RULES FOR NOMINATION AND ELECTION TO FILL VACANCY IN POSITION OF UNIT SECRETARY,
NEW YORK TIMES UNIT NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK

ADOPTED BY THE LOCAL ELECTION COMMITTEE, JUNE 7, 2017

The nomination and election to fill a vacancy in the position of Unit Secretary, New York Times Unit, shall be conducted in accordance with the Bylaws of the NewsGuild of New York, Federal Law, and these rules adopted by the Local Election Committee on June 7, 2017.  

  1. Officers to be elected:  Unit Secretary, New York Times unit.
  2. Election Date:  In the event of a contest, an election shall be held entirely by mail among members of the New York Times unit, with results to be tallied on July 18, 2017.  The following position shall be voted upon: Secretary, New York Times unit.
  3. Term of Office:  The member shall be elected to fulfill the remainder of the current term, ending October 31, 2019.
  4. Nominations: 

(a)  A nomination meeting shall be held on June 16, 2017.  Notice of the date, time, and location of that meeting shall be posted on the local website, in shop papers e-mailed to the Times unit membership, and on the union bulletin boards at the employer five days before the meeting date.

(b)  To be nominated, a unit member must be in good standing as of June 1, 2017.  To be nominated, a unit member must be nominated by a member who was in good standing as of June 1, 2017.  To be nominated, a unit member’s nomination must receive a second from one unit member in good standing as of June 1, 2017.  Self-nomination is permitted.

(c)  Nominations may be made at the nominations meeting, and in writing.  Written nominations must be signed by a nominator who is a member in good standing as of June 1, 2017, and seconded by a member in good standing as of June 1, 2017. Written nominations and seconds must be received by the Guild by no later than June 19, 2017.  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 Election Committee Counsel Hanan B. Kolko, 1350 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, New York, 10018.  The fax number is 212-239-1311.  Nominations and seconds delivered by email must be emailed to hkolko@msek.com.

(d)  For all nominations, the nominator or his 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 June 19, 2017. 

(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 June 20, 2017.

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

  1. Local Election Committee:  The election in every unit shall be supervised by the Local Election Committee.  No candidate for Unit office may serve on the Local Election Committee. 
  2. Election Notice:  An election notice and mail ballot will be mailed to all Guild members eighteen days before the due date for the return of ballots. 
  3. 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.

  1. Voter Eligibility:  All Unit members in good standing as of June 1, 2017 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.  
  2. Voting Procedure and Ballot Count:

a)  The election will be conducted by mail ballot.

b)  The American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), under the supervision of the Local Election Committee, shall mail ballot packages to all members by no later than June 29, 2017.  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 July 20, 2017.

c)  The ballots shall be collected at the AAA Post Office box by 1:00 p.m. on July 20, 2017. 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.

  1. 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 hkolko@msek.com. 
  2. 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.
  3. 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 Anne Marie Dolan, Administrative Assistant, at 212-575-1580, to schedule an appointment. 
  4. 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.
  5. 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. 
  6. Preservation of Records:  The Guild will preserve records of all Unit elections for one year.
  7. 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. 
  8. Retention of AAA:  The Committee may retain the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) to help with the mailing and counting of unit election ballots.