Retirees and other alumni from the United Media Guild’s St. Louis gathered Oct. 27 for a luncheon at Lombardo’s restaurant in downtown St. Louis. This was our chance to honor the great members who came before us and helped build one of the strongest local unions in the NewsGuild.
We were particularly glad to see former executive secretary Herb Goodrick and former office manager Jackie Simmons at the event, which was organized by business representative Mary Casey.
Herb was the local’s administrative officer for 15 years and led some hard battles for Post-Dispatch members against union-busting attorneys hired by Pulitzer Publishing. Many of the critical protections earned on Herb’s watch remain in our contract there today.
Jackie served us for seven years after her retirement from the Post-Dispatch. She was on staff during an especially hectic time for the UMG, helping us while we organized new units like the State Journal-Register and Rockford Register Star. She also assisted us while we waged a years-long legal battle against Lee Enterprises over the loss of retiree medical care.
Also attending were former UMG officers like former Labor Tribune reporter Kevin Madden and long-time Post-Dispatch employees Rich Hughes and Terri Cobb. All three served multiple terms on our executive committee.
Among the Post-Dispatch journalists attending the event was popular columnist Bill McClellan, who is only semi-retired. After volunteering for lay-off at the P-D, he has agreed to stay on as a weekly columnist.
He was joined by many of the Post-Dispatch reporters who retired in recent years as the company scaled back the newsroom operation.
Former P-D employees Jeri Stroud (40 years) and Beth Ford (50 years) received service pins at the luncheon.
Anybody former member of a UMG unit interested in becoming a retiree/alumni member should contact Mary Casey at our office at 314-241-7046.
