SAG-AFTRA Calls on United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to Rescind Raul Alarcón Honor

Ramiro Cavazos
President & CEO
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Dear Mr. Cavazos, 

I am writing to ask that the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce rescind its recognition of Raul Alarcón. We feel that honoring the CEO of the Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) is a slap in the face for the company’s Hispanic employees who have worked so diligently to ensure its prosperity and growth. They have worked for SBS’s success despite their second-class treatment.
 
Evidence of this treatment is found in the litany of labor law violations and the National Labor Relations Board complaints against SBS, Mr. Alarcón’s company. The NLRB this July issued a second complaint against the company for its continued bad-faith, surface bargaining with no intention of getting an agreement, as well as numerous other egregious violations of federal labor laws including wage theft, unpaid overtime, employee intimidation, the denial of bathroom and meal breaks, the cancelation of scheduled wage increases to employees, threats of reprisals to workers standing up for their rights and unlawful discipline.

The NLRB had earlier found that SBS had violated the law and the company in December 2017 agreed to a nearly $500,000 settlement with SAG-AFTRA that included back pay, offers of job re-instatement to eight wrongfully terminated employees, as well as our union’s bargaining expenses -- all due to SBS’s bad-faith surface bargaining.
 
In spite of this, SBS continues to violate the law with impunity and still refuses to negotiate fairly with SAG-AFTRA, which represents many SBS employees in collective bargaining. All of this while SBS touts its role as a champion of the community simply because it is the largest employer of Hispanic broadcast talent in the U.S. While that might be debatable, one thing is clear -- SBS is an abuser of Hispanic broadcast talent and media workers.

Because we know that USHCC cares deeply about the Hispanic community, we wanted to inform you of these issues. We find it troubling that a person and business with this type of track record would be recognized by the USHCC, an organization that advocates for the Hispanic community. 

I appreciate you considering our request to rescind the Businessperson of the Year Award for Mr. Alarcón.

Sincerely, 
David White 
National Executive Director 

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.