The executive committee of the News Media Guild endorses John Hill for TNG’s Region 1 vice president. John doesn’t merely serve on committees while expecting others to do the heavy lifting. He has ideas, builds consensus and  develops a team to carry out the plan.

John became the leader of the Providence local when its very existence was at stake. The local president had died in the midst of a four-year contract fight. John united a fractured membership and led the members to a good contract settlement.

In 2008-2009, John was a calming influence in Providence and Worcester as many people, including his wife, were laid off.

He also led the local through mergers with the Woonsocket and Pawtucket locals, helping them achieve bargaining power that could have been lost.

For all these reasons and many more, we endorse John Hill for vice president in TNG Region 1.

—The Executive Committee of the News Media Guild: Tony Winton, Martha Waggoner, John Braunreiter, Don Ryan, Mike Mazzo, David Melendy, Vin Cherwoo

I offer my support wholeheartedly to Carl Younger for Region One VP.

As the incumbent vice president, I am keenly aware of what the position requires. Carl is a genuine, independent-thinking, compassionate human being who has what it takes to help the Guild and the labor movement as a whole to succeed. It will require all of us working together for the greater good. This is what Carl does. Carl’s work in the labor movement has been exemplary and will continue to be.

It would be an honor to have him succeed me and I hope you will elect Carl as the Vice President of Region One.

I would like to announce my support of John Hill from Providence for Region 1, Vice President of TNG-CWA Sector Executive Board.

I have known John for many years and feel that he is a hard worker and fair minded person who would bring to the board the good representation that Region I deserves. I don’t announce my support of John in a vacuum but having served in the position of Region 1 Vice President for 11 years, I feel more than qualified to know what type of person that would represent the membership well.

Like myself I believe John would bring an independent voice to the board and would communicate with the locals to insure fair and accurate representation of the membership. I ask that you please join me in supporting John Hill for Region 1, Vice President.

I cannot tell a lie; Carl is my friend and I’m supporting him. I’m also asking everyone who reads this to support him.

Carl will bring to the Region 1, VP job attributes which have profoundly impressed me. He’s articulate, intelligent, thoughtful and has a great sense of humor—but I’m not suggesting you date him, I’m asking you to vote for him. His passion for the Guild, coupled with his vision for its survival and success, are inspiring. He’s not running against anyone or anything. He’s running because he believes he can make a difference, and I share that belief.

Carl’s message of inclusion goes far beyond the warm fuzzy feeling the word implies. Inclusion, he tells me, is the precursor for unity and unity is the precursor for a strong and successful Guild. He believes the current leadership of the Guild knows that and is working hard to make it happen. He believes he has something to contribute and wants a chance to try. Give him your support – for your sake.

The NewGuild slate of Lunzer, Rothman and Waggoner proudly endorsed John Hill for VP from Region 1 on Dec. 18th and has never wavered in that decision. John understands the future of news organizations and what it will take to improve the lives of media workers. As president of the Providence Newspaper Guild, he has dealt with both mergers and layoffs with a calmness that exemplifies leadership.

I would like to take this opportunity to proudly endorse Carl Younger for Region 1 V.P.

As President of The Greater Boston Newspaper Guild, I have dealt with Carl for many years on a professional and personal level. His commitment to the Guild is equaled only by his compassion for its members and the struggles we face.

Carl will be trying to fill the large shoes of his predecessors, but I’m very confident he will grow into them quickly.

The Executive Committee of the Providence Newspaper Guild has voted unanimously to endorse John Hill for Region One vice president.

John has been president of the Providence Guild since 2003. In that time, he led the union toward the resolution of a years-long contract standoff, which ended with one of the best contracts in the newspaper industry. He brokered the union’s absorption of bargaining units at two additional newspapers. In recent contract negotiations for the Providence Journal unit, John led a bargaining team that beat back efforts to cut wages and retooled the company’s health-plan proposal so that it did not unduly burden our members.

John knows how to be both tough and conciliatory, always working for reasonable solutions. Under his leadership, we’ve favorably resolved nearly every conflict with management—without resorting to grievances. Always ready to listen, John has been a unifying force for our local (which can be as argumentative and fractious as any). As a sign of the unity and engagement he’s achieved, the recent Providence contract vote drew 82% of unit members; the contract was approved by a margin of 3 to 1.

The executive committee’s endorsement of John was not merely unanimous—it was enthusiastic. John Hill provides the kind of steadfast, level-headed leadership the Guild needs in these challenging times.

Carl Younger, candidate for Region One Vice President, has served in various capacities within our local from the Governing Board to the Executive Committee and on the International level for the Human Rights and Equity Committee, currently as the committee chair. Carl has been recognized for his dedicated work, benefiting not only TNG members, but members of our community as well. His awards and scholarships speak not only to his accomplishments, but to his strong leadership.

I am voting for Carl Younger for Region One Vice President because Carl is qualified and has the experience for the position, but I am also voting for Carl because of who he is as a person. Carl is a true gentleman; kind, gracious and humble. He is an individual of high integrity and character. His extensive historical knowledge of unionism dovetails well with his experience and affords him the ability to better anticipate and manage the many issues leaders must find resolutions to.

In my six years of working with Carl I have witnessed first-hand his passion for the Guild and for the members he serves. Best of luck to you Carl!

Jill Nelson’s obituary of David Hardy at www.theroot.com (linked from The Newspaper Guild’s website) highlights the courageous legal battle by a small group of African-American reporters against the mighty New York Daily News. Their lawsuit, in which Hardy was the lead plaintiff, resulted in a 1987 jury verdict that required America’s largest-circulation newspaper to aggressively hire and promote black journalists. It also resulted in a record $3.1 million in negotiated damages.

What Nelson did not mention was the role the case played in the development of an enduring diversity program at The Newspaper Guild-CWA.

Amid some controversy and after much debate, TNG had agreed to provide some financial assistance (in the form of a non-interest-bearing loan) to Hardy and his three fellow plaintiffs. The negotiated settlement in the case included reimbursement for legal fees. Hence, more than $50,000 contributed by TNG (as well as, I believe, some locals and individual members) was returned to the union. Thanks to the urging of then-TNG Vice President Richard Peery and Human Rights Coordinator Anna Padia, the money was set aside in an anti-discrimination fund to assist other Guild members who were victims of corporate discrimination and/or racism.

Eventually TNG’s anti-discrimination fund became the seed money that in 2006 helped launch TNG’s Human Rights and Equity Committee, which includes representatives from each region of the United States and Canada.   The committee works to increase participation in the union by members of equity-seeking groups, including racial minorities; gay, lesbian and transsexual members; and members with disabilities. The committee also assists the Guild’s efforts to promote and preserve diversity and equal opportunity in the news industry, and it supports other organizations that share these goals.

Hardy was fired by the Daily News in 1993, when publisher Mortimer Zuckerman took over and abruptly and cruelly eliminated 34% of the Guild-covered jobs at the paper.

Both the newspaper industry and the union that represents its journalists have shrunk considerably more since then. But Dave Hardy’s legacy and vision live on through TNG’s Human Rights and Equity Committee.

Past President, TNG-CWA