Wednesday, October 22, 2008

It's time to vote...

...but I'm not talking about the Presidential race.

By now, most of you have probably received ballots in the mail for the proposed merger of the Northern California Media Workers Guild (that's us) and the San Jose Newspaper Guild.

A lot of people have asked me today how they should vote on the proposal. I'm recommending a "yes" vote, and so has our Representative Assembly, the local's leadership. The San Jose local approved the merger on Friday. So, it's up to us.

Why vote "yes?" Put simply, there's strength in numbers and strength in unity. This merger will give us both. If it passes, all of the Bay Area's best newspapers will become part of the California Media Guild (our proposed new name) along with California's court interpreters (already part of our local). It will also make it easier for the Bay Area News Group--East Bay and the Mercury News to work together to get fair deals from Dean Singleton's MediaNews.

Please join me in voting YES on the Guild merger proposal.

(Questions? A merger agreement was included with the ballot, but more information is available on the local Web site. More questions? Shoot me an e-mail at CTUAN@aol.com or call me at 510-612-1027.)

In solidarity,
Michael Cabanatuan
President
Northern California Media Workers Guild

Thursday, October 16, 2008

We're ba-ack...and so is Kathleen: with an important message

After a longer than planned summer break (Well, hey, it still feels like summer), it's time to knuckle down and get back to posting.

Our first post is a guest post (Yeah, we're easing our way back into this blogging thing) from esteemed Chronicle ex-unit chair and researcher extraordinaire Kathleen Rhodes. We miss you, Kathleen.


A Short Note from Kathleen Rhodes

Please vote NO on Proposition 8. Sometimes the political is personal. Proposition 8is an assault on my civil rights; it will eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. The California Supreme Court this year pointed out that separate is not equal. Prop 8 is about fear, not about fact.

I have always believed in fairness and even if I were straight I would still be against Prop 8 – it is an attempt to write discriminatory language into the state constitution.

In my opinion, the people pushing Prop 8 are doing so out of both hate and fear. They are asking the voters of California to change the constitution to take away the right to marry from one group.

This proposition is not about the church-sanctioned marriage; it is about changing the state constitution to discriminate against gays and lesbian in committed relationships who want to marry. The proponents are trying to convince the people of California that they know what is best for everyone. These are the folks who want all of us to look, feel, and think like they do or else.

They are spending lots of money to impose their particular views on the rest of society.

Voting no on Proposition 8 continues California’s tradition of inclusion. We celebrate our diversity, proposition 8 is trying to destroy that.

This is supposed to be a short note, so I will stop now. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions on Prop 8. This hurtful and hateful initiative needs to be defeated. I am voting no on proposition 8. Please join me.

Thank you,
Kathleen Rhodes
rhodeskat@sbcglobal.net