Staff at the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton and affiliates at the Amherst Bulletin and Valley Advocate in Western Mass. chose representation by our local in a Dec. 12, 2018 representation election. The Pioneer Valley NewsGuild has become a unit of the PNG representing 70 staff members from various departments.
Let’s meet the unit council formed in the wake of this successful organizing campaign:
Pioneer Valley NewsGuild Unit Council
Bera Dunau, Chairman: Bera is a reporter at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. He cares deeply about a strong union movement, community journalism, and the performance of the New York Yankees.
Greta Jochem, Secretary:
Greta is a reporter at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She is excited to give workers a seat at the table and help the Gazette stay strong and sustainable.
Michelle Pontbriant, Unit Council Member:
Michelle began working at The Daily Hampshire Gazette part-time at night in distribution and now she works full-time in circulation. Michelle just wants everything to be fair for everyone.
Chad LeBaron, Unit Council Member:
Chad has worked at the Daily Hampshire Gazette for 14 years. He is a graphic designer and production assistant in the Advertising Department. After seeing and being affected by poor management decisions in the past few years he hopes the union will help the employees have input on the direction of and choices made by the newspaper in the coming years.