Seattle’s local television stations have been keeping close tabs on the labor unrest in Wisconsin over the last two months. “Thousands Protest Anti-Union Bill in Wisconsin,” reported KING 5 on February 17. “Wisconsin Labor Protestors Refuse to Quit,” reported KIRO 7 on March 12. But there’s a labor battle much closer to home that those stations haven’t reported on at all.
According to a union that represents 76 video editors, engineers, and broadcast directors at KING and KIRO, the owners of those two television stations are quietly trying to take away their workers’ freedom to engage in basic union activities such as striking, talking to the media about their grievances, and negotiating for better compensation.
“They are asking us to give up our rights,” said Angela Marshall of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46 (IBEW), which represents the KING and KIRO workers. “They want to strip us of the ability to strike for wages and benefits, or even have a say over our working conditions.”
Executives at both stations did not respond to requests for comment on their negotiations with IBEW Local 46, but the union said talks have been under way since October, when contracts with the two stations expired, and that the stations are trying to force new contracts that essentially negate the power and purpose of collective bargaining.
Marshall added that IBEW workers, who make between $25.30 and $32.86 per hour at KIRO and between $16.05 and $29.92 per hour at KING, were too uncomfortable with the situation to even pose for a picture to accompany this article. “Everyone is kind of scared right now,” she said.
The tension has been ratcheting up for some time. Behind closed doors at an IBEW membership meeting on February 22, every single KIRO employee voted to reject the company’s contract offer, which involved demands that the union give up its ability to publicly protest working conditions, negotiate over work hours, or have a say in advance of any changes to health care plans.
“Here are the corporate television station owners in Seattle demanding that their workers sell out their right to strike,” said Kathy Cummings, spokeswoman for the Washington State Labor Council. “I find that ridiculous. Historically, a strike is the only way a worker gets the attention of their employers. These workers have to protect their future, their families, and their working conditions. What power would they have left to defend themselves if they sell out this right? It is unconscionable that the employers would even ask.”
At another meeting on March 28, the union members at KIRO made a counteroffer. They proposed wage concessions but refused to give in to limits on their future collective bargaining rights. KIRO negotiators rejected the proposal, canceled future bargaining sessions, and told the union they weren’t willing to meet anymore, according to Marshall.
At KING, she said, negotiators for the station are demanding their executives be given the ability to institute wage freezes or furloughs—and make changes to the paid time off policy—without first consulting the union.
“When they were going through tough times, we agreed to a wage freeze,” Marshall said. “That was not a problem.” The problem, she said, is KING and KIRO’s attempt to try to take away the union’s future ability to do what a union does: protect its workers as best it can.
It’s perplexing to Marshall to see such an aggressively antiunion stance from KING, which is owned by Belo Corp., and KIRO, which is owned by Cox Enterprises, when KOMO television, which is owned by Fisher Broadcasting, reached an agreement with its IBEW employees on March 21—without making any demands for limits on their future collective bargaining behavior. (“A great group” is how Jim Clayton, the station’s general manager, described his IBEW workers, who make between $19.29 and $21.43 per hour.)
“And they offered us wage increases,” Marshall said of KOMO, noting that the wage increase from that station is 3 percent a year, while KIRO, for example, “is offering 0 percent in the first two years, plus taking away our rights.”
Will union workers at the two television stations strike over all this?
“We don’t know,” Marshall said. “We have to evaluate that.” 
KING and KIRO want to strip their employees of dignity.
We don’t need 21st Century Media with 19th Century working conditions.
Gotta support my brothers and sisteres in the trades I’ve been a king tv watcher since I was a kid I will boycott their channel if they get rid of collective bargaining!!
This is how the rollback begins. Each contract negotiation gets a little more ridiculous as management throws out more restrictions to basic workplace democracy.
“Capitalism IS AN ECOMOMIC SYSTEM (caps on purpose here) that works well within carefully defined limits. It is not a social system. It is not a philosophy of life. It is not a gospel. It is simply an arrangement of working, owning and producing; and like any other human arrangement, it has its own built-in flaws that must continually be corrected and rectified.” Sydney J Harrison
I think the problem is these businessmen can’t understand why someone would work if they couldn’t get rich. These broadcast unit brothers and sisters aren’t making that much money, so they have no value to their bosses. The amount of $$$$ poured into KIRO from the last election cycle is obscene, these guys have no way to stop themselves from taking more money from their workers when times are hard. Nobody is there to tell them they are out of control greedheads, like a drunk who passes through contentment into overindulgence without realizing it. Stop them before they kill again. They bank on our fear of them or apathy that anything can be done to change what they do. Boycott, strike, early and often.
@1 Neither KING nor KIRO are part of the 21st century media.
Somebody needs to put Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! onto this story.
Also, if this does go to a strike or(more likely, a walkout), I’d strongly suggest that my union sisters and brothers do a “KING/KIRO In Exile” broadcast each day on YouTube. They’d probably have BETTER programming than the corporate shit, as far as that goes.
