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NABET-CWA Members Strike KMEX-TV 34, Univision's Los Angeles Station
Los Angeles - Employees at television station KMEX, members of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA, walked off the job just after midnight on Monday, October 23, 2000 after station management failed to offer a proposal that addressed workers' key concerns about jobs, employment security and wages.
Nearly 120 full time and per diem technicians, production, sales and traffic employees working at the Spanish language, Univision station voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike as talks with their employer produced little progress over the past several months. The previous contract covering KMEX employees expired March 31, 2000.
At the center of this dispute are management demands that would cost jobs, especially in areas involving new technology. "Management is mounting a very real attack on our members' job security and their ability to move into the jobs that technology is creating," said Paula Olson, chief spokesperson for the local. "NABET-CWA members want to reach a fair contract, but management doesn't seem willing to work to find a reasonable solution," she said.
Union and management negotiators bargained past the midnight strike deadline, but have not yet been able to reach an agreement. Workers are picketing outside the KMEX studios at 6701 Center Drive West in Los Angeles.
Parent company Univision is the largest Spanish language network in the United States, dominating the market with audience reach of nearly 85 percent. According to the Los Angeles Times, Univision's 1999 operating profit was $204.5 million, up 25.6 percent from 1998. Earlier this year, NABET-CWA-represented workers won a first contract at another Univision television facility, KFTV in Fresno, following a 43 day hunger strike. The principal issues in that dispute were wage parity and fair treatment.
Nearly 120 full time and per diem technicians, production, sales and traffic employees working at the Spanish language, Univision station voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike as talks with their employer produced little progress over the past several months. The previous contract covering KMEX employees expired March 31, 2000.
At the center of this dispute are management demands that would cost jobs, especially in areas involving new technology. "Management is mounting a very real attack on our members' job security and their ability to move into the jobs that technology is creating," said Paula Olson, chief spokesperson for the local. "NABET-CWA members want to reach a fair contract, but management doesn't seem willing to work to find a reasonable solution," she said.
Union and management negotiators bargained past the midnight strike deadline, but have not yet been able to reach an agreement. Workers are picketing outside the KMEX studios at 6701 Center Drive West in Los Angeles.
Parent company Univision is the largest Spanish language network in the United States, dominating the market with audience reach of nearly 85 percent. According to the Los Angeles Times, Univision's 1999 operating profit was $204.5 million, up 25.6 percent from 1998. Earlier this year, NABET-CWA-represented workers won a first contract at another Univision television facility, KFTV in Fresno, following a 43 day hunger strike. The principal issues in that dispute were wage parity and fair treatment.
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