Geni Cavitt will exit KGTV in mid-July, the latest victim of the 10News budget woes. KGTV has not announced the change, but is expected to name Preston Phillips as Cavitt's replacement.
Cavitt is a well-known weathercaster and journalist who has been part of San Diego media for the last 25 years.
After moving from Minneapolis to get her start in local radio, Cavitt made the transition to television in 1993, anchoring daytime weather and traffic reports for KFMB-TV. She moved to KGTV in 2001 as weekend weather anchor and for the last 3 years has been the face of the 10News Leadership series, which recognizes people who make San Diego a better place to live through helping others.
According to the USA Talent Report at tvjobs.com, Preston Phillips has been hired by KGTV as an "Anchor/Reporter/Weather Forecaster." He spent the last 18 months as an "Anchor/Reporter" at NBC-affiliate KSEE in Fresno. Prior to that, Phillips worked at KIEM in Eureka, where he was the main weekday anchor and produced and reported for the NBC affiliate. According to his bio, Phillips "spends much of his time volunteering with those who have sustained traumatic brain injuries. He also mentors transitional age youth in and out of state prisons and correctional facilities and is (CIT) Crisis Intervention Certified."
KGTV has replaced its entire weather team in the last 10 months. These high-profile talent losses are the continuation of an exodus that began in early 2006 and has turned over more than half the KGTV news staff, including producers, anchors, reporters, writers, photographers and editors. News anchor Carol LeBeau and weather anchor Loren Nancarrow both exited the station in May. LeBeau is a San Diego icon and viewers say watching her on-air was "more like getting together with an old friend for coffee and a chat." She began her KGTV career in 1981 and was closely identified with her Staying Healthy segments. Nancarrow is one of the top personalities in the market, delivering weather news with a folksy style and is a champion of environmental issues. He began his San Diego career at KFMB-TV in the early eighties and moved to KGTV in 1998.
KGTV is facing a financial dilemma after spending an estimated $5 million over the last 3 years on a union-busting attempt.
"Excellence In Journalism" Award Goes To John Suarez
June 27, 2009
Local 54 Executive Board Member John Suarez picked up his first "Excellence In Journalism" award from the San Diego Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Suarez received the "First Place" award for directing "Live Continuous Coverage" of the FA18 Navy Fighter Plane Crash on December 8, 2008. Four members of a University City family — including an infant and a toddler — were killed and two homes destroyed when a disabled fighter jet crashed while trying to make an emergency landing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The pilot, who was on a training exercise, safely ejected moments before the crash. The award also named Producer Doris Lewis and Reporter Steve Fiorina. Judges commenting on the story said, "Way to be all over the story. In the air and on the ground. Well done!" According to Suarez, "This breaking news coverage was award-winning because NABET-CWA members were in all the critical positions, including Corinne Green as AD, Summer Kimble in SKY10, Stuart Weiner in TOC and Robert Buchanan in a live unit. Congratulations to them and our production crews, artists and engineers who carried the coverage forward the rest of the day."
Kristen Castillo, wife of Local 54 Executive Board member Frank Castillo, Jr., picked up two "Excellence in Journalism" awards, including one for her I-Team blogs on the KGTV website. The second award, for “DTV Test and Phone Bank,” was shared with Juliette Vara, Michael Gonzalez and JW August. Kristen Castillo has received twenty-four SPJ awards since 2004.
The annual awards banquet was held on June 25 at the Bali Hai on Shelter Island. SPJ-San Diego chapter President Jodi Cleesattle said, “Even in the face of layoffs and budget cuts, we have a lot of truly great journalism to celebrate in San Diego.” KGTV employees picked up ten SPJ awards this year.
