Guild Prez Campaign Is First One Contested In 12 Years

By: Joe Strupp For the first time in 12 years, the Newspaper Guild is having a contested election for president, with longtime incumbent Linda Foley facing a challenge from her former running mate, Bernie Lunzer.

And the campaign is already under way, months early -- like the current race for the White House -- and before an Election Day has even been set for spring 2008. Although formal nominations cannot occur until a February meeting, both Foley and Lunzer have set up campaign Web sites and begun laying out their differing positions on issues.

Foley, elected in 1995 and the union's first woman president, says the early launch is harmful, but Lunzer contends that the demand for a discussion of numerous issues -- from membership to job cuts --requires a longer campaign and urged a change of command.

"I don't think it was a problem at all," says Lunzer, the current secretary-treasurer who launched his Web site in May. "If you are going to have that kind of discussion, you need the time to do it. People are engaged and there is a yearning for a discussion on the issues."

But Foley fears too much early campaigning can distract the union from its work at a time when the industry is facing economic problems, job cuts and an increased corporate ownership. "That is what is the problem," she says. "For the union, having a long campaign season. If you look at the rules and tradition, we have traditionally started later. It does create infighting."

Foley also noted that the pair, as president and secretary-treasurer, must work together on union business, stationed on the same floor of the Guild's Washington, D.C., headquarters. "For him to be sitting secretary-treasurer and running against me as president is a real problem," she said. "That is akin to a vice president running against the president when they're both in office. In U.S. politics, if the vice president felt compelled to do that, they would resign."

Local guild leaders say having a contested election can be positive if it does not deteriorate into a series of attacks and distracting events. "It is a great time to be having a discussion about the guild," says Bill Salganik president of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild and a reporter at The Sun of Baltimore. "We could have this discussion without a contested election."

Salganik said that seeing Lunzer and Foley battle for the post "feels like mom and dad are splitting up and the children have to choose. But I haven?t seen any signs that it is affecting operations."

Tim Schick, administrator of the Providence (R.I.) Newspaper Guild, also welcomed a strong campaign discussion. "Contested elections are healthy for the organization, they are hell on the individuals," he said. "But going through the Democratic process is invigorating for the organization. Issues get discussed and debated and at the end of the day, in most cases, the organization comes out healthier than it was when it went in."

Currently, both Lunzer and Foley serve in full-time paid positions, with both earning more than $100,000 annually

Lunzer, 49, spent several years at the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press in newsroom and business-side posts, as well as union negotiating positions. He became secretary-treasurer the same year Foley won as president. Despite being former running mates, in effect, Lunzer says a change is needed. "It has to do with the challenge of the industry, philosophical differences," he said. "I tend to be much more bottom-up than Linda. I don't want it to be about mud-slinging."

Lunzer's Web site offers a mostly positive approach, but includes numerous indirect shots at Foley, although not by name.

"Unfortunately, we?ve done a miserable job of publicly explaining how a union can make a difference, even though we see the difference every day. We?ve got to figure out how to market what we?ve got, and we?ve got to get past the anti-union bias that?s been perpetrated on America," he writes on the site. "IAPE?s recent, wonderful organizing success at Dow Jones is a perfect example of what can be done with an honest message and a determined group of organizers. More than 200 workers now have a union, improving their work lives as well as those of everyone else in IAPE because of its enhanced strength."

Lunzer even suggests changing the union's name to the "News Guild," as "a good symbolic start."

For Foley, her past is strongly promoted. The 52-year-old former reporter worked at the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader before becoming a local union organizer there and, eventually, secretary-treasurer herself.

"Experience, leadership and the ability to act quickly and decisively will be critical to our success in the coming years," her site declares. "Effectively using the talent that exists throughout the Guild membership will require leaders who not only listen, but also know how to move programs and policies forward to results. It will take proven leaders who listen and then act to win the future."