Are you the next president or other officer?
Hello Guild Siblings:
As I made clear when I took the oath of office for my eighth term as Guild president in January, this year was going to be my last leading this remarkable group.
It is now time, my friends, to prepare to elect not only your next president but also the rest of the officers of the executive board. Those posts and the people currently serving in them are:
1st Vice President – Melanie Burney
2nd Vice President – Michaelle Bond
3rd Vice President – currently vacant
Treasurer – Donna Stokes
Secretary – Torin Sweeney
Inquirer Unit Chair – Patricia Madej
Inquirer Unit 1st Chair – Teresa Clinton
With the exception of me, they all have expressed an interest in continuing to serve, which they have all done generously and with the well-being of all of you at the forefront of their efforts.
We are, however, a Democratic organization. One that is not just the leaders, but each and every one of you. That is our true power.
As a Democratic group, we welcome all who are interested in serving so consider this a call for anyone who wants to run for election. Nominations must be made at our Oct. 1 general membership meeting, held at noon that day on Zoom.
Anyone who wants to run for election must have someone nominate them. You can only be nominated for one office.
If we have multiple candidates for a position, our bylaws call for an election conducted by mail.
The details of the process can be found under section VI of our bylaws on the Guild website here.
In the event only one person is nominated for an office, and no petition to nominate another candidate has been received within five working days, no election needs to be held for that office, and the member who has been nominated will be deemed elected.
(Following the Oct. 1 nomination meeting, other candidates can be nominated and placed on the ballot ONLY BY petition of 5% of the general membership.)
Some general important details about serving:
The posts are one-year terms.
The president is paid about $16,000 a year.
The rest of the board members are paid a stipend of $1,000 at the end of the year if they have attended at least 10 meetings. The stipend is prorated for attendance less than that.
The Guild executive board meets once a month over Zoom. And it is also expected to be present for general membership meetings, which are held quarterly on Zoom.
If you have questions about any of this, feel free to reach out to your shop stewards. If they don’t have answers, they know who to ask to get them.
In closing, there are few things more fulfilling than working for the betterment of your colleagues.
Serving on this board for about 25 years has been my privilege and so gratifying. As I head for retirement from The Inquirer at the end of the year, I look forward to cheering on future leaders and doing what I can to continue to support all of you.
At The Inquirer, where we are about to head into the third year of a three-year contract on Sept. 1 (and will get a raise as a result!), the next board will face bargaining another contract and likely face big decisions on AI.
In other words, these posts are not to be taken lightly. This is serious, impactful work that requires leaders willing to give it the priority it deserves. Our members are worth it.
In solidarity and great hope for the days ahead for the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia,
Diane
(P.S. AI WAS NOT USED FOR ONE WORD OF THIS!)
