Nothing about Ann M. Wilhelmy appeared combative or controversial. The soft-spoken copy editor at the Star Tribune stood a mere 5 feet tall, and was known for her gentle chuckle and wry sense of humor.
But as a union leader, Wilhelmy took on management at both the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, successfully negotiating better wages and benefits for hundreds of newspaper workers, while handling workplace disputes and grievances with a calm, evenhanded honesty that earned her respect from both workers and newspaper executives.
The tough-minded journalist spent two terms and 16 years as president of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild and Typographical Union, where she helped coordinate the union's strategy through distressing economic times, as both of the Twin Cities' large newspapers shed staff amid declining circulation and revenue.
Wilhelmy died on March 22 at St. John's Hospital in Maplewood, about 2½ years after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was 68.
"Ann didn't go around rattling sabers and spouting rhetoric," said Lynda Hanner, former co-chair of the Pioneer Press unit of the Newspaper Guild and longtime advertising salesperson at the paper. "She was realistic and fair and compassionate, and always left you feeling like everything was going to be OK."
A St. Paul native who started at the Star Tribune in 1967, Wilhelmy consistently stood up for lower-paid workers, including clerical employees and news aides who perform many of the more mundane but vital tasks that keep a newspaper functioning. Many of these positions were held by women, and Wilhelmy would insist that her fellow journalists consider the impact of contract changes on these often-overlooked workers. If the cost of health insurance was going up, for instance, Wilhelmy maintained that it had to increase by the same amount regardless of one's position at the newspaper, co-workers recall.
"Ann always was especially attuned to the people she represented who were making the least money and had the hardest jobs — she always tried to get a little more for them at the bargaining table," said Pam Miller, Star Tribune night metro editor and former co-chair of the Star Tribune unit of the guild.
At the same time, Wilhelmy often took on the role of peacemaker, quelling tensions between union members and keeping them focused and upbeat during sometimes tumultuous bargaining negotiations. Even when she was not at the bargaining table, Wilhelmy would provide strategic advice and lend her moral support — sometimes by calmly reminding her fellow union members to make time for themselves and to keep perspective, former co-workers said.
