YOU VOTED YES
Dear members:
This afternoon, Global Election Services conducted the official vote count for our dues referendum in our Times Square office.
Out of 1,828 ballots received, 1,229 were YES votes and 599 were NO.
These results mean our union will continue to be strong enough for the fights ahead – negotiating new or successor agreements, enforcing current contracts and building power in our ranks to secure better working conditions.
Your vote to make permanent our current dues rate of 1.75% will ensure our union remains strong for future generations of journalists and workers we represent.
We are proud that our union came together in this democratic process, regardless of how you voted, and ultimately decided to invest in the future of our union.
As always our doors are open to all of our members and we are here to discuss any and all questions you have.
In solidarity,
Susan DeCarava, president of the NewsGuild of New York
Anthony Napoli, treasurer
Our Local, the NewsGuild of New York, has become a stronger union over the last three years. We’ve won 27 contracts that set a new standard for our industry, grown our membership by 28% and proven to employers that we’re not afraid to do what it takes — including striking — to fight for our jobs. We also know that the fights ahead are only getting more difficult, and we need to make sure that we have the resources to hold management accountable and build a better future for workers in our industry.
This is why we, the elected membership of the NYGuild’s Executive Committee, are asking that you vote yes on an upcoming referendum to maintain our current dues rate, 1.75%, on a permanent basis.
A “yes” vote will keep our revenue stable and show management our union will stay in fighting shape for years to come.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Voting, Timeline, & Replacement Ballots
The vote will be conducted by mail ballot. Ballots shall be mailed to all eligible voters on May 29, 2024. Ballots shall be due back by 9 AM EST, June 26, 2024. Ballots received after June 26 will be invalid and will not be counted.
All members in good standing as of May 20, 2024 shall be eligible to vote. Pursuant to Article XIV, Section 1 of the TNG-CWA Constitution and the historical practices of the Guild, Organizing Members who have completed and submitted to the Guild a membership card by 12 PM EST on May 20, 2024 shall be eligible to vote. Organizing Members are Guild members employed in units that have been certified but are not yet working under a collective bargaining agreement.
Eligible voters must request a replacement ballot between June 7, 2024 and no later than 12 PM EST on June 14, 2024. Instructions on requesting a replacement ballot and for members not receiving a ballot shall be posted on the union website by June 3 and shall remain on the union website through June 14. After June 6, you can contact Global Election Services to update or request a replacement ballot. (Phone: 1-877-455-9367, E-mail: helpdesk@voteges.com)
In order to pass, the referendum needs simple majority support from voting members. The Guild will inform members of the results immediately after the vote is tallied.
The timeline is as follows:
May 20, 2024: Last day to become a member in good standing for voting eligibility
May 29, 2024: Ballots will be mailed to each member’s address on file with the Guild
June 14, 2024: Replacement ballot request deadline (must be received no later than 12pm EST).
June 25, 2024: Ballots may be deposited in a secure drop box in the Guild Office (1500 Broadway, Suite 900 [9th floor]) between 10am – 5pm. (details below)
June 26, 2024: Mailed ballots must be received by 9am EST by Global Election Services.
June 26, 2024: Ballots may be deposited in a secure drop box in the Guild Office (1500 Broadway, Suite 900 [9th floor]) between 10am – 2pm EST. (details below)
June 26, 2024: Ballots will be counted shortly after 2pm EST.
Update 6/25
Monday evening, a member asked that the Local Election Committee “extend the deadline for arrival so all ballots cast in good faith can be counted.”
The Committee declines to grant that request.
Instructions for Dropping Off a Ballot at the NYGuild Office
From a June 24 communication from the Local Election Committee:
The Election Committee shall maintain a secure ballot box(s) at the Guild’s office, at 1500 Broadway, New York, New York, 9th Floor. A member may deposit their ballots in that box between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on June 25, 2024, and in a secure ballot box between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on June 26, 2024. A representative of the Committee shall be with the box(s) throughout those times, and the Committee shall secure the box(s) until it is handed over to GES on June 26, shortly after 2 p.m. A member may only deposit their own ballot in the box.
It appears that, in at least some instances, members who asked for a replacement ballot before the June 14, 2024 noon deadline for making such a request had not received a replacement ballot as of June 22, 2024. It will be difficult for a member who has not received a replacement ballot as of June 22, 2024 to have their ballot be counted if the member receives a ballot after June 22, 2024 and mails the ballot in, as the rules set by the Committee require ballots to be received by June 26 to be counted.
To accommodate members who wish to vote but, for whatever reason, have not yet mailed back their ballots, the Committee issues this clarification to allow members to hand deliver their ballots to the secure ballot box at the Guild's office, as laid out above.
