NABET-CWA to Resume Talks With NBC Universal

Union Condemns Company Attempts to Outsource Work, Cut Quality Jobs

NEW YORK, March 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Negotiations between the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA and NBC Universal are scheduled to resume Monday, March 16.

When union and company negotiators last met in December, little progress was made.

However, based on recent events, NBC Universal still doesn’t seem ready to bargain a fair contract, said NABET-CWA President John S. Clark, citing several examples of NBC Universal’s attempt to cut quality jobs and benefits:

• The company is trying to eliminate quality jobs by establishing a new, non-union represented “Content Producer” position at its owned stations. NABET-CWA represented workers, who have been doing this same work for decades, were told to reapply for these virtually identical jobs that would no longer include overtime pay or job security.
• NBC Universal announced plans to close its owned-station hubbing operations in New York and Burbank, Calif., and move them to Crawford Communications in Georgia, and to shut its New York City Media Operations Center and transfer that work to its non-union CNBC facility in New Jersey.
• The company assigned MSNBC employees to design graphics for “The Today Show,” taking additional work away from New York-based NABET-CWA-represented employees.

Local 11 President and bargaining committee member Ed McEwan said, “even before contract negotiations began, it was clear that NBCU was intent on trying to break its Union relationship. The policy of assigning our work to non-represented employees, including workers at MSNBC, CNBC and The Weather Channel, plus the out-sourcing of traditional NABET-CWA work, has created an extremely contentious environment for broadcast employees.”

Burbank Local 53 President Michael Peterson said, “the first point made by management was that these positions would be non-union represented, despite the plain fact that workers in these positions will be performing the same work as before.” NABET-CWA members in Burbank reported that NBCU management representatives asked us to reapply for our old jobs, but are calling them ‘new jobs.’ And despite more than 20 years of skill and experience, longtime employees were told “they will be treated like any off-the-street job applicant who has never seen the inside of a newsroom,” Peterson said.

“It’s extremely disappointing because our union has been trying to build a good relationship with NBCU in Washington, and had made some progress,” said Local 31 Local President Carl Mayers. “These actions just reopen the wounds.”

NABET-CWA Locals have filed unfair labor charges and unit clarification petitions with the National Labor Relations Board and have put NBC Universal on notice that workers will mobilize and fight for a fair and equitable contract. The contract between NABET-CWA and NBC Universal is set to expire at midnight on March 31, 2009.

SOURCE The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA