KGTV "Celebrates" Contract Anniversary
January 31, 2010
KGTV managers "celebrated" the anniversary of the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement by asking employees, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" Local 54 Vice-President Robert Buchanan: "That's like having a disagreement with your neighbors, setting their house on fire, blocking the fire department from responding, then asking as they stand in the ruins if they are better off now than before you burned their house down. The difference here is that the fire quickly spread to KGTV's house and it's still burning."
Given the situation at KGTV, the question appears rhetorical: The 
employees have suffered threats and intimidation at the hands of morally corrupt managers. The managers have lost the respect of the employees. The station has suffered a ratings and revenue decline — the likes of which have not been seen for decades. KGTV's image in the community has taken a huge hit and the advertisers and public are not being served.
Since KGTV managers have spent their time attacking Union representatives — and individual employees — instead of keeping their eye on the ball, it's time for a reality check:
- It is KGTV that hired a known union-busting law firm who developed an "impasse" plan and profiled employees.
- It is KGTV that ended negotiations prematurely and presented a "final offer."
- It is KGTV that kicked off a mobilization campaign by implementing parts of their final offer against the will of the employees.
- It is KGTV that had to settle charges with the NLRB that it threatened and intimidated employees. When KGTV filed a charge that the Union was not representing employees, the Labor Board told KGTV to take a hike.
- It is KGTV that returned to the table only to make their original offer worse.
- It is KGTV that has unjustly disciplined more Union members since the start of the dispute than in the previous 25 years combined.
- It is KGTV that has refused all attempts to resolve the outstanding issues.
KGTV refuses to accept the will of the employees and their right to bargain over the terms and conditions of employment. Even religious leaders — Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) — says KGTV's goals are "to create intimidation, confusion, exhaustion, and fear."Interfaith Worker Justice reminded Local 54 members to "look past the intimidation, because workers win when they stick together and stay focused. Ignore the misinformation by realizing the boss is just trying to distract from the real issues. When companies spend so much time and money to stop the Union, they really are just trying to stop workers from having rights and a voice."
Local 54 President Dennis Csillag: "It is understood that union-busting comes with threats, intimidation, personal attacks — and a lack of substantive discussion of the real issues. That understanding is why we can look past those tactics. The goal is a fair and equitable agreement that both parties can accept, and we continue to strive for that. That's why over 189,000 union families, community groups, religious leaders and elected officials support us."
The bottom line is that when you clear away KGTV's union-busting smoke, NABET-CWA has a standing offer to KGTV to negotiate a fair and equitable agreement, resolve the issues, and move forward. Until KGTV managers decide that's the right thing to do, neither the employees, the Company, the advertisers, the public nor the shareholders are being served.
It's been 4 years since negotiations first began on a new contract for workers at KGTV. The prior agreement expired on January 31, 2006, but most of the terms and conditions remain in effect. Negotiations came to a standstill on March 16, 2006, when management presented the
Union Negotiating Committee with a "final" offer. That offer was overwhelmingly turned down by the Local
54 membership at a ratification meeting on March 25, 2006. Several weeks later, KGTV implemented parts of the offer and
Local 54 members began a mobilization campaign.
Related Links
KGTV Documents Revealed | One Day Longer, One Day Stronger | Pictures & Video | 10NewsUnfair.com
NABET-CWA President John Clark Retires
January 31, 2010
NABET-CWA President John S. Clark retires today, winding up 43 years in the Union he joined while working at NBC Radio in New York City. Clark was working as a vacation relief engineer at the radio network when he joined 
NABET Local 11 in 1967. He served as a Steward, Executive Board member, Grievance Chair and Vice-President before being elected Local President in 1987. He was elected an International Vice-President in 1986 and became International President in October 1993.
Clark has been no stranger to San Diego or Local 54. He made numerous trips to San Diego over the years, toured and inspected the KGTV facility many times, met our members and participated in person at negotiations in 1996 and 2007. He kept close tabs on every other set of negotiations and participated via conference call. "John was always available, very supportive and offered sound advice. We were very fortunate to have his leadership, along with the support of the Sector Executive Council (SEC) and our representative Don Jernigan," said Local 54 President Dennis Csillag.
When KGTV and McGraw-Hill decided to try union-busting in 2006, it was Clark and the SEC who provided immediate support and funding for Local 54's mobilization campaign. Clark has met with McGraw-Hill officials, led the handbilling effort at the McGraw-Hill headquarters in New York, attended our rallies in San Diego and handbilled with Local 54 members at KGTV advertisers.
Among Clark's proud accomplishments was NABET's 1994 merger with CWA and the work he, former NABET President James Nolan and CWA President Larry Cohen did to make it happen. "I'm proud to have played a leading role in bringing our organization into a union with greater impact, visibility, influence and resources," Clark said. "The merger was a major step forward for our membership in every way, and expanded CWA's footprint into the media industry. It was a win-win for everyone."
