Marv Cermak, a columnist and Guild member for the Albany Times Union, died at the age of 84. Cermak left $50,000 to the local. In a story posted on the local’s web site, Tim O’Brien, the president of the Albany Newspaper Guild, said, “We are profoundly grateful that Marv chose to honor his long- standing appreciation of the Guild in this way.” The Executive Board will establish a committee to determine how to best honor Cermak’s wishes for the money to be used to help the members of the local.
Fred D. Fletcher, executive secretary in the 1960s and 1970s for the San Francisco-Oakland local, died at the age of 96. Fletcher, whose professional career began as a reporter, was the chief negotiator for the local and led a 52-day Bay Area newspaper strike in 1968. He was hired onto the staff of the local in 1958. He was widely recognized throughout the Guild for his skills in negotiations. Fletcher began attending Guild international conventions as a delegate in 1952. His last one was in 1979. A tribute to Fletcher has been posted by the Pacific Media Workers Guild.
Robert C. Frederiksen, one of the founders of the Providence Newspaper Guild, has died. He was 92. Frederiksen was one of the signers of the charter granted the local and was local president when it reached agreement on its rst contract with the Providence Journal. Frederiksen was an environmental reporter who began working at the paper in 1951, when the paper was known as the Journal Bulletin. Frederiksen remained an active member of the Guild, even after his retirement in 2002. See the local’s web site for an appreciation of Frederiksen’s contri- butions to the establishment of the Guild at the Providence paper.
Keith Maskell, long time activist and staff member of the Canadian Media Guild, passed. Maskell was a union activist and journalist prior to spending 16 years working for the local. See the local’s web site for tributes to Maskell.