National Broadcast Steering Committee Meets

The SAG-AFTRA National Broadcast Steering Committee held its first meeting since the union’s post-merger transition period on Dec. 7 in Washington, D.C.

The Ohio-Pittsburgh Local members of the BSC are Rick Pfeiffer, Stoney Richards, Jeff Hirsh and Heather Abraham.

The meeting was chaired by veteran Washington, D.C., TV news anchor and SAG-AFTRA National Board member Joe Krebs, assisted by Chief Broadcast Officer Mary Cavallaro. Krebs announced the appointment of longtime BSC member and Detroit news radio anchor Jayne Bower as the committee’s new vice chair.

National Executive Vice President Gabrielle Carteris and National Secretary-Treasurer Amy Aquino attended the meeting along with National Executive Director David White. President Ken Howard sent a letter expressing his support for the committee’s work on behalf of broadcasters.

Krebs approved a BSC restructuring work group to address the structure and composition of the BSC to assure that all locals and aspects of the broadcast membership are properly represented. The Ohio-Pittsburgh Local is represented on that work group by Rick Pfeiffer.

Two new radio station units have been organized in Seattle, and the Philadelphia Telemundo television station is now covered by our contract with NBC. It was announced that KPBS public radio and TV in San Diego voted for SAG-AFTRA representation in November 2013.

The BSC was advised of the work of the Northern California Safety Initiative. The program was established to deal with a burgeoning problem of TV news crews in the Oakland, California, area being attacked and robbed.

The committee also heard a panel discussion on the work of reporters who covered the Navy Yard shooting in Washington, D.C. The panelists discussed the challenges they faced and how they overcame them.

BSC Meeting of March 15, 2014

The Broadcast Steering Committee also met in a daylong meeting on March 15 in New York City. All of the Ohio-Pittsburgh Local BSC members (Pfeiffer, Richards, Hirsh and Abraham) were in attendance. Krebs chaired the meeting, along with Vice-Chair Bower. Also in attendance were SAG-AFTRA President Howard and National Executive Director White.

President Howard expressed his continuing support for the committee and its work and the work of all the union’s broadcast members. He pledged the full support of the union to issues affecting broadcasters, including contract negotiations and enforcement and organizing.

Cavallaro and Rich Larkin provided a lengthy report on contract negotiations and other developments.

The union’s contract with ESPN radio now covers the Spanish-language coverage of New York Knicks basketball. Broadcasters at WBEZ Radio in Chicago voted to be represented by SAG-AFTRA.

Negotiations are underway for the Clear Channel music stations in New York City and for a new contract for WOR-AM, following its sale from Buckley Communications.

The union has closed contracts at Univision TV stations in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Those contracts included raises and premium pay for multimedia journalists.

Among emerging issues facing members ― and potentially subject to bargaining ― our broadcast members are concerned that some employers may be using various forms of technology to conduct surveillance and monitor employees in the field. SAG-AFTRA is investigating these concerns.

The union has also been addressing employer demands to require members to merge their personal Twitter accounts with the stations’ Twitter feed and other similar social media concerns.

The committee was advised that a number of locals were establishing local Broadcast Steering Committees to address local broadcaster issues. Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., are among the locals in the process of setting up local BSCs.

The FCC is also back to reviewing its cross-ownership rules. The commission is also expected to look at possible rule-making on TV shared services agreements. SAG-AFTRA will be submitting comments on the proposed changes to the rules.

The union has joined a media coalition supporting the federal Free Flow of Information Act (a proposed federal reporter shield law). The bill has been approved by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. It has bipartisan support and is moving toward a vote in the full Senate.

This item was originally featured in June 2014 local newsletter.