PEP, September 2007: PEP wins eight labor journalism awards in Metro contest

DC 37’s Public Employee Press won eight prizes this year in the annual labor journalism contest of the Metro New York Labor Communications Council — including the top writing award, which went to Associate Editor Jane LaTour.

The union’s Web site, produced by the public relations staff of the Communication Dept., won a Metro second prize as well as the Gold Award (second place) in the Hermes Creative Awards 2007 International Competition.

The Metro awards were presented on June 22 at the group’s annual convention, where PEP Senior Associate Editor Gregory N. Heires announced that he would step down after four successful years as president of the labor journalism organization.

“The members of DC 37 deserve the best,” said Bill Schleicher, editor of PEP, one of the most honored newspapers in the labor movement. “We are very proud to win these awards from judges who are respected labor professionals in writing, design and photography, and we understand that staff in positions where they don’t get honored by name contribute immensely to every award we win.”

PEP’s awards included three first places, three second places, one third and an honorable mention. The DC 37 newspaper took second prize in the general excellence competition. The judges said PEP includes a “nice mix of local union news and profiles as well as larger issues like health care privatization and history, thoughtful analysis and lively layout.”

LaTour won the Mary Heaton Vorse award for “capturing the human side of an issue” for her series on DC 37 members as poverty fighters. “This series beautifully connects members’ work to broader issues of urban poverty. It describes members’ concern to serve the city’s poorest and most desperate dwellers,” said the contest judges.

PEP team coverage
PEP tied for first place in a special category for coverage of immigration issues. The articles involved were written by Alfredo Alvarado, Diane S. Williams and Gregory N. Heires.

First place for best reporting went to the PEP team of LaTour, Alvarado and Heires. The judges said the articles on Katrina presented a “vivid picture of devastation” and that the “inclusion of members’ personal responses to their experiences made the series particularly compelling.”
Williams won second in best writing for her moving “Home of their Own” articles on members who got new homes through the union’s housing program, and Clarence Elie Rivera took a second for photography with a dramatic shot of EMS Haz-mat workers.

In the graphic design category, Associate Art Director E.J. Dobson took third for “Rockets’ Red Glare,” a feature story about union Fire Inspectors, and Art Director Alyce Archer won an honorable mention for her “DC 37 Celebrates Asian Heritage” cover.

The DC 37 Web site, www.dc37.net, “has simple design but very user-friendly access to needed information for members.” Information on the site is “extensive and well-maintained,” said the judges.

The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals oversees the Hermes competition, which is not connected to Metro. “This is the first time the Communications Dept. has won an award in a contest with a wide range of entries beyond the labor movement,” said Assistant Director Donna Silberberg.

The Hermes contest is an “international awards competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional and emerging media,” she said, and its judges are “industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence.” There were about 3,500 entries in this year’s competition, and more than 1,000 received platinum (first) or gold (second) awards.