Ballots received in that box during these time frames shall be processed like all other ballots, subject to any input from GES. Those ballots should be filled out and completed in the manner indicated on the sample ballot election instructions.
Instructions to drop off your ballot on either June 25 or June 26:
- Please email info@nyguild.org and cc: anapoli@nyguild.org; and/or call 212-575-1580. This is to be added to our guest list at the security desk in the lobby.
- Our address is 1500 Broadway, Suite 900 (9th floor). Go to the security desk, let them know you are heading to the Guild office and they will check the list. If you aren’t on the list, please call the above phone number and let them know you are here.
Instruction For Requesting a Replacement Ballot:
Members who have not received a ballot by June 7 should contact Global Election Services by phone at: 877-455-9367 or by email at: helpdesk@voteges.com no later than 12 PM EST on June 14, 2024.
Each member must call GES personally and provide their name, Member ID and a callback phone number. Do not call the union office for ballot requests.
Your Member ID number is on your union card. If you cannot locate your Member ID, call the Local at 212-575-1580 or email Tim Try at the Guild's membership office.
Member Testimonials
Quick Key Guide:
Unit = Us! A group of members who have organized to join our union, working for the same employer
Local/Guild = Also Us! The NewsGuild of New York
International/TNG-CWA = Us Too! Our parent union, The NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America
Executive Committee = All of Us! The leadership body of our Local
If you vote yes, you are approving making permanent the dues rate you have been paying the last three years, 1.75%.
If the membership approves this referendum, nothing will change. We are already paying 1.75% today. We will continue to do so.
Three years ago, the Executive Committee, which is made up of democratically elected members from across our union, recommended a permanent dues increase to address our deficit spending due to our rapidly growing union and better build and maintain the resources necessary to be a strong union. Members requested that the dues increase be temporary for a three-year period. The EC ultimately accepted that proposal with the caveat that we would revisit our financial situation at the end of that period. That temporary increase is set to expire on September 30, 2024. A dues working group, made up of members from shops across our union, discussed making the rate permanent as well as alternatives. The members of the EC listened to all the options and then approved by a vote of 40-3-3 to adopt the working group’s majority recommendation to make permanent the current 1.75%.
Our current dues rate of 1.75% has partially accomplished what it was intended to do: it has lifted our union out of deficit spending while ensuring we are able to bargain strong first and successor contracts, support job actions and strikes, manage internal and new organizing campaigns and keep our union growing and strong. However, we need to rebuild our reserves in order to remain fiscally strong and assured of our ability to continue to best represent and defend our members, and be prepared for the fights ahead.
Our Executive Committee created a Dues Working Group, composed of both leaders and rank-and-file members, which was tasked with examining this question. After analyzing the Guild’s finances and our future forecasts, they determined 1.75% was an appropriate rate moving forward to achieve the goals of our union. The majority of Dues Working Group members recommended that 1.75% become a permanent rate, and the Executive Committee voted overwhelmingly to accept the recommendation and bring it to members for a vote. Based on the financial analysis, achieving our goals will be a multi-year process, and passing another temporary increase would mean unnecessarily kicking the can down the road. Additionally, without a vote to permanently change the dues rate, the default rate will remain the minimum 1.3846% as put forth in the NewsGuild constitution, a rate that our financial analysis shows would put us back in deficit spending and drain our emergency fund.
Nope! Our union has many built-in structures to ensure we are democratic and responsive to our members. The executive committee has the ability to call for a referendum on dues at any point, like it did three years ago. Our bylaws also allow members to call for a referendum by collecting signatures on a petition from at least 10 percent of local membership.
The Executive Committee closely monitors spending, while also making sure not to reduce the support and resources available to members. We cut legal spending by about 30 percent between the ’21-’22 and ’22-’23 fiscal years and cut total expenses by about 3 percent, during a time of extreme inflation. The largest chunk of expenses is for what we call member servicing, which includes legal expenses, salaries and benefits for the local staff who support our work, arbitration fees, etc. We also did not fill three staff positions, adding to the savings. (Other large expenses are outside of the local’s control, including CWA per capita payments (dues we pay to our parent union, CWA), rent and property taxes.) The EC acted in its capacity as the leadership body for this union by determining a reserve amount that would enable us to weather all kinds of fights with management and unexpected challenges, like shop closures.
Every budget and audit is reviewed and voted on by our EC, which includes democratically elected representatives from all of our units. These are presented during our monthly executive committee meetings, which we encourage members to attend by sending out a notice when finances will be discussed. We present a detailed financial report at our biannual membership meetings, and Anthony Napoli, the treasurer for the NY Guild, also holds monthly office hours.
