IN MEMORIAM: Media Guild mourns the death of former Executive Secretary Herb Goodrick

The United Media Guild, the union representing reporters at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis Review, Labor Tribune and KSDK-TV, is mourning the death of former Executive Secretary Herb Goodrick, who died following a lengthy illness.

UMG President Jeff Gordon posted the following remembrance on the UMG website:

The United Media Guild has lost a gigantic figure in our local union’s history. Long-time executive secretary Herb Goodrick died after lengthy illnesses.

Goodrick led the St. Louis Newspaper Guild through many difficult negotiations at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other units. Most notably, his leadership helped us repel repeated efforts to allow an open shop at the Post-Dispatch and create a two-tier pay system.

He had epic skirmishes with attorney Richard “Dick” Lowe of the union-busting law firm King and Ballow. Through it all, we kept strong contract language that remains today. Many of the valuable protections in the contracts at the Post-Dispatch, St. Louis Review, Labor Tribune and KSDK-TV were bargained under Goodrick’s leadership.

He was also a dogged enforcer of contracts. He won a series of key arbitration rulings which strengthened our collective bargaining agreements and gave us leverage in bargaining.

Goodrick was also an excellent steward of our resources. Because of his careful management of our treasury, we were able to merge with the Peoria Newspaper Local, morph into the United Media Guild and expand our outreach while other local unions within The NewsGuild were shrinking.

Today, the UMG represents journalists at newspapers across the Midwest. In fact, through our Truthout and Fight for 15 units, we are fighting to help journalists and social justice workers from coast to coast.

We owe all of that to Herb. His legacy is impressive. The work he did for us will pay dividends for decades to come.

A funeral was held April 17 at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Potosi, Mo., with burial in the church cemetery.