Public Employee Press

PEP rated best labor paper nationwide;
Web site, radio and TV shows win awards

The International Labor Communications Association has named the Public Employee Press the best union newspaper nationwide in its class.

PEP won first prize for overall excellence in the ILCA’s 2005 media awards contest, which drew close to 1,200 entries. AFSCME’s Public Employee, the magazine published by DC 37’s parent union, also ranked number one in its class.

In recent years, PEP has consistently ranked among the top few labor newspapers, “but there is nothing like being number one,” said Editor Bill Schleicher. “It’s a tribute to our entire staff.” Among the awards presented in July in Chicago, PEP won another first prize for a cartoon by regular freelancer Gene Suchma and honorable mention for an opinion piece by Associate Editor Jane LaTour.

DC 37’s public relations staff received four awards, topped by a second prize for a radio show on the minimum wage and welfare workers by Professional Assistant Rudy Orozco and union Librarian Ken Nash. “The DC 37 Fact Finder,” a compact guide to the union, won a third award among non-periodical publications.

Another third prize went to the cable TV show “State of the Union” for its program on the union’s annual toy drive featuring Executive Director Lillian Roberts, by Orozco, Assistant Director Donna Silberberg and Manhattan Neighborhood Network Producer Rick Jungers. The union’s recently redesigned Web site, which is edited by Assistant Director Molly Charboneau, earned an honorable mention for its ease of navigation.