A boycott of all KING/KIRO sponsors would also be in order if a lockout occurred. Imagine the power THAT would have in the Seattle area.
These are the same reporters that just got done trashing WSF workers and their unions, correct?
Is The Stranger unionized?
That’s what we thought.
Since these stations are so flush with campaign advertising cash, why don’t they just keep their employees from ever seriously considering striking by raising their wages and benefits?
@Godwin: True, but do you think IBEW members were clued in to Susannah Frame’s angle for the WSF series, or what she chose to leave out? (OT for engineers was justified in most cases, especially when the Evergreen State was pulled back into service.)
For godsakes those demands are ridiculous as is closing the door on bargaining altogether. Strike damnit. Start hitting back. Union leaders are wondering why they have lost so much support and so much ground, it’s because you’ve run out anyone that wants to fight and ironically that’s precisely what rank and file want.
“They want to strip us of the ability to strike for wages and benefits, or even have a say over our working conditions.”
Whatta surprise. And I bet they don’t have too many worries with the Right-Wing RATSKies on the Supreme Court, handing over (to the Teevee Stations!) untold billions in campaign ads; “Yes, we can no longer afford you!”
I doubt the “quality” of the Crap they chose to air will suffer — how could it? — only the quality of the Illusion will suffer. And that may be a GOOD thing. (Well, certainly not for the workers; short-term, leastways…)
Maybe after the Billoinaires eviscerate PBS, etc., Soros or Amy Goodman or some good, local Billionaire who already has just enough (is it POSSIBLE?) can start a real, human beings-oriented Station in Seattle.
Corporate America, at its very finest. And only getting better…
I like how Susannah Frame referred to the Inlandboatmens’ Union as the Inlandboatmens’ Association in her piece that trash talked the unions at the Washington State Ferries. She didn’t even get the name of the union right. Haha.
Eli,
You and GOLDY should organize your own shop. I bet all those unpaid interns would love to get paid.
Stand up or shut up.
IBEW leadership is prevented, BY LAW, from authorizing a strike while negotiations are on going. Part of what the Taft-Hartly act of 1948 did was to defang the unions by carefully codifying when a strike could be called, making union officers accountable through fines and jail time. Longshoremen back east have had their unions decertified by use of provisions of Taft-Hartly. By process of natural selection, the current generation of International and local leaders are cautious and conservative in their use of militancy.
The last time the IBEW struck was 1921, no union hand in living memory has walked off their job to gain better wages or conditions. My own unit of inside wiremen have been in negotiations with industry captains for 1 1/2 years. Our previous contract long expired, we wait in a limbo land of stalled talks between intransigent contractors and cowed leadership. They only way any change is going to come is by wildcat strikes from rank and file; if you’ve ever seen a picket line go feral on cops and strike breakers then you will beg management to settle while there still is time.
I agree that King and Kiro are behaving like 19th century media in the 21st century. And I say let us all boycott them until they treat their union workers properly. We all know those anchors are pulling down HUGE salaries, not to mention some of the program directors. But the “grunts” behind the scenes keeping everything afloat – forget about them. I am not watching KIRO or KING (which is not all that difficult) until they change their tune.
Boycott media ..throw out your television, listen to community radio, get back to being in nature..smell the earth. televison makes us lazy, numb, distracted.
IBEW struck in Seattle in the Mid ’70’s at City Light. Twice, if I remember correctly. It was at the same time the tanker truck blew up on the viaduct and the George Jackson Brigade blew up the Laurelhurst substation and the Capitol Hill Safeway.
Yet another classic example of how hypocritical broadcast has become. One minute they’re talking about how the Yellow Jackets are protecting the Fourth Estate, the next minute management runs like scared rabbits for cover when contacted for comment when their own house is under scrutiny.
I don’t know when people will finaly figure out that TV news has become an entertainment business – and only a business. They cover stories or issues they think will sell. Forget the self righteous baloney they hand you about protecting the public from all those big bad wolves out there. (Of course, you’d never know that because of all the hype, which makes you believe that’s exactly what they are doing.)
It’s common knowledge for those who run in communications circles that TV treats its employees worse than the worst companies out there. As long as there are folks out there who are star-struck by the idea of working in the TV biz and are willing to work for next to nothing (and be poorly treated, at that), there will never be any incentive for broadcast companies to change their greedy ways.
At least the union in this case is finally getting hip to the scene.
-DakotaBabe
@1: I second that! Spot on!!
@4: Good point.
Collective bargaining had its time and place. And that time and place was 100 years ago. The only people who need a union to succeed today are the lazy and the incompetent.
>The only people who need a union to succeed today are the lazy and the incompetent<
Or anyone who works for you.
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So this is all well, and good, but i know a few things, and one is that at KOMO they are planning on laying off two to three people, in a 8 person group. They wanted to sign the contract, so they could proceed to lay people off. It hasn’t happened yet, but soon.
That is the word on the street. And trust me i’m listening.