More than 2,500 CWA members were in Washington, D.C. for the 71st Convention and Legislative Political Conference at exactly the right time, with Congress set to take action on Employee Free Choice, health care reform and many more critical issues for working families. The four-day convention included a Capitol Hill lobby day where members delivered a clear message to their representatives on Capitol Hill: It’s time to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and real health care reform. During more than 200 appointments with members of Congress and their staffs, delegates made sure that elected representatives were put on notice that working families are watching — closely . Delegates wrapped up the conference by joining over 10,000 other workers in a mass rally in support of health care reform.
Before meeting with lawmakers, delegates heard Vice-President Joe Biden and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) say the nation cannot have a strong middle class without a strong union movement. Biden said the Obama administration is committed to leveling the playing field for workers and giving them the bargaining power they need to rebuild the middle class. "That idea is not anti-business. It isn't anti-corporate. It isn't anti-anything," Biden said. "It's making sure that people who have a stake in the game are able to sit at the table. We need to restore some balance to this system." Harkin asked, "Why should people have to crawl across broken glass and go through a kind of boot-camp hell in order to join a perfectly legal organization? So our goal is to restore some measure of balance and fairness to the organizing process."
Biden and Harkin echoed the remarks by CWA President Larry Cohen, who said in his opening address that 70 countries have a majority sign-up system for joining unions, but the United States does not. Cohen said the ability to join a union and bargain is crucial to the nation’s standard of living in the future. Cohen said, "We can’t restore the middle class with tax cuts. But if workers across the U.S. have real bargaining rights, it would translate to buying power."
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told delegates that the Labor Department is “back in the enforcement business” after eight years of neglect of worker protections by the Bush administration. Solis reaffirmed President Obama's support for the Employee Free Choice Act, stressing that the administration believes 100% that "in order to rebuild the middle class, we need to restore fairness and that's why we need the Employee Free Choice Act. We need more than jobs, we need good jobs — and that means safe jobs, secure jobs, decent benefits and wages. It means a voice on the job."
Also during the convention, Michael Copps, acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, received the Herbert Block Freedom Award from The Newspaper Guild-CWA (TNG-CWA) for his work to force debate and transparency over media consolidation. As giant media companies pushed for FCC rule changes to let them get even bigger, Copps called for public hearings across the country that gave communities, public interest groups and individuals an opportunity to be heard.
Local 54 received two awards at the convention for our web brands, including the "e-advocacy award" for "outstanding work in electronic communications." In presenting the awards, CWA President Larry Cohen said, "This excellent website is user-friendly and packed with information, including the long fight to get a fair contract at McGraw-Hill's KGTV Channel 10." The awards were judged by a panel of outside journalists and online communication experts. Local 54 President Dennis Csillag said, "We're proud of the tremendous growth of our 3 websites over last year. Through strategic advertising and cross-promotion, we've been able to educate our members, other unions and the public about McGraw-Hill's union-busting campaign and issues important to working families." McGraw-Hill-owned KGTV is facing a financial dilemma after spending an estimated $5 million over the last 3 years on a union-busting attempt.
Female employees were regularly called "bitches" and told they "looked hot" or "looked sexy" according to a lawsuit filed by former 10News anchor Lisa Lake against McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, KGTV Channel 10 and (then acting news director) Sean Kennedy. The lawsuit alleges wrongful termination, breach of contract, denial of equal pay, racial discrimination, gender harassment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The complaint alleges that KGTV "had a custom and practice of discriminating against African Americans" and "regularly refused to hire and retain African American employees." It also charges that KGTV "hired only one African American for a position in the newsroom" between 2000 and the time the suit was filed.
According to the complaint, Lake and "Fred Blankenship, another African American anchor," were turned down for promotions to anchor evening newscasts because of their race and that multiple private complaints about the lack of diversity in the newsroom either went totally unanswered or that no action was taken. The lawsuit alleges that following a more public complaint in a March 2008 staff meeting, Lake was demoted to an anchor/reporter position. The complaint says management acted with "deliberate, outrageous, despicable conduct" and "created a hostile" work environment "rife with harassment, retaliation and discrimination."