Members should take pride in the democratic structures of our union, and participate in them! Voting yes on our current dues rate shows that we are all invested in strengthening our union for years to come, and sends a strong message to our employers that our strength has not wavered. It will also signal to employers that we are prepared for the fights to come.
The choice on how to vote is and always has been up to you, our members. We as the EC are strongly recommending that you vote yes.
When the Local Emergency Fund falls below $500,000, monthly dues shall be increased by 1% of a member's basic weekly salary (shift differential included). This additional 1% shall be deposited in the Local Emergency Fund.
Our dues have been spent on ensuring our union is as strong as it can possibly be. We have eliminated deficit spending, and are now in a position to rebuild our reserves. We’ve won 27 contracts – including first contracts like Condé Union’s. Combined, the Condé shops represent the second largest membership at the NY Guild. These contracts have set new standards for our industry. Along with that we’ve boosted our membership through organizing by nearly 27%.
1.75% was determined to be the appropriate dues rate by the Dues Working Group. Our dues are just as much as an investment in our financial, professional and personal health as any other expenditure, and they provide just as much value to us.
Dues pay for all of the work our union does on our behalf – bargaining and enforcing contracts, organizing new members, training and membership development, staff salaries and benefits, office space, legal support and services, etc. All of this costs money. Dues allow us to fight increasingly aggressive management teams that have recently engaged in illegal layoffs, driven members to strike with their intransigence at bargaining tables, forced the filing of many grievances and Unfair Labor Practice charges, and more. We are going to need all the resources we can muster to continue to defend our jobs, our union and our industry.
Do you have questions? We are here to help!
* Office hours: Come ask leaders any questions you have on why you should vote yes. 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 5 and Wednesday, June 12. Register here
* Town hall: Learn more about this important dues referendum: 7 to 8:30 p.m. June 11; Register here
RULES FOR THE 2024 NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK DUES INCREASE REFERENDUM
Pursuant to Article V Section 5 of the Bylaws of the NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003, CWA,
AFL-CIO (the “Guild”), the Local Election Committee adopts the following rules for the
referendum:
1. SCHEDULE:
a. Eligibility cutoff shall be May 20, 2024. All members in good standing as of May 20,
2024 shall be eligible to vote.
b. Ballots shall be mailed on May 29, 2024.
c. Members may request a replacement ballot between noon on June 7, 2024 and noon on
June 14, 2024. Instructions on requesting a replacement ballot and for members not receiving
a ballot shall be posted on the union website by May [ ] 2024.
c. Ballots shall be due on June 26, 2024. Ballots received after June 26, 2024 shall not
be counted and shall not be valid.
d. Ballots shall be counted on June 26, 2024.
e. The referendum shall be conducted by mail ballot.
2. BALLOT LANGUAGE:
DO YOU APPROVE THE FOLLOWING CHANGE AS RECOMMENDED BY THE NY
GUILD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, TO SECURE THE FUTURE OF THE UNION
- Permanently increase the dues rate from 1.3846% to 1.75%
For more information regarding these proposed changes, please go to: nyguild.org/guild-strong
3. VOTING INSTRUCTIONS:
a. Write nothing on the ballot other than the voting mark.
b. Ballots with any identifying information on them - the person’s name, initials, or any
other identifying information - will be voided.
c. Other voting instructions approved of by the Local Election Committee will be
included with the ballot. Ballots must be mailed and marked in conformity with the voting
instructions accompanying the ballot.
4. VOTE COUNT:
Votes will be counted under the supervision of the Local Election Committee by Global
Election Services. The election shall be decided by a majority of valid ballots cast. The Local
Election Committee shall, in writing, certify the referendum results and immediately send the
results and certification to the Local Secretary-Treasurer.
5. ELIGIBILITY DISPUTES:
The Local Election Committee shall determine all voter eligibility disputes.
6. POST-REFERENDUM PROTESTS:
Any member wishing to file a post-referendum protest must submit it in writing to the
Local Election Committee by no later than midnight, July 9, 2024. Protests must be submitted
via email to: hkolko@cwsny.com Appeals from decisions of the Local Election Committee on
post-referendum protests shall be made to the Local Executive Committee, in writing, by no
later than midnight, July 19, 2024. Such appeals must be submitted via email to:
assistant@nyguild.org
7. NOTIFICATION OF MEMBERSHIP:
The Guild shall notify the membership of the results of the referendum in is newsletter
and on its website.
8. PRESERVATION OF RECORDS:
The Guild shall preserve records of the referendum for one year.
9. POSTING OF THESE RULES
The Guild shall post these rules on its website by no later than midnight, May 15, 2024.