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Merger Builds Muscle for TNG's Canadian Media Guild

The Canadian Media Guild, TNG-CWA Local 213, will gain 750 new members this month in a merger with the Canadian Broadcast Employees Union. Membership of both unions at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ratified the merger agreement by a vote of better than 91 percent. The pact takes effect July 1.

"Workers at the CBC continue to build their power by increasing the strength of the Canadian Media Guild," said TNG-CWA President Linda Foley, who credited TNG Canada Director Arnold Amber, CMG President Lise Lareau and CBEU President Glenn Gray for facilitating the merger. "The Canadian Media Guild is setting the pace for unions all across North America."



With completion of the merger, the Canadian Media Guild will become the largest TNG-CWA unit. Lareau estimated total membership at about 4,200 at CBC outlets nationwide.



The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, explained Amber, is a nationwide public broadcast organization of 35 radio stations, an all-news TV channel, two television networks and about 12 additional stations. "That's on the English (speaking) side," he added. The CBC also broadcasts over a number of French and international stations.



For more than 25 years the Canadian Union of Public Employees - with 300,000 members mostly in provincial and municipal government - represented workers at the CBC. CBEU, then part of the public employees union, comprised two bargaining units: office and professional, and production.



In the late 1980s the CBC petitioned the Canadian Labor Board for a global realignment of bargaining units. Then, in 1992, a vote on union representation resulted in the CBEU production unit being split between the Canadian Wire Service Guild and yet a third union for technical employees.



In 1994, the Canadian Media Guild was formed as a national Newspaper Guild local to represent news production freelancers, reporters, anchors and production workers at the CBC, French-and English-language wire services and Reuters. Layoffs depleted CBEU's membership to the point that some locations were unable to maintain viable locals.



The Canadian Media Guild and CBEU bargained jointly with the CBC two years ago, staving off contracting-out of services and other concessionary demands. The two unions found they had much in common.



Amber, a producer for CBC news, then served as Canadian Media Guild vice president. With CMG's former president on extended sick leave, he was a principal point person in merger talks. He said the pact "increases the commitment of the CMG to public broadcasting. It's the kind of merger that helps both units. We bring to them some muscle, facilities and a very good structure they fit into. They bring a wealth of history and experience to us. They are the oldest union in the CBC."



CBEU members will become the CBC Administrative Branch of the Canadian Media Guild, which will add a staff representative in Toronto to work with them. The new members will also gain the benefit of representation by four current Canadian Media Guild staff in Toronto and one each in Eastern and Western Canada. The two unions' executive boards will merge.