Elections for Guild Sector
in CWA Upcoming

Guild members throughout North America will have an opportunity to choose their representatives to the union’s executive council in balloting later this month.

The officers to be elected to the board include five at-large vice presidents and the vice president for the Great Lakes region.

Buffalo Newspaper Guild members will cast their ballots at the contract ratification meeting scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 28.

Members of the 1997 convention delegation had an opportunity to meet and talk to most of the candidates involved in the race, and they offer their endorsements for the following candidates:

Region 3 Vice President: Jane Snow

Snow has been a Guild activist for over a decade, leading a strong local representing workers at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she works as a food editor. Snow was elected to her first term on the board in 1995, with great support from local members following her visit to The Buffalo News. Throughout her term, she has been a strong advocate for locals in the Great Lakes region. It was through her efforts that one of two mobilizing seminars conducted by the international was held in our region, allowing members to participate at very little expense to their locals.

Snow is running against Tom Schram, a locked-out copy editor from the Detroit Free Press who has worked as publisher of the Detroit Sunday Journal.

At-Large Vice Presidents: Connie Knox, Percy Hatfield, Lesley Phillips and Beverlyann Morris

At-large vice presidents are elected to serve the membership as a whole, and the Buffalo convention delegation believes the combination of Connie Knox, Percy Hatfield, Lesley Phillips and Beverlyann Morris best represents the diversity of membership found throughout the Guild.

Knox works as a features editor at the Baltimore Sun and serves as president of the Washington-Baltimore local. She has served three terms on the board, and has always sought the opinion of Buffalo leaders before making decisions at the international level. She has also been available through bargaining at The Buffalo News to discuss strategy, share experiences and offer advice.

Percy Hatfield is the only Canadian on the board, and also the only member involved in broadcast journalism. He has been a Guild activist for over 20 years, serving as an officer of the Canadian Media Guild and the Canadian District Council. Convention delegates have seen the importance of creating a forum for Canadian representation, and Percy Hatfield has been the unanimous choice of Canadians for that position. The local delegation supports his election to a second term.

Lesley Phillips is an artist and page designer at the Boston Herald. She is seeking her second term on the board, and pledges to continue her advocacy of Guild efforts to expand its traditional jurisdiction into electronic publications. She brings first-hand experience of technological changes, downsizing and jurisdictional challenges to the board.

Beverlyann Morris is running for her first term on the board. She is a bookkeeper at the Toledo Blade. In addition to serving as president of the Toledo local, Morris is also treasurer of the Great Lakes District Council. Morris has been a strong advocate for democratic principles and fair elections. She won the district’s treasurer slot after successfully challenging the election conduct in the last round of voting. The challenge resulted in three of the four officers being replaced. Morris also has been a voice for the commercial department members - a voice that needs to be heard on the international level.