Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1506201
sagaftra.org | Summer 2023 | SAG-AFTRA 13 Broadcast News Steward Training Focuses on Personal Contracts O n June 10, the SAG-AFTRA Broadcast Steering Committee gathered virtually for its second meeting of the year. The committee kicked off with a staff update on the WGA strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike authorization vote, and members discussed how broadcasters can show solidarity. The committee moved on to a spirited conversation about the state of artificial intelligence in broadcasting, and members discussed how AI could impact their work going forward. The committee took a moment to pay tribute and share stories in memory of late SAG-AFTRA broadcast members Tony Valdez and Jeff Baugh. Both members were loved and celebrated by the Broadcast Steering Committee and will be deeply missed. The conversation wrapped with negotiations and employer updates from committee members and national staff reports. Highlights included discussions about the state of noncompete legislation and current and recent organizing and contract campaigns. Bargaining Committee members Tony Wagner (Marketplace) and Caitlin Hernández (LAist) gave presentations on the recently ratified agreements at their respective stations, and KCRW steward and Bargaining Committee member Tyler Boudreaux gave an update on the first month of active negotiations with KCRW for a successor agreement. Finally, staff gave an overview of upcoming virtual steward training and the journalism conferences that SAG-AFTRA will be attending throughout the summer. The Broadcast Steering Committee will meet again in the fall. Public Media Stations Ride the Summer Waves in Bargaining A s the summer of 2023 continues, SAG-AFTRA public media stations around the country are bargaining first contracts as well as successor agreements. From New York Public Radio to KCRW in Santa Monica, WFAE in North Carolina to WBUR in Boston, public media members are bargaining from coast to coast. Union membership at public media stations has significantly grown within SAG-AFTRA, and a community of workers very much like others within SAG-AFTRA are showing support and solidarity for each other. Bargaining proposals at public media stations are not unique to SAG-AFTRA or the labor movement, with priorities that include: establishing labor-management committees; equity and inclusion initiatives to ensure equitable wage scales, among other protections; securing cancellation of show compensation; expanding leave benefits; and opportunities for advancement and growth. "Workers are empowered more than ever and want a voice at work and a seat at the table," said Maggie Russell-Brown, national organizing director for SAG-AFTRA. "Broadcasters along with performers are inspired to collective action by workers from sibling media unions and across industries like Amazon, Trader Joe's and Starbucks." WHQR Joins the SAG-AFTRA Fold From left, WHQR reporter/host Kelly Kenoyer, Development Associate Sharpe Williams and reporter/host Rachel Keith are among the newest members of a SAG-AFTRA public media bargaining unit. Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and serving the Cape Fear region as well as the broader area of southeastern North Carolina, the station airs news and music, produces podcasts and also hosts live events. The bargaining unit was voluntarily recognized on May 26, and members of the unit look forward to starting negotiations sometime this summer. This organizing victory was particularly notable, given that North Carolina is a so-called "right-to-work" state.