CBS News Workers Vote to Authorize Strike
CBS Maintains ‘Fair And Reasonable” Offer Remains On Table
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 11/19/2007 8:09:00 AM
CBS News employees who are members of the Writers Guild of America voted by a majority of 81% to authorize a strike against CBS, the union said Monday.
The overwhelmingly strong vote gives the WGA East and WGA West authorization to call a strike at any time. Almost 300 WGA-CBS members voted in the special election, held on Nov. 15 and 16, in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington
WGA-CBS members, working in television and radio, on the national and local levels, in those four cities have been working under an expired contract since April 2, 2005 -- without pay raises since April 2004, according to the union.
“It is unfortunate that our WGA news writers have voted to authorize a strike,” CBS said in a statement. “The offer we presented nearly a year ago was fair and reasonable, and remains on the table. It not only includes one of the best medical plans in the country with minimal employee contributions, but fair salary increases to all WGA employees as well.”
The news regarding CBS comes as the WGA, which is already is striking against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, is set to resume negotiations on that front next Monday, Nov. 26. That strike, involving TV and movie writers, kicked off Nov. 5.
In November 2006, the WGA-CBS membership voted by an overwhelming 99% to reject CBS’s contract offer. Since that time, the union claims that CBS has refused to put forth any new proposals, insisting on the offer which membership rejected.
According to the guild, key elements of CBS’s last contract offer, which was rejected by the membership, include a two-tier wage package – television and network radio members in one tier and local radio members in another – below the cost of living with no retroactive pay. The proposal offered 2.2% raises for television and network radio, and 1.48% raises for local radio.
“Contrary to what the WGA contends, CBS proposed an annual increase of 3% for television and network radio, and 2% for the radio stations covered by this agreement,” CBS said. “The lower percentage increases the WGA continues to cite are based on spreading the increases as if they were retroactive to April 2005; the offer of retroactivity expired after CBS had made numerous attempts over a long period of time to conduct and conclude negotiations.”
CBS was also seeking the right to assign current WGA responsibilities at KNX radio in Los Angeles to non-WGA employees, and the ability to merge or combine Guild shops with non-Guild units, and in doing so potentially force the Guild out of those shops, according to the union. Stations affected may include WCBS-AM and WINS-AM in New York, and KNX and KFWB in Los Angeles.
“As to the issue of assigning current WGA responsibilities at KNX radio to non-WGA employees, here are the facts: We are simply asking that some writing duties be shared with those from another professional talent union [AFTRA] at a sister station in Los Angeles,” CBS said. “This request seems fair given that AFTRA employees had already agreed to it, and that we are offering layoff protection to any worker at KNX affected by the change.”
The WGA-CBS national agreement covers news writers, editors, desk assistants, production assistants, graphic artists, promotion writers, and researchers. More than 500 WGA-CBS employees are covered under the contract that expired April 1, 2005. The two sides last met at the negotiations table Jan. 8.
“We hope there is no strike,” CBS said. “Should there be, however, CBS News, CBS Television Stations and CBS Radio remains fully prepared, and ready to continue producing the highest quality news programming for our viewers.”
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