New Hampshire Public Radio’s Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union voted to ratify its first contract Monday.
The three-year contract includes guaranteed annual pay raises, increased salary floors for full- and part-time staff, and expanded parental leave, the union said in a statement shared with Current.
NHPR has indicated that it will extend parental leave, “along with additional personal days and higher salary floors, stationwide,” according to the statement.
The union said it was also able to secure a “groundbreaking approach to derivative uses of content produced by employees that ensures original creators have a seat at the table in a media landscape where adaptations of journalism are at a high.”
“Our major priority from the beginning was to raise the minimum salaries and ensure livable, competitive wages, especially for our lowest paid members,” the statement said.
Quoted in a post on the station’s website, CEO Jim Schachter said that the agreement “meets the shared objectives we outlined when NHPR voluntarily recognized the union in the summer of 2021 — namely, to persist in producing ambitious journalism in the public interest, and, in the process, be a great place to work for all our employees.”
The bargaining unit comprises about half of NHPR’s staff, consisting mainly of reporters, producers and hosts. When employees formed the union, they cited the need for “meaningful changes to become a more diverse and equitable workplace” as a key reason.
The tentative agreement is expected to go into effect in the coming weeks pending review by SAG-AFTRA’s regional and national offices, according to the post on NHPR’s website.