WHO ARE WE?
We are the 40 broadcast engineers, represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Union Number 715, who are currently employed at Journal Broadcast Group’s WTMJ-TV, WTMJ-DT, WTMJ-AM and WKTI-FM stations.
WHAT DO WE DO?We are the backbone of this company, working behind the scenes, operating and maintaining the electronic equipment used to deliver the news and keep these stations on the air 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.
WHAT IS OUR ISSUE?We believe Journal Communications has unlawfully declared impasse in contract negotiations with us, and unlawfully “merged” an entirely different union into our contract in an effort to reduce its workforce, drive down wages, and eliminate seniority. We had been working under the status quo conditions of an expired contract agreement since March, and have been in negotiations to reach a fair agreement since January with only the employer’s attorney and their HR representatives.
WHAT IS OUR POSITION?We want to protect our jobs, protect our workers, and protect our competitive wages in this marketplace. We offer a level of quality and expertise that cannot be matched outside our unit and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
WHAT IS THEIR POSITION?
They claim they have a “moral responsibility to [their] stockholders” to lower their operating expenses, which they compare to their properties in smaller markets like Las Vegas and Green Bay.
They have threatened, in part, to:
- Reduce our unit size by nearly 50%.
- Shift our exclusive jurisdiction to cheaper employees.
- Merge or eliminate our other work functions.
- Reduce our wages and pay scales in phases by 2010.
- Nearly eliminate the role of seniority.
We believe they have no interest in reaching a fair agreement with us, and that their goal is to undermine our position by using union busting tactics:
- The employer chose to divert money into a high-priced, white shoe lawyer instead of investing in their employees who work hard to keep their product on the air.
- They are continuing to stereotype us as “stuck in the old days” and unwilling to change. (In fact, we continually adapt to many technological changes in this industry. Furthermore, in negotiations we have proposed significant movement in many areas of our contract while remaining adamant on protecting our current engineers’ jobs and fair wages.)
- They were bargaining in bad faith by engaging in surface bargaining, not changing their position on drastic changes to our contract, and threatening to declare impasse prematurely.
- They are willing to sacrifice the quality of the product to achieve their "business objectives".
- They are aiming to cut the honest wages of the hard working employees in favor of corporate greed.
- They are demonstrating a complete disregard to our quality of life through workforce mandates.
- After informing us at the bargaining table of their need to drastically reduce our staff, the employer had posted this job opportunity for all of their TV stations including Milwaukee. (Coincidently, this was posted for a 2-3 week period immediately after negotiations on 4/28/08, and removed within one day before the next negotiations on 5/16/08.)
- The employer’s attorney acknowledged his offensive behavior in negotiations, and threatened to get more offensive if his objectives are not met.
- On 5/23/08, and without warning, the employer involuntarily merged IATSE Production Specialists with IBEW Engineers as an effort to "create new efficiencies" in the workforce. It should be noted that IATSE Production Specialists have an independent and signed agreement with the employer through September 2010.
- On 6/20/08, after we gave a significant concession in our last proposal, the employer declared an impasse when no such impasse existed. We requested to schedule another negotiation session and the employer refused.
- On 8/1/08, the news director announced the splitting of the Engineering department, with nearly half of the Engineers being reclassified as "News Production Specialists" and merged with all IATSE represented employees. IBEW Engineers are scheduled to cross-train and required to perform the exclusive job functions under the IATSE agreement, and vice versa. We will be judged based on the ability to perform work within the other Union's jurisdiction, and will be disciplined if the newly implemented standards are not met.
- Our work is now assigned to IATSE Production Specialists and outside contractors on a regular basis.
WHAT ARE SOME FACTS?
- The IBEW has successfully negotiated contract agreements with WTMJ for more than 70 years.
- No managers or supervisors with working knowledge of our operations have joined us in negotiations for this contract.
- Most of the senior engineers are long-time stockholders.
- More revenue is generated through their Milwaukee operations than any of their other properties.
- In 2007, Journal Communications CEO Steve Smith received a 10% raise in base pay alone, totaling more than $1.18M in total compensation, when the stock price fell nearly 30%.
- In February 2008, Steve Smith was awarded 342,000 shares of JRN stock.
- No full-time Engineers have been hired since 2000 when there were 43 full-time Engineers on staff. Now there are only 30 full time Engineers.
Our goal is for our Employer to immediately discontinue their unilateral changes to our employment, and for our managers to join us in negotiations so we can work together to reach a fair agreement, amicably.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
You can contact the executives and appropriate managers at Journal Broadcast Group and tell them what you think, including that you support the IBEW. Please click here for contact information.
More importantly, you can spread the word by telling people to visit us at www.whytrusttmj4.com.
Thank you for your interest and your support.
