Rules for Nomination, Election of Local Officers

Rules for Nomination and Election of Local Officers,
THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK

(ADOPTED BY THE LOCAL ELECTION COMMITTEE, August 25, 2022)

The nomination and election to fill the positions of President, Secretary, Treasurer, Local Chairperson, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Third Vice President,  and six Vice Chairs   of the NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003, The NewsGuild-CWA, AFL-CIO CLC (the “Local” or “Guild”)  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 August 25, 2022.  

SECTION 1 - Officers to be elected:  President, Secretary, Treasurer, Local Chairperson, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Third Vice President, and six Vice Chairs of the Local.    

 

SECTION 2 - Election Date: In the event of a contest, an election shall be held entirely by mail among members of the Local, with results to be tallied on November 18, 2022.

 

SECTION 3 - Term of Office: The term of office for the offices of  the positions of   President, Secretary, Treasurer, Local Chairperson, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Third Vice President, and six Vice Chairs shall be three years, starting on January 2, 2023 and continuing  through January 1, 2026.

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SECTION 4 - Nominations:

1. A nomination meeting shall be held on October 6,  2022. Notice of the date, time, and location of that meeting shall be posted on the local website, in shop papers e-mailed to the Guild membership for whom the Guild has email addresses , and on the union bulletin boards at the employers and the Guild’s Twitter feed and Facebook page 15  days before the meeting date. The nomination meeting shall be conducted remotely, via Zoom.  The notice shall include details about the Zoom link and the call-in number. 
2. To be nominated, a member must be in good standing as of October 5, 2022. To be nominated, a member must be nominated by a member who was in good standing as of October 6,  2022 and seconded by a  member in good standing as of  October 6,  2022. Self-nomination is permitted.
3. Nominations may be made at the nominations meeting, and in writing. Written nominations must be signed by a nominator who is member in good standing as of October 5,  2022, and seconded by a member in good standing as of  October 6, 2022. Written nominations and seconds must be received by the Guild by no later than 11:59 p.m.  October 11, 2022.  Only the following delivery methods for written nominations and seconds   will be accepted: by email. All written nominations and seconds must be emailed  to Local Election Committee Counsel Hanan B. Kolko at the following email address: hkolko@cwsny.com.
4. For all nominations, the nominator or his or her  designee must provide Local Election Committee Counsel 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. on October 11, 2022.
5. The Local Election Committee  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 October 12, 2022.
6. If, at the close of the period for nominations, fewer than two people are nominated for the positions of  President, Secretary-Treasurer, Local Chairperson, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Third Vice President,  those people shall be declared elected without contest. If, at the close of the period for nominations, six  or fewer people are nominated for Vice Chair,  those people shall be declared elected without contest.
7. As per Article (5) of the TNG Constitution, as no member not in good standing shall be permitted to hold office or be a candidate for office, all nominated candidates must remain in good standing through the start of their term of office, if elected.

 

SECTION 5 - Local Election Committee: This election shall be supervised by the Local Election Committee. No candidate for  President, Treasurer, Secretary, Local Chairperson, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Third Vice President, or 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  October 20, 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 to the left of each candidate’s name. Slate voting shall be permitted.
2. In designing the ballot, the Local Election Committee will place candidate names in a manner chosen by the Local Election Committee consistent with the TNG Constitution, Article XI(5)(d).

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SECTION 8: Voter Eligibility: All members in good standing as of September 30, 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 Local’s website. Challenges to voter eligibility must be presented prior to opening the envelopes. 

 

SECTION 9: Voting Procedure and Ballot Count

1. The election will be conducted by mail ballot. Subject to the approval of the Local Executive Committee, the Local Election Committee may retain the Global Election Services (“GES”) to help with the mailing and counting of  election ballots. If retained, GES  shall provide services described below.
2. GES, under the supervision of the Local Election Committee, shall mail ballot packages to all members by no later than October 20, 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 GES Post Office Box by no later than 9:00 a.m. on November 18, 2022. 
3. The ballots shall be collected at the GES Post Office box by no earlier than 9:00 a.m. on November 18, 2022. At least one representative of the Election Committee, and interested candidates and/or their observers may accompany the GES personnel when they empty the GES Post Office Box.
4. GES, under the supervision of the Local Election Committee, will count 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. Candidates and their observers may be present throughout the counting process and observe the counting process, provided, however, that candidates and observers shall be required to observe all rules of decorum and procedure that may be set by the Local Election Committee. The Local Election Committee may limit the number of observers if there are more designated observers and candidates than space permits.
5. All issues regarding the intent of a voter shall be resolved by the Local Election Committee.
6. Should two return envelopes be found from the same voter (an original and a replacement) the ballot in the  original envelope shall be counted.
7. Ballots not in an official return envelope shall not be counted.
8. Ballots returned to a location other than the GES  Post Office Box shall not be counted.
9. Ballots returned without a secrecy sleeve will be counted.
10. If a ballot contains votes for more candidates for an office than there are positions to be filled by election, the ballot for that office will not be counted.
11. If more than one ballot arrives in the same mailed return envelope, even in separate secrecy sleeves, no ballot in the envelope will be counted. 
12. The results shall be tentatively certified by the Chairperson of the Local Election Committee and immediately sent to the Local Secretary-Treasurer. Absent a challenge to the election, the tentative certification shall become final ten days thereafter.
13. 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 secrecy sleeve. Do not sign or otherwise mark the smaller envelope containing the ballot. A ballot with any identifying markings will not be counted. Place the secrecy sleeve 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: Disputes regarding this election shall be decided by the Local Election Committee. All election protests and appeals of any nature must be in writing and  received by the Local Election Committee within  ten  (10)  days of the tentative certification of the results. Such protests should be emailed to Local Election Committee counsel at hkolko@cwsny.com.   The  Local Election Committee shall rule on any such challenges and shall within twenty (20) days of the tentative certification of the results make a final determination or certification.   Appeals from rulings of the Local Election Committee shall be written and  made to the Local Executive Committee, and must be received by the Local Executive Committee by no later than  within  twenty-seven (27)  days of the tentative certification of the results. . Such protests should be emailed to the Local Executive Committee, c/o hkolko@cwsny.com.  Appeals from rulings of the Local Executive Committee shall be written and  made to the membership of the Local, and must be received no later than thirty-four (34) days of the tentative certification of results.  Any member with an election protest and appeal must exhaust the remedies available within this section; however, a member who  has attempted to exhaust such remedies without obtaining a final decision within  sixty (60) days of the tentative certification of results, must,  if  that member wishes to further appeal, file an appeal in writing in compliance with Article XV(4)(b) of the Constitution of the CWA.   

 

While an election protest and/or appeal is pending, the officers certified by the Local Election Committee in its final certification shall be the elected officers of the Local.

 

SECTION 11: Campaign Procedures:  All candidates must be treated equally by the Local  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 or photograph  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 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  Jimmy Glover at Westerleigh Press.    His e-mail address is jglover@wpprinting.com.    . Payment instructions and terms, prices, and other instructions and requirements will be set and provided by .  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  917-806-3456.  His e-mail address is jp@amfax.com. . Payment instructions and terms, prices, and other instructions and requirements will be set and provided by Mr. Petallides.  

 

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/his own observer.

 

SECTION 15: Preservation of Records: The Guild will preserve records of this election for one year.

 

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

 

Section 17:  Interpretation And Application Of  These Rules:  The interpretation and application of these rules, and the resolution of  any other issues pertaining to counting ballots or election procedures, shall be made by the Local Election Committee only.