Vice Chair DiCesare Expressive
About His New Role

by Bob DiCesare
Editorial Vice Chair, Sports & Nightside

"I see you're an editorial vice chair for the Guild," said a colleague. "What's that all about?"

"Well," I responded, "I got to see sports columnist Jerry Sullivan in action during his tenure as a vice chair. You'd never know this was a family newspaper if you heard Sully spew invectives during meetings with newsroom management. I mean, you heard him once and you just knew he was a direct descendant of bare-knuckles boxing great John L. Sullivan.

"Anyway, I thought that if vice chairs have immunity to address management with (pauses to consult thesaurus) vituperation regarding union matters, who wouldn't want to job?

"So when the Guild created a new vice-chair position and asked me if I'd accept a nomination, I said, 'You @(%$@# bet I would!!!"

But, truth is, the position requires so much more than witty use of gutter vocabulary. A vice chair is there to help members interpret the contract. A vice chair is there to help settle disputes that arise between Guild members and management. A vice chair is there for just about anything.

But, most importantly, a vice chair is there.

The idea to add more Editorial vice chairs came in response to increasing assaults on our contract. Raising the number of VCs to three broadens our presence in the newsroom and gives us representation on both the day and night shifts.

Think of your vice chairs as stewards without boundaries. And make use of them.