Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/555596
SAGAFTRA.org | Summer 2015 | SAG-AFTRA 15 Broadcast News Keeping It Local S AG-AFTRA has been engaged in tense negotiations on behalf of members working for KGO-AM and KNBR-AM in San Francisco and their employer, Cumulus Media. KGO-AM delivers home-grown, local news and programming to Bay Area listeners, while KNBR-AM is the radio home of the San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors and other Bay Area teams. KGO on-air talent has been represented by the union for years, while KNBR and off-air KGO professionals recently voted to join SAG-AFTRA. One issue is Cumulus' desire to have unfettered ability to re-use material without additional compensation and displace local programming. But when local events are unfolding, the most trusted sources of information are always the local news teams with a true connection to the community. During negotiations, SAG-AFTRA relaunched its effective campaign website, Save Local Radio (savelocalradio.org), to support KGO and KNBR members. The website was launched in 2014 when employees at another Bay Area station, KOIT, were facing tough challenges by their employer during negotiations. The website ORGANIZING CAMPAIGNS FIND SUCCESS S AG-AFTRA's work in organizing broadcast shops across the country can often seem like a long and daunting process, fraught with delays, legal challenges and employer opposition. Yet, many broadcast employees have found that success is possible with a carefully planned organizing campaign along with hard work, perseverance and solidarity. The last 12 months have been eventful for SAG-AFTRA's News & Broadcast and Organizing staff and membership. Employees at several previously non-union stations and non-represented groups of employees at SAG-AFTRA shops have worked very hard to organize their workplace and negotiate first contracts with their employers. Organizing a station is no easy feat, and yet these workers worked with SAG-AFTRA staff to secure a voice at work through a union contract. Following the successful organizing and first contract with KPCC/Southern California Public Radio, the on- and off-air employees who produce content for KPBS-TV/FM in San Diego voted to organize with SAG-AFTRA in November 2013, and they secured their first contract in June 2015. "This is a great day for KPBS and for San Diego," said KPBS Midday Edition host Maureen Cavanaugh. "This first contract means professional standards and fair policies will enhance the great journalism at KPBS for years to come. It's a victory for everyone involved." The KPBS talks coincided with a public media contract campaign in a well-known union town: Chicago. There, on- and off-air personnel at Chicago Public Media (CPM)/ WBEZ and Vocalo voted to unionize in December 2013. Seven months later, in July 2014, an additional group of engineering and technical professionals at CPM voted to join the union. (This second group is still negotiating their first contract.) Together, these three public media stations brought more than 150 full-time positions under SAG-AFTRA contracts. The last week of June this year proved to be a very busy one. On the same day KPBS staff members voted on their first contract, the CPM/WBEZ/Vocalo staffers voted to approve their first one as well. Additionally, SAG-AFTRA's largest broadcast unit, National Public Radio (NPR) set Twitter afire as talks for their new two-year contract were nearing the 11th hour, with the trending hashtag #WeMakeNPR. Just before the Fourth of July break, the members represented by SAG-AFTRA and NPR management hashed out a new contract. (See story on page 16.) On the commercial radio side, SAG-AFTRA has been engaged in some sensitive negotiations with stations owned by CBS and Cumulus Media. In San Francisco, the on- and off-air employees who produce content for sports radio stations KNBR-AM and KTCT 1050-AM, owned by Cumulus Media, organized in November 2014 and remain in negotiations. Following the KNBR election, the off-air employees who produce content for Cumulus-owned KGO-AM and KSFO-AM voted in a National Labor Relations Board election in March 2015 to join the existing SAG-AFTRA unit of on-air employees. The members of the newly formed KPBS broadcast unit in San Diego Continues on page 18 LOCAL RADIO "This first contract means professional standards and fair policies will enhance the great journalism at KPBS for years to come." — Maureen Cavanaugh, KPBS host Continues on page 18