Lake is represented by attorney Joshua D. Gruenberg, who told NABET-CWA, "I'm proud to represent Lisa. She's an icon in San Diego. She's an active part of the community and a great mom to her girls." Regarding two of the allegations, Gruenberg said, "We believe we can prove that Lisa was paid less than her male co-anchor for the same work and that race was a motivating factor in the decision to remove her from her anchor position." Local 54 President Dennis Csillag said, "Many of these allegations came as no surprise to us. We have been defending our members against similar circumstances at the National Labor Relations Board and many of those charges have been upheld."
In May of 2008, Local 54 started hearing from Lisa Lake fans, many of whom began their search for answers at 10NewsUnfair.com. They were upset that Lake had disappeared from the morning and midday newscasts without explanation. Community activists accused the station of treating Lake with "overwhelming discrimination, disrespect and negativity." Community members picketed in front of the station and threatened to boycott advertisers. On August 14, 2008, (acting news director) Sean Kennedy issued a statement that Lake — who had been on personal leave for several months — would "not return to the station." No further explanation was given.
Within a month of Lake's departure, two more veteran high-profile anchors made an exit. 10News weekend anchor Lee Ann Kim and morning weather anchor James Quinones were unable to renegotiate fair contracts. Kim told the Union-Tribune that management said the move was made as a cost-saving measure. Quinones was offered a month-to-month contract with no job security, but landed at KPNX-TV in Phoenix with a 4-year contract at nearly twice his KGTV salary.
The budget ax continued to swing in May as news anchor Carol LeBeau left KGTV after 28 years and weather anchor Loren Nancarrow exited after 11 years. Weekend weather anchor Geni Cavitt will exit in mid-July. These high-profile talent losses are the continuation of an exodus that began in early 2006 and has turned over more than half the KGTV news staff, including producers, reporters, writers, photographers and editors. KGTV is facing a financial dilemma after spending an estimated $5 million over the last 3 years on a union-busting attempt.
One of the documents obtained by NABET-CWA as part of KGTV's Union "Decertification Campaign Plan" contained employee profiles, called "voter assessments." Indications are the profiles were assembled by the "Core Team" of management union-busters, identified in documents as Mike Biltucci (Director of Operations), Patrick Givans (Director of Technology) and Don Wells (former Director of Creative Services).
The "voter assessments" list each employee by name, seniority, race and age. There is a short description of work performance, including "limited skillset" and "skeptical attitude." Also included is any pro-union activity and personal information, including:
The documents also indicate managers received extensive training on how to obtain these "voter assessments" by using "ice breakers" to initiate conversations with employees. The training also included a section on using "snappy comebacks" to counter employees who might exhibit pro-union tendencies. From these conversations, managers elicited a "fear" that could be exploited in the days leading up to a union decertification vote. The fears include:
NABET-CWA sent each employee a copy of their own profile. Now, Local 54 member Veronica Simonides is sharing her personal profile here as an example of how far McGraw-Hill will go with its use of fear and intimidation. Simonides began her distinguished KGTV career as a vacation relief employee and then became full-time in February of 1989. She went to part-time status in 2003 to start her own business, On The Go Spa. The profile:
Simonides said, "It’s unbelievable that I have been put in this position by a company I have worked with for nearly 22 years. I feel compelled to comment because the company chose to profile each of us in an obscene and offensive manner in a document that was distributed to managers. I have been through no less than 6 contract negotiations with Channel 10 and am in shock at how much effort and money has been wasted NOT negotiating a contract. I can only assume that the millions of dollars spent NOT negotiating a contract is at least one of the reasons we don’t have microphones that work or talent IFB’s that don’t drop to the floor in the middle of the newscast."
