Look for the union label

By Amy Diaz
HippoPress.com

Two local media outlets have come under fire from their respective employee unions in recent weeks.

At television station WNDS 50 in Derry, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1228 are urging TV watchers to boycott.

The push started on Labor Day in an effort to build public support for contract negotiations that union members hope will end in higher wages and improved benefits, said the local's business manager Kenneth Flanagan.

"The people themselves have not seen a wage increase for over two and a half years," said Flanagan. A proposed contract would set wages at a lower rate for new employees and continue to deny union workers the benefit improvements available to non-union staff, he said. The Newton, Mass.-based union includes 750 television and radio workers around the New England area, 18 of whom work for WNDS.

Mark Broth, attorney for WNDS, said he couldn't comment on the specifics of the negotiations. The boycott isn't having any affect on the company's position or, as far as they are aware, any affect on viewership, Broth said.
Both sides will sit down at the bargaining table again in November.

The Union Leader this week settled a problem with its Manchester Newspaper Guild workers.

Some of the newspaper's 170 guild members had been wearing stickers to support copy editors who lost an average of $30 to $50 in extra pay a week due to an equipment change, said guild president Tom Thibeault. The copy editors stopped receiving the money around the end of August, Thibeult said.

On Tuesday, the guild announced that it reached an agreement with The Union Leader Corp. that will result in retroactive payment of the copy editors' earnings and restoration of the extra pay.

The group had planned an information picket at The Union Leader sponsored cooking school at Pickerton Academy in Derry Tuesday night but the agreement put an end to the protest plans.

"I think everybody's pleased with the result," said Pat Grossmith, guild vice president.

Representatives for The Union Leader could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

Amy Diaz can be reached at hippo@hippopress.com.