Following a request earlier today by several chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists that the national organization pay overdue local-dues payments to the local affiliates, SPJ says it will do just that.
National SPJ President Alex Tarquinio said today, June 19, 2019, that those dues will soon be on their way to local chapters. A survey of local chapters by a concerned chapter leader found that the national organization was six months behind on such payments.
SPJ administrator and longtime staffer Linda Hall says she “should be able to get caught up with all of the chapter dues checks next week, and the checks should be received by July 4,” Tarquinio emailed. “I feel confident when someone with Linda’s experience at HQ says she was able to get the database working properly today.”
Part of the delay had to do with database problems at headquarters. The delay also was caused by not having sufficient staff to process such dues payments. That’s according to SPJ board members such as Matt Hall. Hall reported that as of today, “the main issue has been with the database, and she has just resolved that issue,” Tarquinio wrote. “She will work on cutting the checks next week.”
SPJ Secretary-Treasurer Hall tweeted in response to the local chapters’ concerns that he has “been urging staff to fix it since February when I first heard. There were a couple staffing hitches and a database glitch, but HQ assures me again they’re on it. Staff knows it’s a top priority.”
SPJ director Michael Koretzky recounted that one local chapter says it was owed $1,000 in dues. Koretzky noted that he and others on the board have been aware of this problem for a few months, and yet it still wasn’t resolved.
As co-director of the Green Eyeshade Awards, Koretzky said he has “more than enough in my account to cover what’s needed. I can electronically cut checks within 24 hours. Then SPJ will owe me.”
