NBC10 employees strike 2 days before pope arrives

Approximately 65 NBC10 photographers and technicians went on strike Thursday afternoon, hours after a giant inflatable rat appeared outside the station.

The NBC10 employees, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98, voted Wednesday night to strike and walked off the job the next day as the station was in the middle of its 2.5 hours of evening newscasts, multiple sources said.

Union members reviewed management’s final offer before voting to authorize the strike – a measure first set in motion two weeks ago when the workers submitted a 10-day notice to strike should contract negotiations collapse.

The vote means the station is without its usual photographers and technicians during Pope Francis' visit to Philly this weekend.

"While it is unfortunate that IBEW Loal 98 has decided to engage in a job action, we remain committed to ensuring this has no impact on our broadcast," an NBC10 spokeswoman said in a statement late Thursday.

The station is prepared with a backup plan – they have other, non-union photographers on standby as a precautionary measure, multiple sources told the Business Journal.

"Our viewers will continue to have full access to all of our local news and information without interruption," the company spokeswoman said. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to achieve a mutual resolution of our outstanding issues with the union."

The union notified station management last week that they were exercising their right to terminate a collective bargaining agreement in 10 days and set a Sept. 21 strike date. But affected employees remained on the job as the two sides worked on hammering out a deal.

The union photographers and technicians were still working Thursday when the inflatable rat appeared — the hallmark of IBEW Local 98 – outside the Bala Cynwyd station.

The inflatable rat was later moved to the Comcast Center at 17th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard – just as the Philly-based media giant was hosting members of the media from around the world for a World Meeting of Families welcome party.

The key sticking point in negotiations for the NBC10 employees has been cutting at least six and as many as 12 union positions and replacing them with cheaper workers.

Earlier this week, CBS3 has reached a three-year contract agreement with the union representing the station’s approximately 75 photographers and technicians.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal