I’m going to make a bold prediction for 2014: the tide will finally begin to turn. It will turn for newspapers, which have been through the worst and will begin to see revenues climb again. It will turn for the Harper government (it already has really) which has been attacking labour, the CBC, and many other progressive voices in Canada. And most important, it will turn for economic inequality, which has become the biggest threat to this country’s future.
David Perlman, science writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, joined the Guild in 1951. On Monday, he turned 95, and is being celebrated as the Guild's oldest working member. The New York Times featured him when he was a mere 90 years old, noting that he'd been in the newspaper business since age 12, working on his junior high paper. "I'll keep working till I drop dead at my desk -- unless the paper dies first," Perlman told the Times.
A Guild protest at the grand opening of the Jersey Journal's new headquarters, where staffers haven't had a raise in five years, caught the attention of media, including the New York-based news website, Capital and Jim Romenesko's blog. "All we're looking for is for our management to sit down with us and negotiate," reporter Terrence T. McDonald told Capital. New York Guild President Bill O'Meara (pictured, right) joined members for today's events.
Tackling a subject that other locals may be thinking about, too, the St. Louis-based United Media Guild has decided to suspend its annual dinner and look at alternative ways for its far-flung membership to gather and socialize.
Janelle Hartman —
December 24, 2013— NewsGuild-CWA
The annual Freedom Fund Awards ceremony began as so many meetings of journalists do these days, acknowledging what difficult times these are for the industry. And yet, Guild President Bernie Lunzer said, “incredible journalism is still happening.” Two promising students and six gifted professionals were honored at this fall's ceremony. And many more were worthy, judges said. “All of us got this huge box that we could hardly lift filled with entries,” said Reuters journalist Deb Zabarenko, a past Guild Executive Council member who chaired the Heywood Broun Award judging panel. “I thought, ‘How are we ever going to get through this?’” she said. “Then we opened it up and it was more like a holiday package. Every one of them, whether an award winner or not, was worth reading, was worth thinking about.”
Lyrics by Vern Partlow —
December 24, 2013— NewsGuild-CWA
Pete Seeger's surprise visit to the Guild's district council meeting in Buffalo in November featured his a capella version of 'Newspapermen Meet Such Interesting People,' written around 1947 by reporter and folk singer Vern Partlow. You can find recordings by both men on YouTube and other websites. Click here for the lyrics. We'll give away the ending:
Ting-a-ling-a-ling, Newspaper Guild,
We got a free new world to build;
Meet the people, that’s a thrill,
All together, fits the bill.
Oh, a newspaperman meets such interesting people;
It’s wonderful to represent the guild.
Janelle Hartman —
December 24, 2013— NewsGuild-CWA
Honest to a fault. Opinionated but usually right. Cantankerous but kind. Irascible but respectful. A Republican who fought for workers’ rights. A smart, sharp, funny big kid at heart who loved Oreos and wore red slippers at work. To put it mildly, say those who knew and loved him, David Mulcahy was a character. “We used to tease that, ‘When God made you, he broke the mold,’” said his close friend and Standard & Poor’s colleague Lurea (Lori) Van Horne-Caloia. “He was a class act, he really was.” The career journalist and former vice president at-large of the Guild died at age 90 on Oct. 2 at his Newtown, Pa., home. His wife, Lois, “my bride,” as he called her for nearly 56 years, was at his side.
TNG-CWA is proud to represent ASL video relay service interpreters who are dedicated to ensuring that members of the deaf community can communicate effectively with the hearing world. Learn more about what motivates them and the obstacles, including injuries from overwork, that threaten message accuracy.
Over and over at a the latest bargaining session between Kaplan and English as a second language teachers represented by the New York Guild, the company said 'no' to the marginal improvements in working conditions the union is seeking. "On issues big and small, the answers were pretty much the same, no matter what the questions were," the NY Guild reports. Kaplan teachers, with support from their students and the labor community, have held rallies, circulated petitions, staged street theater (pictured) and more in their fight for a fair first contract with the education company.
Janelle Hartman —
December 16, 2013— NewsGuild-CWA
Carol Rothman has dedicated 40 years to making the workplace fairer, paychecks bigger and life itself better for countless union members. Now she’s looking forward to one of the benefits she wants all workers to enjoy: Free time. Family time. Balance. “I hope everyone recognizes when the time comes to leave a job, even a job you love, and give yourself some time to enjoy life,” Rothman says. As the Guild’s secretary-treasurer since 2008, and decades in Guild leadership roles, friends and colleagues say Rothman has earned her retirement. “She’s just a hell of a good representative for working people," friend and former colleague Larry Hatfield says. Photo: Rothman being sworn in as a Guild board member.
as the Guild's oldest working member. The New York Times 
and six gifted professionals were honored at this fall's ceremony. And many more were worthy, judges said. “All of us got this huge box that we could hardly lift filled with entries,” said Reuters journalist Deb Zabarenko, a past Guild Executive Council member who chaired the Heywood Broun Award judging panel. “I thought, ‘How are we ever going to get through this?’” she said. “Then we opened it up and it was more like a holiday package. Every one of them, whether an award winner or not, was worth reading, was worth thinking about.”
Meet Such Interesting People,' written around 1947 by reporter and folk singer Vern Partlow. You can find recordings by both men on YouTube and other websites. Click 
David Mulcahy was a character. “We used to tease that, ‘When God made you, he broke the mold,’” said his close friend and Standard & Poor’s colleague Lurea (Lori) Van Horne-Caloia. “He was a class act, he really was.” The career journalist and former vice president at-large of the Guild died at age 90 on Oct. 2 at his Newtown, Pa., home. His wife, Lois, “my bride,” as he called her for nearly 56 years, was at his side.
were pretty much the same, no matter what the questions were," the NY Guild reports. Kaplan teachers, with support from their students and the labor community, have held rallies, circulated petitions, staged street theater (pictured) and more in their fight for a fair first contract with the education company.
treasurer since 2008, and decades in Guild leadership roles, friends and colleagues say Rothman has earned her retirement. “She’s just a hell of a good representative for working people," friend and former colleague Larry Hatfield says. Photo: Rothman being sworn in as a Guild board member.