FOR MEMBERS ONLY: NewsGuild of New York Executive Committee Elections

02/05/2018

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

The nomination and election of officers shall be conducted in accordance with the Bylaws of The NewsGuild of New York, as amended April 30, 2015, Federal Law, and rules adopted by the Local Election Committee.

Section 1 - Election Dates: In the event of a contest, Local elections shall be held entirely by mail ballot in all shops in the United States, with the results to be tallied on April 4, 2018. The following positions shall be voted upon: Third Vice President, and three Executive Committee members.

Section 2 -Term of Office: Local officers shall be elected to finish three-year term that concludes January, 1, 2020.

Section 3-Nomination:

A nomination meeting will be held on February 19, 2018 at the Guild office. Notice of the date, time, and location of that meeting shall be in writing, and distributed via email to members fifteen days before the meeting date. Notice of the date, time, and location of that meeting shall be posted on the Guild website starting twenty days before the meeting, and on union bulletin boards at employer work sites.

  1. Pursuant to Article XV(4)(d) of the CWA Constitution and Article V(2) of the Guild Bylaws, only Guild members in good standing shall be eligible to nominate, second, vote, run, or hold elective office. To nominate, second, be nominated, and/or run for office, a member must be in good standing as of February 1, 2018. Slate nominations are permitted. Self-nomination is permitted.
  2. 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 February 1, 2018, and seconded by a member in good standing as of February 1, 2018. Written nominations and seconds must be received by the Guild by no later than February 26, 2018. Only the following delivery methods will be accepted: by hand, U.S. mail, overnight mail, fax, or email. All written nominations must be delivered to Local Election Committee Counsel Hanan 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 Hanan Kolko .
  3. All nominations must include an email address and telephone number where the nominated candidate can be reached. For nominations made at the nomination meeting, the nominator or his designee must provide Local Election Committee Counsel Hanan Kolko with an email address and telephone number where the nominated candidate can be reached, and do so by no later than forty eight hours after the meeting. For nominations made in writing, the nominator or his designee must provide Local Election Committee Counsel Hanan Kolko with an email address and telephone number where the nominated candidate can be reached along with the nomination.
  4. 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 no later than February 28, 2018 of their willingness to run. Confirmations are to be delivered in the same manner and to the same addresses as written nominations and seconds.
  5. 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.

Section 4- Election Notice: An election notice and mail ballot will be mailed to all Guild members no later than March 13, 2018.

Section 5 - 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 either an entire slate of candidates with one mark in the appropriate box above the slate, or for individual candidates, by marking boxes to the left of each candidate's name.
  2. In designing the ballot, the Committee will use the following principles: (1) slates listed before non slate candidates, (2) slates with more members listed before slates with fewer members, (3) where slates have equal number of members, slate headed by incumbent listed ahead of slate headed by non-incumbent, (4) where slates have equal number of members, slate headed by incumbent running for different office listed ahead of slate headed by non-incumbent, (5) where slates have equal numbers and neither is headed by incumbent, select ballot position by alphabetical order of last name of top candidate, (6) Non-slate candidates shall be listed in alphabetical order of their last names.

Section 6 - Voter Eligibility: All members in good standing as of February 1, 2018 are eligible to vote in Guild elections. Members reporting that they have not received a ballot will be provided with instructions on how to obtain a duplicate ballot from the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), which the Guild shall publicize.

 

Section 7 - Voting Procedure and Ballot Count:

 

  1. The election will be conducted by mail ballot.
  2. The AAA, under the supervision of the Local Election Committee, shall mail ballot packages to all members by no later than March 13, 2018. 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 April 4, 2018.
  3. The ballots shall be collected at the AAA Post Office box by 1:00 p.m. on April 4, 2018. 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.
  4. AAA will tally the ballots. The count will continue until completed. The Election Committee will supervise the process to insure that only ballots of eligible members are counted, using an up-to-date eligibility list.
  5. The results shall be certified by the Chairperson of the Local Election Committee and immediately sent to the Local Secretary-Treasurer.
  6. 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 01· 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 (handwritten 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  AAA Post Office Box by 1:00 p.m. on April 4, 2018 will be counted.

Section 8 - Election Disputes: Election disputes shall be decided by the Local Election Committee.

Section 9- 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 employee. 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 10 - 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 M. Mallozzi, Guild Secretary-Treasurer, at 212 575 1580, to schedule an appointment.

Section 11- 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 Automatic Mail (a mailing house) at 718 361 3091, to make arrangements for such mailings. Payment instructions and terms, prices, and other instructions and requirements will be set and provided by Automatic Mail.

Section 12 - 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 13 - Preservation of Records: The Guild will preserve records of the election for one year.

Section 14-  Notification of Membership:  The Guild will notify the membership of the results of the election in its newsletter, and on its website.

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