Cohen praised Clark's wealth of knowledge and the mix of diplomacy and tenacity he brought to contract negotiations. "John's brilliance in bargaining, mastery of the subject matter as well as his perfect ability to work with our national teams will be sorely missed," he said.
NABET-CWA Vice-President James Joyce will succeed Clark. At a dinner in Clark's honor in Los Angeles on January 28, Joyce made a point of pledging full and continued support for Local 54's mobilization campaign until the Company negotiates a fair and equitable contract. "Jim has actively participated in our mobilization efforts and delivered the keynote speech at our rally in February 2009. We look forward to working even more closely with him," said Csillag.
Related Links
KGTV Documents Revealed | One Day Longer, One Day Stronger | Pictures & Video | 10NewsUnfair.com
KGTV Profits Down; New ABC Deal
January 26, 2010
McGraw-Hill announced that fourth quarter revenue for its Broadcasting Group decreased nearly 27% to $23.3 million and was off more than 24% to $81.1 million for all of 2009. The Company said both national and local time sales declined in the fourth quarter. This is the first time in decades that revenue from the TV stations has fallen below the $100 million mark. In the past decade, the group hit a high mark for revenue in 2000 with $127.8 million. The poor showing is the result of a weak economy and a protracted union-busting attempt by management at KGTV. A source close to McGraw-Hill managers admits that KGTV has become a drag on the performance of the Broadcasting Group.
McGraw-Hill Broadcasting president Darrell Brown also announced that the Company has signed a new deal to continue broadcasting ABC programming. Brown told staffers, "I'm pleased to inform you that McGraw-Hill Broadcasting has 
renewed its affiliation agreement with ABC for WRTV, KMGH, KGTV, and KERO through December 31st, 2014." The prior agreement expired at the end of 2009.
Brown — who is also chairman of the ABC affiliates board — did not provide additional details, but ABC has been looking to get cash from its affiliates when bargaining network-affiliate agreement renewals. ABC has asked for either 50% of the retransmission consent money stations receive from cable and satellite operators or a flat license fee, whichever is greater, according to TVNewsCheck. The network is also looking to become the party that would eventually negotiate retrans agreements with operators on behalf of all ABC affiliates.
ABC's demands mark a dramatic change in the evolving relationship between broadcast networks and their affiliates. Under the original model, the networks would compensate stations to carry network programming. Over the past decade, those network comp payments have diminished to virtually nothing. Now ABC and the other networks want cash from their affiliates — a practice that has become known as reverse compensation.
According to TVNewsCheck, ABC also wants to eliminate the ability of stations to preempt network programming without penalty, and is asking affiliates to pay more to participate in the ABC NewsOne news exchange. ABC is currently negotiating new affiliate agreements with other major station groups whose contracts expired at the end of 2009, including Hearst Television (ABC's largest affiliate group), Sinclair Broadcast Group, Hubbard Broadcasting, Belo and Post-Newsweek Stations.
Related Links
KGTV Documents Revealed | One Day Longer, One Day Stronger | Pictures & Video | 10NewsUnfair.com
Sempra Energy Steps Into KGTV Dispute
January 21, 2010
The 10th Annual 10News Leadership Award Gala was held on January 19 at the Sempra Energy Foundation, and Local 54 members were on-hand to pass out congratulatory flyers to the award recipients. The flyers also informed the winners and their guests about the ongoing contract dispute at KGTV, and invited them to visit 10NewsUnfair.com for more information.
Many of the attendees were surprised to hear about the dispute or were not aware of the extent of KGTV's union-busting activities. NABET-CWA representatives had an opportunity to engage in conversations with some of 
the award-winners and their guests both before and after the event. One man summed it up best: "It's like Channel 10 is talking out of both sides of their mouth. On the one hand, they're involved in this community service. On the other hand, they don't treat their own employees with fairness and respect. I've always believed you treat your employees right and to find out this, it takes some of the shine off the award. It's really disturbing to me."
Sempra Energy officials stepped into the middle of the dispute when they assigned personnel to try and take the flyers from the recipients once they entered the building. Most people declined to give them up and one woman told Local 54 she thought it amounted to "censorship of free speech. It's kind of strange considering Channel 10 is part of the media." Local 54 contacted Sempra Energy to ask why they decided to take sides in the dispute. Sempra spokesman Doug Kline declined to comment for this article.
Sempra Energy employees who were leaving work about the time the gala started were supportive of the Local 54 handbilling event. Many Sempra employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 465. The 10News Leadership Award is given to "someone who provides leadership by making San Diego a better place to live, by standing up for those who need help, and improving the quality of life for all San Diegans." The Sempra Energy Foundation is a sponsor of the program.
