The NewsGuild staff helps our members build vibrant union organizing campaigns and achieve strong collective bargaining agreements. Some come directly from Guild units; others come with experience in the broader labor movement. They all come to the union’s national staff with a deep commitment to the fight for justice and the future of journalism. 

President Jon Schleuss
Jon Schleuss grew up in rural Arkansas reading the morning Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the afternoon Camden News. He found his way into journalism through college radio. He became the online editor of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette at age 21, moving the paper to do more breaking news, use social media and report live election results. In 2013 he joined the Los Angeles Times as a data and graphics journalist, writing and telling innovative stories using computer programming. He taught journalism students how to code at the University of Southern California. He was part of the group that organized the Times in 2018. He ran for president and won in 2019. Jon lives in Washington, D.C.

Executive Vice President Marian Needham
Marian Needham comes to The NewsGuild through the Buffalo local, where she was the administrative officer. She was hired by the national union in 1990, first as director of contract administration, and later, as a sector rep. Marian was elected to a second term as executive vice president in 2019.

Nicholas Bedell
Nicholas joined the Guild as administrative director in March 2021. Prior to coming on board, he was the director of campaigns for the Transport Workers Union. His union career started in 1990 as a labor educator in the Needle Trades Unions and he has worked in a variety of capacities over the years for multiple unions – as new organizing lead, staff representative and director of union education.

Stephanie Basile
Stephanie coordinates new organizing for the NewsGuild-CWA. She’s been with the Guild since 2017, where she constantly seeks to build workers’ power. Before coming to the Guild, she worked as an organizer at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU-UFCW).

Kevin Brokt
After a decade of work as a labor activist, Kevin joined The NewsGuild in 2019 inspired by the unprecedented organizing momentum of journalists and news media professionals. Although he is based in Chicago, Kevin works across the country providing organizing resources to aid the growth of our movement. He says, “NewsGuild members are clearly building a robust platform not only to advocate for themselves, but also for the communities they serve through their work. As a result, dedicating myself to supporting their organizing efforts is doubly rewarding!” 

Dominique Edmondson
Dominique is a senior technical specialist who has worked at the NewsGuild  since 1999 performing a wide variety of administrative duties. She frequently works with global organizations and foreign journalists to help them obtain visas to work in the U.S. Born and raised in France, Dominique is bilingual. She has tolerance and understanding of other cultures and is known for her outstanding proofreading skills.

Malcolm Emerich
Raised in a strong union tradition, Malcolm has organized and worked in a variety of organizations and industries around the U.S. Since joining the Guild staff as an organizer in 2015, Malcolm has found it rewarding to build on the inspiring history of the union – helping new members to use collective power in their workplaces and communities.

Lou Grieco
Before becoming a staff rep, Lou worked as a reporter for the Dayton Daily News for 20 years. During his last 14 years at the paper, Grieco was a union officer, including president for the final seven years. He moved to Detroit in 2013 to become administrative officer of the Newspaper Guild of Detroit. Two years later, he moved to the international staff, where he is assigned to assist locals across the Midwest and South in bargaining, organizing, grievance and administration issues. Grieco is co-author of Death as a Living – Investigating Murder in the American Heartland, which was released in December 2021.

Katherine Munroe
Katherine has been a Guild member since 1999, after joining the staff of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. Her first role in the union was shop steward. She held the position of unit chair and executive board member before being elected president and eventually administrative officer of The NewsGuild of Maine.

Danielle Newsome
Danielle is excited to join the NewsGuild as a staff rep and return to her roots in the labor movement. After studying labor relations and engaging in student activism, Danielle worked as a union organizer. She went on to law school and practiced labor law at a mid-size firm before serving as a staff attorney (and NewsGuild member!) for a state federation. Most recently, Danielle took a detour from traditional labor to launch a wage theft prosecution unit for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. 

Hil O’Connell
Hil (they/them) is a Philadelphia-based organizer who first joined The NewsGuild as a member organizer with the AccessMatters Union in 2019. They joined TNG staff after seven years working in the nonprofit sector and a decade of building power in the fights for queer and trans liberation and universal healthcare. Hil’s favorite days are the ones spent working directly with our union’s brilliant rank-and-file members as they realize their potential as leaders — in their shops and in our larger collective fight for labor justice.

TNG International Pension Fund Staff
Scott Bush, Assistant to the Trustees
Nikki Myers, Secretary to TNGIPF