The union representing writers at WNET in New York alleges that station management is seeking to shift the writers’ responsibilities to nonunion employees, which it says amounts to union busting.
The 11 staffers represented by the Writers Guild of America, East are writers, producers and production assistants of promotional material for programs produced by the organization, including American Masters. They also work on pledge drives and fundraising.
The WNET Group in New York oversees its flagship station, Thirteen, as well as WLIW in Long Island, N.Y., and NJ PBS in New Jersey. The writers in the bargaining unit work for Thirteen.
A three-year contract between the union and management ended in June, though it was extended for a month to continue negotiations. The next bargaining session for a new contract is Thursday, and the union hopes that a new deal will be within reach by the end of the month.
A Guild representative who requested anonymity said the union is seeking higher pay and more paid time off, especially for four “permalancers” in the unit who have benefits but less flexibility with vacation time compared to colleagues who are full-time hires. Another goal is to create a path to get those contract workers to be regular Thirteen workers.
The representative said those goals have taken a backseat to what the union is describing as union-busting tactics. The rep said management is “demanding” that the next contract allow the unionized workers’ job responsibilities to be passed on to nonunionized employees at WLIW and NJ PBS at the company’s discretion.
“It’s hard to reach an agreement when they are putting proposals on the table that jeopardize the viability of this union going forward,” said the representative, who requested anonymity because they had not been authorized to speak given their involvement in negotiations. “They are asking for us to agree that [the nonunionized employees] can be assigned any amount of that work, so long as it’s in the company’s reasonable, good faith judgment. It doesn’t put much of a guardrail on that. Our members see that as a form of union busting. They see that as an attempt to really drive the work away from this union.”
The rep said the union came to the table prepared for normal negotiations but now has to protect its existence.
“We are dismayed that Thirteen, a station that prides itself as public service for the community, is seeking to decimate its unionized workforce by demanding the authority to assign our work to non-union employees of its affiliated stations,” the bargaining unit said in a collective statement shared with Current. “We call on Thirteen to stop union busting and come to the table prepared to reach a fair contract.”
“We don’t comment on ongoing negotiations,” a WNET spokesperson said in an email to Current.
The Guild representative said management’s rationale for shifting work to nonunionized staffers is related to WNET’s recent “financial hardship” and the “economic crisis” that has affected several public media organizations. The WNET Group, like other media organizations, announced layoffs earlier this year.
Management has also framed the decision to shift work from union staffers by saying that some lack “capacity or expertise to do the work,” even though some union members have worked for WNET for years, according to the Guild rep.
“Certainly people can be hired and people can be trained, so it’s hard to accept that justification,” the rep said.
The guild representative said the union hopes that this contract doesn’t hinder its decades-long relationship with the WNET Group. The rep added that it wants WNET management to “work with us, not against us.”