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The Guild represents workers at The Associated Press, United Press International, and employees of the Spanish EFE News Service

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NMG’s Pritchard wins Best of States for transportation scoops

Posted on Dec 06, 2013 Last Updated Dec 06, 2013 Posted by Linda Johnson
Justin Pritchard

Justin Pritchard

NMG member Justin Pritchard of the Los Angeles bureau won last week's AP Best of the States award for breaking news _ twice _ about major troubles with California’s transportation infrastructure.

Pritchard, who covers transportation in the state, first got two state agencies to give him unpublished data showing California is way behind in its goal of setting up 1,040 electric vehicle charging stations by this month. The goal is part of a bigger plan to get 1.5 million zero-emission cars on state roads by 2025.

Only 110 charging stations have been delivered so far by the vendor, NRG Energy of New Jersey. It's supposed to provide all the stations as part of a legal settlement of claims that NRG's power plants overcharged for electricity during California's power crisis a decade ago. Pritchard also showed that regulators hadn't ensured the settlement's terms were fulfilled.

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AP proposes onerous, intrusive car reimbursement scheme

Posted on Dec 05, 2013 Last Updated Dec 05, 2013 Posted by Linda Johnson

The Associated Press has just advanced contract language requiring Guild-covered staffers to make their personal vehicle available for business use at any time the company wishes and to sign affidavits in which they’d have to disclose  private information unrelated to doing their job.

Employees who declined to sign the “voluntary” vehicle-use agreement, or who did sign it but later failed to notify their manager of any changes in their circumstances within two business days, would not be eligible for reimbursement for business mileage or other costs of using their auto.

The proposal would take away auto use fees that staffers currently receive when they are on an out-of-town assignment, on vacation, on leave, absent or otherwise not working for the AP for more than seven straight days.

The agreement would be irrevocable for one year, after which the employee could get out of it only after providing six months’ written notice.

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NLRB Orders Union Vote for OPEIU field staff

Posted on Dec 02, 2013 Last Updated Dec 03, 2013 Posted by Tony Winton

Acting NLRB Regional Director Marlin Osthus ordered an election for OPEIU

Field staff representatives and organizers who work for the Office and Professional  Employees International Union will get a chance to vote for union representation after a federal agency rejected management’s attempt to block a secret ballot vote by workers.

The representatives and organizers have been seeking a vote since September. It is common for workers who are employed by unions to themselves have the benefits of a union contract and collective bargaining rights.

The employer — OPEIU — objected to the organizing campaign, claiming that the News Media Guild could not represent them without being involved in a conflict of interest. The employer argued before the National Labor Relations Board that the conflict arose because the NMG is affiliated with The Newspaper Guild and the Communications Workers of America.

Turning aside those claims, NRLB Acting Regional Director Marlin Osthus ordered that an election be held. Testimony and evidence at an NLRB hearing “failed to reveal any interests” that would prevent the Guild from “fairly and single-mindedly representing employees,” Osthus wrote in his Nov. 29th order.

The employer has until Dec. 13 to appeal the decision. The NLRB is expected to set an election date within three weeks.

CWA offers Joe Beirne scholarship

Posted on Dec 02, 2013 Last Updated Dec 02, 2013 Posted by Martha Waggoner

Applications are now being accepted through April 30, 2014, for the CWA Joe Beirne Foundation's annual scholarship offerings for the 2014-2015 school year.

The Foundation's Board of Directors has approved the awarding of 15 partial college scholarships of up to $3,000 each, and the winners also will receive second-year scholarships for the same amount, contingent upon satisfactory academic achievement.
Beirne scholarship

Eligible for the scholarships are CWA members, their spouses, children and grandchildren, including the dependents of retired, laid-off, or deceased members. Applicants must be high school graduates or high school students who will graduate during the year in which they apply. Undergraduate and graduate students returning to school may also apply.

Applications will be available solely online for completion and submission to the Foundation's website. Click here

This valuable scholarship program is made possible by the funding of CWA locals.

3 NMG members share Beat of Week for U.S.-Iran talks scoop

Posted on Dec 02, 2013 Last Updated Dec 02, 2013 Posted by Linda Johnson

Three DC Guild members shared last week’s AP Beat of the Week award for doggedly pursuing sources over many months until they could confirm a big scoop _ that high-level U.S. and Iranian diplomats had met secretly in Oman to discuss curbing Iran's nuclear program.

Foreign affairs writer Brad Klapper, diplomatic writer Matt Lee and White House correspondent Julie Pace shared the prize for breaking news of the talks a week ago.

That came after working as a team for months to get the required confirmation of a tip, received last March, that included particulars on where the meeting was held and on elaborate gifts the officials swapped. But there were some holes in that story, U.S. officials kept denying the meeting occurred, and officials in other countries didn’t know anything or weren’t talking.

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