"I want to address the observation that I'm a “blind loyalist to Dennis.” As much as I respect Dennis as a very hard-working Local President and don't want to hurt his feelings, I am really an unwavering loyalist to the position of President of NABET-CWA Local 54. That means that even if former Local 54 Vice-President Pat Givans was our President and was working as hard to get us a contract, I guess I would be a blind loyalist to Pat Givans. We are fighting for the same fair and equitable contract that the station has been negotiating with us for the last 56 years. No more and no less."
"In my tenure with the station I have operated cameras, tape machines and servers, master control, ENG trucks, audio, Chyron, stage managed and produced weather. Of course, I have assisted with lighting, staging, have run miles of audio cables, camera cables and plain old AC/DC at both the studio and on remote. When I asked to fly in the helicopter, I was told to wait. I asked to be trained on ParkerVision, and was told I would get training “as soon as this first round of people were trained.” So to be categorized as having a limited skillset — I have no comment, at least not one that can be printed!"
"I asked for part of my profile to be blurred because it is a very personal description of my children. Let me be absolutely clear on one point: the children and other family members of employees should never have been targeted. It is unfair and downright unethical! The information about my children was taken from what I thought were private and personal conversations with one of the "Core Team" managers over the nearly 30 years I have known him. To cross that line…well, let’s just say that information should have remained between he and I."
"As for my fear, it's absolutely true! I worry about my family’s health and well-being like everyone else in this day and age. But to use the knowledge that my husband is self-employed with no benefits and have that in their “hip pocket” to use against me is underhanded, unprofessional and nothing more than a classic union-busting tactic. The entire "Plan" is a violation of McGraw-Hill's own Code of Business Ethics (COBE)."
"What this station has become, what our news product has become is the result of a few key managers not having the where-with-all, moral fiber, ethical sense of right and wrong and just plain “guts” to do the right thing — negotiate a fair and equitable contract. Maybe it's a matter of taking the moral high ground and telling the powers that be that enough is enough and it is time to do the right thing. Only then will we — as a station — be able to begin to rebuild our morale, our sense of community, our ability to lead and our image. Only then will we begin to lose our reputation as a union busting, anti-labor station. Wouldn’t it be great to regain the viewership of those 189,000 local union families and all their friends. Might help the ratings, don’t you think?"
Employees believe the profiles violate the McGraw-Hill Code of Business Ethics (COBE). The Code states, in-part, "The McGraw-Hill Companies enjoys a worldwide reputation for integrity, honesty and good faith in all its dealings. Written words alone, however, do not create a moral conscience or lead inevitably to ethical conduct. Our reputation for fair dealing was well established long before a written policy was first published. In short, we are a people-oriented company. It is the conduct of our people that has produced our reputation for integrity and honesty. You can expect courteous and considerate treatment from the corporation. In addition, it is the corporation’s policy to provide a work environment free from sexual harassment or any other type of unlawful harassment."
KGTV Vice-President and General Manager Jeff Block — who denied the existence of any written "plan" for months — now says "the station was acting responsibly and
appropriately by preparing" these documents. Higher-level McGraw-Hill executives have remained silent. Local 54 President Dennis Csillag said, "Of the dozens of federal, state and local agencies and officials we've heard from — including some who have talked with Block — not one has used the words "responsible" or "appropriate."
KGTV Managers Step Up The Rhetoric Prior To Local Membership Meeting
June 25, 2009
KGTV General Manager Jeff Block and Director of Operations Mike Biltucci stepped up the anti-union rhetoric and attacks on Local 54 Executive Board members just prior to NABET-CWA's Annual General Membership Meeting on June 20. Local 54 President Dennis Csillag said, "It's the same tactic used by two former GM's prior to our annual meetings and it didn't work then either."
A June 8 memo from Jeff Block accused Local 54 Executive Board member John Suarez and other members of being "misinformed" about the state of negotiations. Block wrote:"As has often been the case over the past several years, the Union’s representation to you is directly contrary to the law. So I have attached excerpts from some of the (NLRB) cases." Suarez said, " Jeff has fallen into the same pattern as those who came before him — Derek Dalton and Ed Quinn — by releasing intentionally misleading information, authored by KGTV's union-busting law firm. The examples he cited don't appear to deal directly with our situation."