Related Links
KGTV Documents Revealed | One Day Longer, One Day Stronger | Pictures & Video | 10NewsUnfair.com
Looking Back: Top 10 Local Stories of 2009
Union Supporters Protest During 10News Live Reports
In September, NABET-CWA supporters began staging on-air protests during 10News live reports. The extra visibility sent thousands of visitors to 10NewsUnfair.com to get the real story on this management-labor dispute. KGTV cancelled many live reports or resorted to pre-taped "look-lives" and routinely sent live units into the field to be used as decoys. KGTV General Manager Jeff Block — like his predecessors — immediately threatened employees represented by NABET-CWA. After the first protest, Block wrote employees: "We are looking into how this might have happened and if any KGTV employees were involved in any way, and will take swift, significant and appropriate action against any misconduct." Block admitted the protests were "alienating our viewers and advertisers."
Former KGTV General Manager Derek Dalton used similar threats against employees in late 2007, forcing local labor leaders to demand his resignation. Dalton resigned his position one week later. Former Broadcasting President Ed Quinn assumed Dalton's duties until McGraw-Hill executives replaced Quinn with Darrell Brown in July 2008. Brown is a former KGTV GM. Protests, rallies, boycotts, handbilling, advertising and appeals to the public are the lawful tools available to NABET-CWA until McGraw-Hill decides to negotiate a fair and equitable agreement. No Contract, No Peace.
MORE TOP 10
Related Links
Top 10 TV Blunders of the Decade | KGTV Documents Revealed | One Day Longer, One Day Stronger | Pictures & Video | 10NewsUnfair.com
Quick Hits
Report: Union Membership Benefits Workers. A new report says joining a union would be good for all workers because union members receive better pay and benefits than nonunion workers. “The Unions of the States,” by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), studied union membership rates, size of the union workforce and wage and benefit advantages 
for union workers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report found California has the most union members, 2.6 million, and Wyoming the least, with about 20,000. The report says the union difference is clear in every state, with union members averaging 15% more pay an hour and being 23% more likely to have better benefits. In California, Union workers earn 20% more and the benefits advantage is 25%. The report makes the point that protecting workers’ right to join a union —the reason for the Employee Free Choice Act— is important and would benefit the country: "These findings demonstrate that, across the states, workers who are able to bargain collectively earn more and are more likely to have benefits associated with good jobs. Taken together these data strongly suggest that better protection of workers’ right to unionize would have a substantial positive impact on the pay and benefits of workers in every state."
Senate Confirms Smith as Solicitor of Labor. By a 60-37 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed M. Patricia Smith as the Solicitor of Labor. The solicitor of labor oversees enforcement of the nation’s most important labor laws and sets enforcement 
priorities that have a major impact on workers and their lives. During her confirmation hearing last year, Smith said she would bring to the job a “philosophy of proactive enforcement.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka believes the confirmation was long overdue. "At a time when working families are bearing the brunt of the economic recession and violations of workplace rights are rampant, Ms. Smith’s commitment to strong, fair and effective enforcement of our workplace laws is crucial," Trumpka said. The vote follows some nine months of Republican obstruction in an attempt to block Smith from being confirmed. The vote was partisan, with all Republicans voting against Smith, who was the commissioner of labor in New York state. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) accused Republicans of obsruction. " We’ve had one year of Republicans saying no, of blocking and obstructing. This isn’t an inconsequential position. It’s a position that protects workers’ ability to be part of the middle class," Sherrod said. Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), welcomed the confirmation. "For the last decade, lax labor law enforcement has made workers far more susceptible to abuses like unpaid overtime and wage theft, unsafe working conditions, and workplace discrimination, which is why Patricia Smith’s confirmation as Solicitor of Labor marks such an important change," Eisenbrey said.
Solis Backs Employee Free Choice, Strong Enforcement. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis says workers face increasing obstacles when they try to form unions and “we need to restore their freedom to do so.” In testimony before the U.S. 
House Education and Labor Committee, Solis looked back at the department’s actions in 2009 and forward to its 2010 agenda. In reiterating the Obama administration’s support for the Employee Free Choice Act, Solis said, "I will work to ensure that workers’ rights will be protected." She also told the panel that the Labor Department will continue to “protect workers in the new economy. I am committed to enforcing all employment laws.” Solis said staffing levels at the Wage and Hour Division have increased, putting more investigators into the field who have “helped secure millions of dollars in back pay for thousands of workers.” House Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) pointed to the increased emphasis on workers’ safety since Solis took the reins at the department. "For too long, OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] failed to respond to real dangers and put American workers in needless peril. Recent enforcement actions by the new administration have been a breath of fresh air. Instead of looking the other way, this administration is holding reckless employers accountable," Miller said. Solis also outlined how the department used nearly $60 billion in economic stimulus funds to provide a lifeline to unemployed workers and training opportunities —especially in new economy green jobs— for jobless workers.
