October 31, 2007

 

Dona Fowler, editor of ‘frontpage’

and longest-serving Rep., dies at 67

 

The New York Guild is saddened to announce the death of Dona Fowler, who edited the “frontpage” publication and led negotiations on more than 50 contracts in a 32-year career that made her the Local’s longest-serving staff representative. She was 67.

 

Fowler, who retired just two months ago, died of congestive heart failure Tuesday night. She had been hospitalized for nine days earlier this month after suffering a stroke, but was released last week.

 

During much of her career, she represented the employees of El Diario, Standard & Poor’s, Consumers Union and Scholastic, where she edited two science magazines and an entertainment section while serving as Guild unit chairperson until she joined the Local as a staff representative on March 10, 1975. She also represented Guild members at The New York Times and Newsweek, among other units. Fowler also organized the now defunct Spanish language Noticias del Mundo.

 

As “frontpage” editor, Fowler chronicled a page of New York labor history through several turbulent chapters in the news business. She won 19 awards for excellence in labor journalism, including three top honors from the Metro Labor Press Council for her story on the triumphant return to work of Daily News employees at the end of the 1990-91 strike against the paper. In 1986, her story on asbestos contamination at WPIX won the International Labor Communications Association’s First Award for Unique Performance.

 

“Dona was as beloved by the employees she represented as she was feared by the employers she faced,” said New York Guild President Bill O’Meara. “She was passionate about fighting for workers’ rights and about writing about their struggles. Her legacy is a great inspiration for all of us and we’ll miss her terribly.”

 

Born November 4, 1939, Fowler, a California native, majored in English at the University of California, Berkeley. She worked her way through college in the university’s library and received five undergraduate scholarships, including an Alumni Scholarship, the most prestigious awarded by the school. She also did graduate work at Christ Church, Oxford University.

 

After college, she held a handful of jobs in publishing before joining Scholastic in 1967.

 

She is survived by a brother in California. A memorial service at the Guild will be scheduled soon. An announcement will be made when arrangements are complete.

 

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10/31/07