A large majority of WBUR employees voted Wednesday to join the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union.
Ninety-six percent of eligible employees voted in favor of joining the union in the National Labor Relations Board election, according to SAG-AFTRA.
“We are thrilled to officially be recognized as a union at WBUR,” said WBUR Digital Producer Ally Jarmanning in a press release. “Organizing has brought our staff closer together and we can’t wait to get to work negotiating a contract that will be fair for all. We know together we can make WBUR an even better place, both for workers and listeners.”
Organizers said in their petition to WBUR and licensee Boston University earlier this year that they seek “transparency and equity in compensation” and a “more diverse and inclusive workplace.”
The unit includes 120 WBUR employees in the station’s news department, on its digital team, in podcast and production departments, and with the shows Here and Now, Radio Boston, On Point and Only a Game.
The unit is now eligible to negotiate its first contract with station management and BU.
WBUR joins public radio stations and organizations represented by SAG-AFTRA including New York Public Radio, which expanded its bargaining unit earlier this year, and KUOW in Seattle, where employees elected to join last year. Others are WBEZ in Chicago, KPBS in San Diego and KPCC in Pasadena, Calif.