A June 12 memo from Mike Biltucci complained that KGTV employees and union sympathizers continue "to target our local advertisers by harassing them and their customers." Biltucci said that the "much-needed" revenue "supports all of our jobs." Local 54 Vice-President Robert Buchanan said, "The 3-year campaign of handbilling advertisers and other mobilization activities — including the boycott of 10News by 189,000 union families — rests in KGTV's hands. It all comes to an end with the negotiation of a fair and equitable contract."
A June 16 memo from Block accused the union of delaying negotiations and said businesses develop union-busting plans "all the time." Buchanan said, "I would argue that businesses don't develop plans and employee profiles like KGTV's "all the time." On negotiations, it's the Company that keeps arguing impasse and making their proposals worse. You can either negotiate or delay and the delays suit their union-busting purposes."
A June 19 memo from Biltucci warned union members that they may be "ignored, harassed or retaliated against" for expressing their opinions at a Union meeting. Biltucci advised members to "insist that a non-bullying atmosphere is created so productive discussion will occur and your interests will be heard." Csillag said, "That's a typical scare tactic our members always hear from Mike — immediately before a Union meeting."
At the General Membership Meeting on June 20, Union members did hold a productive discussion. Then they passed resolutions "supporting NABET-CWA" as being "on the right track," while condemning McGraw-Hill's "union-busting tactics" as "morally reprehensible."
McGraw-Hill corporate executives continue to remain silent. Darrell Brown, President of the Broadcasting Group, Glenn Goldberg, President of McGraw-Hill's Information & Media Segment and Terry McGraw, McGraw-Hill CEO have not responded to requests for comment. But McGraw told attendees at a recent McGraw-Hill Shareholders Meeting, "We have built a reputation for excellence, honesty and integrity, and we are always striving to meet and exceed the high standards we have set for ourselves."
It's been over 3 years since negotiations first began on a new contract for workers at KGTV. The prior agreement expired on January 31, 2006, but most of the terms and conditions remain in effect. Negotiations came to a standstill on March 16, 2006, when management presented the
Union Negotiating Committee with a "final" offer. That offer was overwhelmingly turned down by the Local
54 membership at a ratification meeting on March 25, 2006. Several weeks later, KGTV implemented parts of the offer and
Local 54 members began a mobilization campaign. KGTV is facing a financial dilemma after spending an estimated $5 million over the last 3 years on a union-busting attempt.
Franken Wins Senate Seat. In a 5-0 ruling, the Minnesota Supreme Court ordered Tuesday that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.
The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, who conceded the race shortly after the ruling was announced. "The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman said. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibusters, seen as key to moving forward legislation on issues such as labor law reform. AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney said, "America’s workers congratulate Al Franken and the people of Minnesota for their unanimous victory today in the Minnesota Supreme Court. The seating of Senator Franken is also a crucial step towards passing the Employee Free Choice Act that will allow workers to have a voice at work, lift their standard of living and build stronger communities as well as stronger families. We urge the Senate to move forward swiftly on this crucial piece of legislation as well as health care reform, financial re-regulation and all the crucial issues facing working families."
Comic-Con Used For TV Testing. As Comic-Con continues its light-speed morph into a not-to-be-missed event for the TV industry, studios and networks plan to promote more shows than ever before at the July conference. Positive reaction to early footage seen at the San Diego conference can translate into giant buzz that can influence a fan base months before an official premiere. "What's happening at Comic-Con is the fan community gives you an immediate reaction to your project in a big way," Lisa Gregorian, exec VP of worldwide marketing for the Warner Bros. TV Group, told Variety. "It's live testing." Warner Bros. is bringing 11 shows including Eastwick, Human Target, Past Life, V and Vampire Diaries. Twentieth Century Fox TV has nine shows, including 24, Bones, The Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy and spinoff The Cleveland Show. ABC Studios is hosting at least seven panels, including one for the final season of Lost, credited as the first TV show to launch at Comic-Con. Sony will promote The Spectacular Spider-Man. NBC Universal has at least eight programs, including Heroes. Comic-Con is expected to draw over 125,000 fans to the San Diego Convention Center from July 23-26. The event is sold out.
