NABET-CWA/NBCU NEGOTIATIONS - BULLETIN #5

NABET-CWA/NBCU NEGOTIATIONS

NEW YORK CITY

BULLETIN #5 - March 17, 2023

The Union's negotiating committee and representatives for NBCUniversal continued bargaining for a successor Master Agreement this week at the Local 11 office in New York City.

The parties engaged in further discussions, and exchanged a number of counter proposals on important contract provisions such as, travel pay, meals, per diem, and short turnaround. There was also in-depth dialogue between the Union and the Company related to overseas news assignments, seniority, and layoffs.

During this week of meetings, the bargaining parties modified their respective wage proposals. The Union is seeking annual wage increases of 5%, 4%, 4% and 4%. The Company responded to our wage proposal with a counter-offer of 2%, 2% and 2%.

At this point in time, the Company’s proposal to eliminate existing vacation provisions and substitute the NBCUniversal Vacation Policy for all staff employees remains unchanged. Under this detrimental proposal, the majority of staff employees would lose 1 to 2 weeks of vacation, each year!

Negotiations are scheduled to resume the week of March 27, 2023 in New York City. With only one week of scheduled bargaining remaining, several critically important Union proposals remain open, unresolved – and in some cases disregarded by the Company.

Company representatives have been slow to respond to crucial NABET proposals designed to improve conditions for daily hires. Among these critically important items are enhanced paid sick leave provisions, automatic 401k Plan enrollment with a 5% Company contribution, and a proposal to provide additional benefits for daily hire employees who work more than 150 days in a calendar year.  

Also unsettled are proposed job reclassifications seeking permanent upgrades for EJ photographers, video control engineers, Intake/Ingest operators and TD Super Users. Additionally, the Union is proposing vastly improved wage scales for Stage Managers in Washington DC (“C” Agreement), Couriers in New York (“U” Agreement), and for those employees engaged under the terms of the “D” Agreement (New Business).

As the process moves forward, please continue to monitor Union websites, and be alert for official updates relating to these negotiations as well as mobilization activities.

In Solidarity,

The NBC NABET-CWA Network Negotiating Committee:

• Local 11: President Lou Marinaro, and Executive Board Member Rob Weiss
• Local 31: Jim Long, Network News EJ, and President Bantu Opiotennione
• Local 41: Executive Board Members Ed Dabrowski, and Doug Webber
• Local 53: President Emeritus Steve Ross, Executive Board Member Tim Stepich, and Warren Stern
• NABET-CWA Sector: President Charlie Braico, Local 11 General Counsel and Advisor to the Bargaining Committee Max Sicherman, Assistant to the Sector President Jodi Fabrizio-Clontz, Kristen Helmstetter, and Nikisha Johnson