NBC10 President and General Manager Ric Harris told
striking photographers and technicians that union management has provided them
with faulty information about contract negotiations – a claim leaders of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 deny.
In a memorandum to the station’s striking 65 employees
obtained by the Philadelphia Business Journal, Harris said Local 98 distributed
untrue information to its members on a flyer, which said management pulled a
contract off the table.
“We have not 'pulled their contract off the table.'"
Harris wrote Friday. “This is factually inaccurate and misleading. Our offer
remains open today. Our offer did not have a clause saying it expired on a
certain day. This should clarify and provide a more accurate account of where
we are in the bargaining process.”
Ken Agatone, technical director for NBC10 and a union
shop steward, said Friday, as he picketed outside the Comcast Center in Center
City, that Harris' comments are a play on semantics.
Management pulled a proposal, essentially a contract,
said Agatone, who has been working for over a year without a contract.
"It's semantics on one hand, on the other hand, it's
insignificant," he said. "They're eroding jobs."
Harris said NBC10 made an offer in writing on Wednesday
to IBEW Local 98 Assistant Business Manager James Foy and was later informed
that offer was rejected by a membership vote that night.
Both sides acknowledge that the key sticking point in
negotiations for the NBC10 employees has been implementation of Automated
Production Control (APC), which automates some functions that IBEW members
traditionally performed.
Union officials say adopting APC could lead to cutting at
least six and as many as 12 union positions and replacing them with cheaper
workers.
Harris, however, said this flexibility is something
needed to keep pace with rival stations.
“Please know that our major competitor in town has always
had significantly more flexibility scheduling and operating control room
functions,” Harris wrote in the memo. “The flexibility we seek has also become
the industry standard, as hundreds of stations across the country are also
employing this operating model.”
Harris said union leadership refused to consider this
model, so it was altered to allow NBC10 to operate with current staffing levels
and does not reduce the number of IBEW APC operators.
“This model was also rejected,” Harris wrote. “The offer
also included competitive wage increases and a signing bonus, all still on the
table.”
Married with four children, including a disabled
daughter, Agatone said this is not about wage increases but maintaining jobs.
He added the union also offered alternatives that preserved
the union positions, which the company rejected.
CBS3 photographers and technicians pondered a strike
before reaching a settlement earlier this week. A union source there said while
it tried to use the pope’s visit this weekend as leverage, union leadership
could not allow its members to lose overtime money that will surely be
available this weekend.
When asked about that, Agatone said he understands the
union will be losing overtime and regular time pay.
“I’m a shop steward but I’m also a family man,” Agatone
said. “We just felt this was the time to put pressure on management with the
pope coming. They already had to cancel a show this morning and a special on
the pope last night. They won’t be able to give it the attention it deserves.”
Sources said NBC10 will be employing the services of
workers from other NBC stations as well as non-union freelancers to help with
coverage while the strike persists.
According to documents obtained by the Philadelphia
Business Journal, the contract proposal from NBC10 calls for a four-year deal
running from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2018 with 2.75 percent wage
increases effective upon ratification and 3 percent raises in 2016 and 2017.
Along with the group handing out flyers – which called
for "Comcast to put working families first!" and listed executives
salaries – to passersby near the Comcast Center, there was another contingent
of striking employees outside NBC10's studios on City Line Avenue in Bala
Cynwyd. The group also took their campaign to social media, using the hashtag –
#FamiliesFirstatNBC10.
A copy of Harris' memo can be found below:
Good morning,
Allow me to begin
by saying that we respect your right to strike and remain vigilant in our
efforts to bring this labor situation to a positive conclusion.
It has come to my
attention that the attached flyer was distributed to the general public last
night by IBEW protestors. I am very concerned about the factual inaccuracy of
this flyer and wish to be certain that you have accurate information about our
recent contract offer that we presented to your union leadership. My message is
intended to clarify the information about our contract offer.
We made an offer in
writing on Wednesday to your union leader. I am attaching the email from our
head of labor relations that outlines the last offer we made to IBEW. We were
informed by your union leadership that our last offer was rejected by a vote on
Wednesday night. We have not “pulled their contract off the table.” This is
factually inaccurate and misleading. Our offer remains open today. Our offer
did not have a clause saying it expired on a certain day. This should clarify
and provide a more accurate account of where we are in the bargaining process.
It is important to
note that the only initiative that we are trying to advance in these
negotiations is the implementation of APC. In fact, it is the only sticking
point consistently identified by your union leadership as an impediment to
getting a deal done. Please know that our major competitor in town has always
had significantly more flexibility scheduling and operating control room
functions. The flexibility we seek has also become the industry standard, as
hundreds of stations across the country are also employing this operating
model.
Because your union
leadership refused to consider this model, we reduced our proposal to only
include a single operator for cut-ins and emergency breaking news. This
operating model would encompass roughly four hours per week, an equivalent of
10% of the weekly work schedule for the six APC operators. This model would
allow us to operate with current staffing and in fact does not reduce the
number of IBEW APC operators, while enabling the flexibility needed to
effectively execute cut-ins and emergency breaking news. This model was also
rejected. The offer also included competitive wage increases and a signing
bonus, all still on the table.
We remain hopeful
that your union leaders will contact us soon so that we can get back to the
bargaining table.
If you have any
questions about any of this, please contact your union leadership.
Ric
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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