The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union and New York Public Radio reached a settlement this week that withdraws an unfair labor practice claim filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
The settlement includes “an extension of just cause protections to reporters and on-air hosts; a one-time 3% wage increase in July 2022 for all bargaining unit employees making under $100,000 per year; enhancements to NYPR’s parental leave policy; and a resolution of claims brought by the union regarding personnel issues pertaining to individual staff members,” a NYPR press release stated.
SAG-AFTRA filed charges of numerous unfair labor practices in May 2021, a month after NYPR laid off 14 staffers. Goli Sheikholeslami, then NYPR’s CEO, said in a memo to staff that the station was entering the next fiscal year with a “sizable deficit” and that it had a deficit when the pandemic began. Sheikholeslami left WNYC in January to lead Politico.
The complaint alleged that the station and WNYC Editor-in-Chief Audrey Cooper had been engaging in surveillance of union activity and ignoring the contractual grievance process and collective bargaining agreement. The complaint also alleged the station had threatened employees.