The Times Union (Albany, New York), November 3, 2007, Saturday
Copyright 2007 The Times Union
The Times Union (Albany, New York)
SECTION: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS
BYLINE: Chris Churchill, Albany Times Union, N.Y.
BODY:
Nov. 3--MENANDS -- Unionized workers at WNYT Ch. 13 have been working without a contract for more than a month, and no end to the labor dispute seems imminent.
The contract for the majority of the staff, including on-air personalities, expired at the end of September, after negotiations over a new contract stalled.
Workers have authorized the union, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, to strike, but it has not done so. Likewise, management at the NBC affiliate has not moved to lock out the workers.
The sides have not even been actively negotiating a new contract, although management is scheduled to meet with union leaders Nov. 19.
Station General Manager Stephen Baboulis said Thursday that it's business as usual at the station.
Bill Lambdin, a longtime reporter at the station and president of the local union, said workers are moving to mobilize public opinion in their favor and working to cut Channel 13's advertising revenue.
The union has placed 700 protest lawn signs around the region, each carrying a slogan describing the station as "union breaking."
The union has also begun contacting station advertisers, warning them that they could be targeted by protesters if they continue to support the station.
That effort has brought complaints from business owners who feel they are being threatened or dragged into a dispute that they are not a part of.
Lambdin is unapologetic and said the union is prepared to distribute pro-union pamphlets in front of businesses that advertise with the station.
"It's not something we look forward to doing," he said. "But if advertisers are going to send money to the station during these difficult times, it's something we feel we need to do to put more pressure on the station."
Lambdin has said the union would be happy to settle for a new contract that maintains the conditions of the previous contract.
But he said station management, which has mostly declined to comment on negotiation particulars, wants the right to lay off employees without regard to seniority and to replace laid-off unionized employees with nonunionized workers.
Both provisions would eventually kill the union, Lambdin said.
Observers of the dispute note that the station has entered the crucial November ratings-measurement period known as sweeps. Ratings during the period set advertising rates for the next year.
Some suggest the period would be an opportune time to strike, if the union wanted to hurt management financially. Lambdin didn't disagree with that assessment, but he wasn't tipping his hand.
He did note, however, that ratings are measured by survey, and some union-supportive viewers might be disinclined to indicate they'd been watching Channel 13.
Lambdin also noted that 2008 is an election year, and if the dispute continues, the union could pressure union-friendly candidates to withhold lucrative campaign advertising. That suggests the union is prepared for a long struggle.
That wouldn't be unusual, said Kate Bronfenbrenner, a professor at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Unions in labor disputes often decline to go on strike for long periods of time, she said, hoping to apply enough pressure, either on the financial or public relations front, that management caves.
Likewise, management is often loathe to lock workers out, she said, especially if the company is concerned about its public image.
"When employers lock out workers, they lose community support," she said. "They lose the high ground."
Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com
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LOAD-DATE: November 3, 2007
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