Union Condemns Company Attempts to Outsource Work, Cut Quality Jobs
NEW YORK – Members of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA will stage a protest tonight outside NBC Universal’s Fall Preview Gala at the Town Hall Theater in Manhattan. More than 2,500 NBCU employees at the NBC Television Network and its owned TV stations in New York, Washington, D.C.; Chicago, and Burbank have been working without a contract for nearly two months. Union and company negotiators have been meeting sporadically since last September; little progress for a new agreement has been made.
Tonight’s Fall Preview at the Town Hall Theater will feature appearances by NBC entertainers Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, and Jimmy Fallon. Traditionally, television advertisers commit to buy advertising “upfront” of the official fall TV season as a result of the Fall Preview presentation. NABET-CWA members will be hand billing advertisers and guests attending the event tonight, letting them know that NABET-CWA will appeal to the public to “Turn Off NBC” until a fair settlement is reached with NBC Universal.
“NBC Universal still doesn’t seem ready to bargain a fair contract,” said NABET-CWA President John S. Clark, citing several examples of NBC Universal’s attempt to cut quality jobs and benefits:
The company is trying to eliminate quality jobs by establishing a new, non-union represented “Content Producer” position at its owned stations. NABET-CWA represented workers, who have been doing this same work for decades, were told to reapply to these virtually identical jobs that would no longer include overtime pay and would reduce other compensation.
NBC Universal announced plans to close its owned-station hubbing operations in New York and Burbank, Calif., and move them to non-union facilities at Crawford Communications in Georgia, and to shut its New York City Media Operations Center and transfer that work to its non-union CNBC facility in New Jersey.
The company assigned MSNBC employees to design graphics for “The Today Show,” taking additional work away from New York-based NABET-CWA-represented employees.
NABET-CWA Locals have filed unfair labor charges and unit clarification petitions with the National Labor Relations Board and put NBC Universal on notice previously that workers will mobilize across the country to fight for a fair and equitable contract. The contract between NABET-CWA and NBC Universal expired at midnight on March 31, 2009. No new talks have been scheduled.
