Read All About It: CWA's Best Local Newsletters

What distinguishes some of the union's best newsletters? Here are some examples of publications that have earned high marks with judges in CWA's annual newsletter contest:

• The Communiqué from Local 1180 in New York City is a multiple award-winner with provocative covers that tease major stories inside. Judges praise its "outstanding editorial content, strong and persuasive writing, eye-catching graphic design and excellent feature stories."
• The San Jose Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39098, publishes the Guild News, which judges call a "strong, well-written publication that is very focused on hard news" and has "direct relevance to the membership with its emphasis on contractual and bargaining issues and regular member-focused features."
• Another award-winning Guild newsletter is The Guilder from Albany, N.Y., Local 31034, praised for "excellent and very pointed reporting… Well-written from beginning to end and features a good balance of news, features and opinion pieces."
• Proof that you don't have to be a big local to have a great newsletter: Solidarity Now! From Local 4730 in Bloomington, Ind., rose to the top of the category for locals with fewer than 200 members. It was recognized for its "variety of original stories on issues that directly affect local members, such as changes in health insurance benefits and the possibility of RIFs, to articles and opinion pieces on national issues such as the assaults on Social Security and overtime."
• Showing how unions and their newsletters can affect an entire community, Viewpoint, published by New Jersey statewide Local 1040, took the top prize in CWA's 2005 newsletter contest. The newsletter provided extensive, high quality coverage of the pending closure of New Jersey's only state-run psychiatric facility for children, where about 100 local members are employed. One Viewpoint cover asked, "Who will care for the children?" and called public attention to the serious consequences of the closing.
• If there were a category for timeliness, IUE-CWA Local 81201 in Lynn, Mass., would be a front-runner. The local publishes its newsletter every three weeks, and at times has even published just two weeks apart.