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Majority Block of ABC Broadcast Union Rejects Contract: Proposal Fails in Engineering and Four Other
New York - Broadcast employees and technicians at ABC rejected the television and radio network's "final" contract proposal in a vote today, reported officials of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communications Workers of America (NABET-CWA).
The proposed Engineering Contract, rejected in the ratification balloting, covers camera operators, videotape operators, field, studio and master control engineers, technical directors, editors, graphic artists and others. More than 1,800 NABET-CWA members are in the Engineering group, which represents about 80 percent of the 2,400 broadcast workers at ABC.
NABET-CWA members also rejected respective contract offers in the following bargaining units: Desk Assistants (New York); Newswriters-Producers (SF); Couriers (NY); WABC-AM Talent/Telephone Coordinators (NY).
Voting to accept were the following units: Traffic and Communications; Newswriters (Chicago); Telephone Operators (Chicago); Newswriters (LA); Plant Maintenance (LA); Radio Program Coordinators (LA); Publicists (NY).
Union officials contacted ABC, Inc. and federal mediators on February 5 to advise them of the results. The union also told the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service that it is prepared to return to the bargaining table to resume negotiations toward a contract that could be ratified by the engineering and other units.
More than 2400 NABET-CWA members were locked out by ABC for 11 weeks from November 1998 through mid-January 1999. ABC's NABET-represented employees have been without a contract since March 31, 1997. NABET is part of the 630,000-member Communications Workers of America.
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The proposed Engineering Contract, rejected in the ratification balloting, covers camera operators, videotape operators, field, studio and master control engineers, technical directors, editors, graphic artists and others. More than 1,800 NABET-CWA members are in the Engineering group, which represents about 80 percent of the 2,400 broadcast workers at ABC.
NABET-CWA members also rejected respective contract offers in the following bargaining units: Desk Assistants (New York); Newswriters-Producers (SF); Couriers (NY); WABC-AM Talent/Telephone Coordinators (NY).
Voting to accept were the following units: Traffic and Communications; Newswriters (Chicago); Telephone Operators (Chicago); Newswriters (LA); Plant Maintenance (LA); Radio Program Coordinators (LA); Publicists (NY).
Union officials contacted ABC, Inc. and federal mediators on February 5 to advise them of the results. The union also told the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service that it is prepared to return to the bargaining table to resume negotiations toward a contract that could be ratified by the engineering and other units.
More than 2400 NABET-CWA members were locked out by ABC for 11 weeks from November 1998 through mid-January 1999. ABC's NABET-represented employees have been without a contract since March 31, 1997. NABET is part of the 630,000-member Communications Workers of America.
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