NPR
NPR, technicians’ union agree on contract
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The new contract drops several proposals opposed by the union.
Current (https://current.org/tag/unions/page/5/)
The new contract drops several proposals opposed by the union.
The union supporting NPR’s engineers and audio technicians is pushing back against new contract proposals.
After 16 months of negotiations, unionized employees at KPCC in Pasadena, Calif., have negotiated their first contract with management.
A dispute over unionization at Baltimore’s WYPR will be resolved by the National Labor Relations Board. WYPR staff voted July 30 on whether to seek representation from broadcast union SAG-AFTRA. Nine voted in favor and 11 against, with seven votes contested by one of the parties, according to an NLRB official who requested anonymity when commenting on an ongoing proceeding. The NLRB will review the contested votes to determine their eligibility, with the vote recounted only if at least three of the contested votes are determined eligible. SAG-AFTRA can only enter the workplace with a majority vote.
Plus: Mike Starling starts an LPFM station, and NPR’s creative director talks about her work process.
The opera house is on track to premiere its 2014-15 season as scheduled, with public radio broadcasts to follow.
The Metropolitan Opera has reached a tentative agreement with two of the three bargaining units representing its workers.
A lockout at the New York opera house would force more than 300 stations to make tough choices.
Public media employees have increasingly sought to organize unions during the past two years, spurred by expanding newsrooms, shifting management priorities and a desire for more influence in strategic planning.
Editorial staffers at Baltimore’s WYPR are petitioning management for union representation, according to a June 6 release from broadcast union SAG-AFTRA, which seeks to represent them. A majority of editorial staff delivered a union petition to management June 3, and the National Labor Relations Board received a petition June 6, according to the release. Management has not yet acknowledged the petition. “We all believe in the value of public radio, as well as WYPR’s mission to produce high-quality journalism,” the release read. “We want to see the station improve and better serve listeners across the state.
The broadcast union SAG-AFTRA said Wednesday that it had secured a majority of votes to represent staff members at Chicago Public Media. SAG-AFTRA said it would represent 49 editorial members of Chicago Public Media, the pubcaster that operates WBEZ and Vocalo. In September, 36 full-time editorial staff members and three additional employees signed a petition seeking union representation and presented it to CPM interim CEO Alison Scholly. “We have great leaders and a committed board and we believe organizing as staff members is an important step to achieving the goals we all share here: producing excellent journalism that serves the public and making this important local institution even stronger than it is today,” said Rob Wildeboer, criminal and legal affairs reporter for WBEZ, in a prepared statement. The National Labor Relations Board conducted the election, which took place Dec. 18.
Editorial employees at Chicago Public Media filed a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board Oct 18 after earlier efforts to gain recognition from management were rebuffed. Nearly 80 percent of the 54 employees who work at CPM as on-air talent, producers, web staff, reporters, editors and production assistants support the petition, according to a statement provided by the employees. The group initially notified interim CEO Alison Scholly of their request for union recognition Sept. 25. That request was rejected Oct.
A majority of staff members at Chicago Public Media signed a petition requesting union representation and presented it to CPM interim C.E.O. Alison Scholly Sept. 25, according to the broadcast union SAG-AFTRA, which seeks to represent staffers through its Chicago chapter.