NLRB Says NBC Universal Broke Law
Monday, April 14, 2014
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
The National Labor Relations Board ruled
on April 7 that NBC Universal violated federal
labor law by refusing to
recognize and bargain with NABET-CWA. The case
stems from an attempt by NBC in
early 2009 to unilaterally change the terms
and conditions of employment
for NABET-CWA members working as news writers,
editors, and photographers at owned
and operated TV stations in New York City,
Chicago, and Los Angeles, as well as
at the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C. NBC
tried to claim that it was
consolidating work and creating new, non-union
"content producer"
jobs. NABET-CWA pushed back, and a 2011 NLRB
ruling out of Region 2 made it
clear that these so-called “content
producers” were doing the same work they've
always done – just with a different title.
Now the NLRB has ordered NBC to
recognize and bargain with NABET-CWA and to
provide the information NABET-CWA
negotiators had requested last October. As a
result of the decision, NABET-CWA
represents all content producers at the
Chicago, New York and Los Angeles
stations, whether or not those workers
previously had been represented by
NABET-CWA before NBC changed their job
classification to content producer. At
the Washington, D.C. station, a representation
election must be held for the
content producers group. NABET-CWA President
Jim Joyce said the union "is
grateful for the decision of the NLRB and we
expect NBC to now negotiate a
contract with us for the workers." -
CWA Newsletter; photo: members
of NABET-CWA Local 52031 picket outside WRC,
the local NBC affiliate, in 2010;
photo courtesy CWA