Young Broadcasting Will Be Auctioned. Young Broadcasting Inc., faces auction on July 14 in New York, according to its attorneys. The company probably will be sold or reorganized as a whole, according to the Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal law offices. Young filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February amid steep declines in ad revenue and stiff competition among stations for clients, according to court documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. The company owns and operates 10 television stations across the nation, including KRON-TV in San Francisco and WKRN-TV in Nashville. The company listed total assets at about $574.6 million and total liabilities at around $980.4 million.
KNSD Weather: Live From L.A. In a cost-cutting move, KNSD NBC 7/39 has axed weeknight weather anchor Pat Brown. Local weather reports are now delivered from KNBC Los Angeles by weather anchor Fritz Coleman. According to KNSD, Coleman will do his reports from a “specially equipped set” at the KNBC studios weekdays during the 4, 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. Pat Brown was at KNSD for 8 years and was previously a radio personality on KyXy-FM.
Trouble In The News Sharing Pool. Stations involved in content pools may save money, but they could also jeopardize ratings and revenue. That's the topic covered in the article "Swim at Your Own Risk" by Broadcasting & Cable writer Michael Malone. According to the article, "broadcast executives express concern that stations trumpeting their pooling pact are reinforcing viewers' notions that the local newscasts are indistinguishable from one another. One executive at a sizable station group says the share concept is perfectly logical, but doesn't think chirping about it serves the stations. “Just do the damn things,” the exec says. “Don't send out a press release about it.” Media watchdogs have also voiced concern about how pooling affects local news. The journalism think-tank Poynter Institute, for one, posted a half-dozen “hazards” of local news pooling on Poynter.org. The concerns include layoffs, weaker reporter-source relationships in a market's “halls of power,” and too much “who, what and where” at the expense of “why and how” in news stories." Read more
IATSE Local Featured on News 8. Stagehands from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 122 are hard at work preparing for many of the Old Globe Theatre's upcoming productions. News 8 recently featured the great work done by the union's members at the Old Globe Tech Center. You can watch the story on the Labor Council's website. IATSE Local 122 represents theatrical stage employees, moving picture technicians, artists and allied crafts. Local 122 supports the 10News boycott.
Local Emmy Awards. The 35th Annual Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards were held on June 13 at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront. XETV picked up 10 awards; KGTV got 8; KNSD, 6; KFMB, 4; KPBS, 3; and KSWB and KBNT took home 2 each. NABET-CWA congratulates all the nominees and recipients. Click here for the complete list of winners. The Pacific Southwest Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences includes San Diego, Bakersfield, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Don Wells Recovering After Shooting; Wife Charged. Former KGTV Marketing Director Don Wells is recovering after being shot, allegedly by his wife, a caterer and party planner. Officers arriving at the Wells' home on Sheldon Drive in La Mesa on May 29th found a revolver on the kitchen counter and Wells, 55, upstairs on the floor with a gunshot wound to the hip. Kalisa Wells, 59, was questioned and then placed under arrest and booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility. Police said there was no evidence of a physical fight, Kalisa Wells had no visible injuries and the home was not in disarray. Kalisa Wells was in court on June 8th, where she pleaded not guilty to a pair of felony charges. She faces 14 years in state prison if convicted of corporal injury to a spouse and assault with a deadly weapon. Both charges carry an allegation that the defendant personally used a firearm in the attack, according to Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso. Wells — who is free on $75,000 bail — was ordered by Judge Charles Ervin to return to court July 29th for a readiness conference. The preliminary hearing is set for August 20th. Don Wells told friends via email that the bullet missed vital organs and that "The only thing that the bullet killed on Friday was any complacency I had about waiting until later to enjoy life."
