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