominated, a unit member’s nomination must receive a second from a unit member in good standing as of February 5, 2019.  Self-nomination is permitted.

(c)  In addition to at the nominations meeting, nominations may be made in writing.  Written nominations must be signed by a nominator who is member in good standing as of February 5, 2019, and seconded by a member in good standing as of February 5, 2019. Written nominations and seconds must be received by the Guild by no later than February 19, 2019 .  Only the following delivery methods will be accepted: by hand, U.S. mail, overnight mail, fax, or email.  All written Unit nominations and seconds must be delivered to Local Secretary-Treasurer Vincent M. Mallozzi, 1500 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, New York, 10036.  The fax number is 212-730-1531.  Nominations and seconds delivered by email must be emailed to mallozzi@nyguild.org and kbienias@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 eight days after the nomination meeting.

(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 February 25, 2019.

(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 6 - Election Notice
An election notice and mail ballot will be mailed to all Guild members twenty-one days before the due date for the return of ballots.

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.

Section 8 - Voter Eligibility
All Unit members in good standing as of February 5, 2019, may vote in their Unit 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 February 27, 2019.  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 1:00 p.m. on March 25, 2019.

(c) The ballots shall be collected at the AAA Post Office box by 1:00 p.m. on March 25, 2019. 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.

(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: “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 - Unit 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 seven (7) days after the ballot count at 7:30 p.m.  Such protests should be emailed to Local Election Committee counsel at hkolko@msek.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 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 Vincent Mallozzi, Guild Secretary-Treasurer, or the Administrative Assistant, at 212-575-1580, to schedule an appointment.

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 e-mail 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 e-mails to the personal e-mail 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 e-mail 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 her own observer.

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

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

Section 17 - Retention of AAA
The Committee may retain the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) to help with the mailing and counting of unit election ballots.

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