California Borax Miners Locked Out. Some 540 workers were locked out of the giant Rio Tinto Borax mine in Boron, California after the workers, members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30, unanimously rejected the company’s latest contract offer. The company shut off further contract talks and brought in replacement workers. 
The mine is the largest open-pit mine in the state and the second largest borax mine in the world. Many of the town’s 2,000 residents work at the mine, which has been a key contributor to the town’s economy. Jim Freeman, a 31-year veteran at the mine, told the Los Angeles Times, "I think the company had the impression we were going to roll over and let them feed us the poison." London-based Rio Tinto employs some 720 people in Boron, paying between $12 and $35 an hour, according to the union. The mining giant operates on five continents and reported $2.5 billion in net earnings for the first half of 2009. Yet Rio Tinto, which says it lost 25% of its share of the global borax market, is refusing to negotiate a fair contract. On the local’s website, workers say they are determined to fight for their rights and the rights of working people: "While Rio Tinto has shown that they don’t care for us and our communities, we’re more determined than ever to stand up and see this thing through. Too many people in America are losing good jobs and working harder, while big companies make billions and don’t play by the rules. That’s why we’re taking a stand in Boron, not just for ourselves and our communities, but for everyone in America who’s fed up with corporate greed and a system that doesn’t protect hard-working families." Union spokesman Craig Merrilees said enough is enough. "Rio Tinto wants to take good full-time jobs and replace them with part-time, temporary positions that pay little or no benefits, and make it impossible for working families to survive. People here are tough and willing to see this through to the end. It’s not just about Rio Tinto but all the companies doing this to people across the country. In this little town people are drawing the line," Merrilees said.
Comcast, NBC Universal Visit Capitol Hill. Comcast and NBC Universal executives may be through arguing about their merger with former "Saturday Night Live" performer Sen. Al Franken, but the two companies will be making return trips to Capitol Hill to again sell their deal in the weeks ahead. Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts and NBC Universal chief executive 
Jeff Zucker had a long day in front of both the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet and the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. Besides being grilled on whether a marriage of the nation's biggest cable and broadband provider with a content giant would be bad for consumers and competition, Franken (D-Minn.) made the process personal, accusing NBC of lying in the past about how it does business. "You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t trust these promises, and that is from experience in this business," Franken said in his opening remarks during the Senate subcommittee hearing. Roberts and Zucker will have a few weeks off before the next round of hearings about the deal, which would see Comcast take a 51% stake in General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal. Both the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee are expected to grill Comcast and NBC Universal about the proposed $30-billion deal either later this month or in early March. The Federal Communications Commission, which along with the Justice Department will decide on whether to approve the deal and what conditions should be attached, will issue a public notice in a few weeks to the industry and media watchdogs to file comments on the transaction. Although Congress has no formal role in the approval process, it does have oversight over both the FCC and the DOJ.
Layoffs at ABC, CBS, Sony. ABC Broadcast Operations and Engineering is eliminating 31 positions in New York, representing a little over 5% of the workforce of 575 people. Preston Davis, president of ABC's BOE, said that the positions eliminated were 
primarily management positions, mostly at the director or manager level, and were not related to installing new technology such as automation systems. BOE plans to eliminate more jobs later this year, bringing the total reduction in staff to about 70 positions. ABC cut about 100 positions over the last 2 years in New York and Washington, D.C. The news division at CBS was also hit with layoffs at its New York headquarters and the 150-person Washington bureau. Most CBS News programs will end up losing some staff including 60 Minutes, which has largely been spared the axe in the past. The total number of layoffs is expected to come in under 100 or less than 7% of the news division. CBS News' foreign bureaus underwent downsizing in 2008, and last year the network signed a deal with foreign news gathering web site GlobalPost that gives CBS News a footprint in 50 countries via the independent sites' army of correspondents. Sony Pictures Entertainment is laying off 450 people, more than 6.5% of its global workforce of 6,800 employees, as part of a studio-wide belt-tightening move blamed on the growth of piracy and the ongoing downturn in DVD sales. Sony said most of the layoffs would affect the home entertainment and information technology divisions. But all divisions will be affected, including motion pictures, television, digital production and even the corporate suites. Along with the layoffs, which start in March, the studio is eliminating about 100 open positions. This will be the second time in a year that Sony Pictures has slashed its workforce. Last March, the studio laid off 250 people and eliminated an additional 100 positions. Combined DVD and Blu-ray sales declined more than 13% in the U.S. last year.
This website has been honored with CWA's 2009 "e-Advocacy Award" and 2008 "Members Choice Award." CWA is "The Union for the Information Age," representing 700,000 workers in communications, media, airlines, manufacturing and public service.
