Washington-Baltimore News Guild
Executive Council Meeting Minutes
Date of Meeting: January 29, 2019
Present: Elise Bryant, Hau Chu, Steve Cook, David DeJesus, Tim Fitzgerald, Dan Gabor, Jazmin Gargoum, Joel Gratz, Don Griesheimer, Fatima Hussein, Tom Jackman, Freddy Kunkle, Marissa Lang, Katie Mettler, Justin Moyer, Sam Nelson, Bill O’Meara, Mark Pattison, Jeremy Sprinkle, Michelle Wang
Excused: Ben Cooper, Lillyanne Daigle
Staff: Rick Ehrmann, Bruce Jett, Cet Parks, Paul Reilly
Meeting called to order at 8:21 PM
I. Minutes
- November 20, 2019 – Don Griesheimer motioned to approve, and motion was seconded. Motion passed.
- December 7, 2019 – No action required.
- Board Polls – December 11, 2019 (2020 Membership Meeting & EC Schedule) – Don Griesheimer motioned to approve, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
- Board Poll – October 21, 2019 – Discretionary authority to send one member to MD & DC AFL-CIO 32nd Biennial Convention. The event had expired by EC January meeting. No further action required.
II. Membership Report
- November 20, 2019-January 29, 2020. Mark Pattison motioned to approve, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
III. Executive Director’s Report & Staff
Cet Parks
Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Staff Union
- Tentative agreement reached on January 24, 2020 and unit ratified the contract. Unit requests EC approval of contract. Don Griesheimer motioned to approve contract, and motion was seconded. Motion passed.
Alliance of Health Care Unions
- Agreement reached on initial 18-month contract and ratification my members, retroactive from August 1, 2019 – December 31, 2020. Unit requests EC approval of contract. Sam Nelson motioned to approve, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
Florida AFL-CIO
- Agreement reached and ratified by members on three-year contract from December 31, 2019 through January 1, 2023. Unit requests EC approval of contract. Don Griesheimer motioned to approve contract, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
Advancement Project
- Arbitrator ruled on exclusion grievance and upheld Guild’s argument. No further action required.
Rick Ehrmann
NC State AFL-CIO
- Update by Jeremy Sprinkle. Tentative contract agreement and member ratification reached on December 2, 2019. Request EC approval of contract. Sam Nelson motioned for approval of CBA, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
Center for Public Integrity
- Agreement reached on all issues in December 2019. Management meeting with management is scheduled on February 7, 2020 to review latest version of draft contract. No further action taken.
National Abortion Federation/Hotline
- First union contract was reached on December 7, 2019. Request EC approval of CBA. Hau Chu motioned for contract approval, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
Center for Popular Democracy
- General update – unit is in bargaining.
Washington Post
- General update – Post unit approaching bargaining at highest membership in many years.
ANA
- Srishti Singh Arbitration – Update given by Don Griesheimer on grievance issues, arbitration discussion and appeals process.
Paul Reilly
Charlottesville Daily Progress
- Request for retroactive approval of bargaining team: Katherine Knott, Allison Wrable, Meghin Moore, Hannah Cox, Tyler Hammel, John Abbott, Nolan Stout. Mark Pattison motioned for approval and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
- FPSU (Florida SEIU Local) – Not able to complete original contract at January session. No further action taken.
CNS
- Update by Mark Pattison. Retroactive approval requested for one-year contract extension. Mark Pattison motions to approve and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
American Prospect
- Agreement reached on one-year contract retroactive to November 1, 2019. Don Griesheimer motioned to approve, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
- Jobs with Justice – Agreement reached on contract wage re-opener. Don Griesheimer motioned to approve, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
Eric Geist
- Bargaining underway for Rewire.News, The Chesapeake Guild/Tidewater Guild/Tribune Joint Bargaining, League of Conservation Voters. No action items.
Bruce Jett
- Update on Southern Poverty Law Center, United for Respect, Lambda Legal, Political Research Associates, Alliance for Justice, Indivisible, and Color of Change. No action items.
IV. Financials
November 30, 2019 (Projections ending Dec. 31, 2019 & Summary)
- Cet Parks provided update on income and expenses beginning with October 2019. Requested approval for October 2019 financials. Tom Jackman motioned to approve, and motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
- Cet Parks provided update on November 2019 expenses and discussed key areas affecting net deficit income (membership dues, CWA Per Caps, salaries, insurance, SEP field, consulting fees, legal fees, arbitration fees). Hau Chu motioned to approve November 2019 financials, and the motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
- Discussions on preparing a draft budget for EC review (Joel Gratz and Justin Moyer).
Bob Paul’s Invoices for November and December 2019
- Discussions on analyzing budget spend/where money is being spent to compare costs to time and projects; ability to generate reports. Cet to follow up on best ways to address these concerns. No further action required.
V. Old Business
RFA Nadia Usaeva Termination
- Cet Parks, Michelle Wang (RFA) and Steve Cook discussed issues and concerns regarding this case. Agreed in principle to follow up on issues in the following month – Steve Cook requests that Michelle Wang send a follow up email for further discussion.
- Labor Notes Conference – April 17-19, 2020. Since early bird registration deadline is February 28, 2020, discussions to participate were deferred to February 19, 2020 EC meeting.
- Katie Mettler discusses having a complete list of opportunities for EC and members versus approving single events in order to make better decisions for participation. Action item – send email to Steve, Cet and Bruce to list future conferences and training.
VI. New Business
Oneonta Daily Star
- Discussion on whether WBNG should take on organizing this small local which is outside of our geographical area. We have the capacity to organize them but lack the resources to do so. Decision to elevate this issue to John Schleuss (TNG) for further discussion and resolution.
Washington Post – Event Request
- Justin Moyer requests budget approval to host three events this year at the Mindspace location (Washington Post HQ): Front Page Awards, a Washington Post pre-bargaining event, and Washington Post post-bargaining event.
- After further discussion Justin Moyer motioned for approval to allocate $1,800 to MindSpace for the hosting of three events on behalf of WBNG, and the motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
- Justin Moyer motioned to allocate $700 to The Washington Post unit for a pre-bargaining rally event (first event), and the motion was seconded. After further discussion the Motion Passed.
Evening with Labor – Saturday, April 4, 2020
- Mark Pattison motioned to purchase two tickets at $150 per ticket, and a $50 business card ad, and the motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
2020 CWA Human Rights Conference – July 26-29, 2020
- Tim Fitzgerald motioned to send Dave DeJesus (Chair, Human Rights Committee) to CWA Human Rights Conference in Phoenix Arizona. Since there were no details on conference costs, this item was deferred for future discussion. Motion was withdrawn.
Front Page Awards
- Jazmin Gargoum motioned to have Front Page Awards held on April 30, 2020, and motion was seconded. It was determined that a motion was not necessary to select this date, and motion was withdrawn.
Revising WBNG Logo
- Steve Cook discusses revising the Local’s logo and creation of a design committee to develop logo. Steve Cook motioned to set up a design committee and act as provisional chair of the committee, and the motion was seconded. Motion Passed.
VII. Good & Welfare
- No action items.
VIII. Personnel Caucus
- No action items.
IX. Adjournment
- Meeting adjourned at 9:48 PM.