New Research: Workers Seeking to Organize Face More Intimidation Than Ever. A new study by labor expert Kate Bronfenbrenner shows that private sector employers are more likely than ever to interrogate, threaten and even fire workers who try to form unions.
The findings in "No Holds Barred: The Intensification of Employer Opposition to Organizing," are more evidence of how badly the Employee Free Choice Act is needed, said Bronfenbrenner, a Cornell University professor.
The bill "would provide a means to streamline the burdensome and terrifying obstacle course that the organizing and contract process has become, while also offering more substantive penalties for the most egregious employer violations," the report states.
The report looks at data from 1999 to 2003 and compares it with previous studies of employer behavior toward worker organizing over the last 20 years. The most recent data show that In 63% of private sector organizing drives, workers are interrogated about their support for the union in one-on-one meetings with supervisors;
57% of employers threaten to close the worksite;
47% threaten to cut wages and benefits;
34% fire workers who support the union.
The report finds that employers use 10 or more tactics in their campaigns to thwart organizing efforts. It doesn't have to be that way, Bronfenbrenner said, noting that the United States' public sector models for organizing — which include majority sign-up — prove that workers and employers can cooperate in ways that benefit both parties. "In 48% of the public-sector campaigns, the employer did not campaign at all — no letters, no leaflets, no meetings," she said. "The entire decision was left up to the workers. The remaining 52% of public employers did use some of the same tactics as private employers, but on an entirely different scale. About 40% of the time, workers filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, describing threats, firings, interrogation, surveillance and wage and benefit cuts for supporting the union. Research indicates that workers could file ULPs in many more elections but they fear that doing so will delay an election for months if not years along with retaliation for filing charges. Workers know that the resolution to a case can take years and that the remedies today are weak, the report says. The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate on March 10, launching the legislative battle to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. For more on the Employee Free Choice Act, watch the video above from MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show.
This website has been honored with CWA's "Members Choice" Award. CWA is "The Union for the Information Age," representing 700,000 workers in communications, media, airlines, manufacturing and public service.
for the last 25 years.
After moving from Minneapolis to get her start in local radio, Cavitt made the transition to television in 1993, anchoring daytime weather and traffic reports for KFMB-TV. She moved to KGTV in 2001 as weekend weather anchor and for the last 3 years has been the face of the 10News Leadership series, which recognizes people who make San Diego a better place to live through helping others. 
of the FA18 Navy Fighter Plane Crash on December 8, 2008. Four members of a University City family — including an infant and a toddler — were killed and two homes destroyed when a disabled fighter jet crashed while trying to make an emergency landing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The pilot, who was on a training exercise, safely ejected moments before the crash. The award also named Producer Doris Lewis and Reporter Steve Fiorina. Judges commenting on the story said, "Way to be all over the story. In the air and on the ground. Well done!" According to 
to their representatives on Capitol Hill: It’s time to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and real health care reform. During more than 200 appointments with members of Congress and their staffs, delegates made sure that elected representatives were put on notice that working families are watching — closely . Delegates wrapped up the conference by joining over 10,000 other workers in a mass rally in support of health care reform. 
Regarding two of the allegations, Gruenberg said, "We believe we can prove that Lisa was paid less than her male co-anchor for the same work and that race was a motivating factor in the decision to remove her from her anchor position." Local 54 President 
the position of President of NABET-CWA Local 54. That means that even if former Local 54 Vice-President Pat Givans was our President and was working as hard to get us a contract, I guess I would be a blind loyalist to Pat Givans. We are fighting for the same fair and equitable contract that the station has been negotiating with us for the last 56 years. No more and no less."
deal directly with our situation." 
Norm Coleman, who conceded the race shortly after the ruling was announced. "The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman said. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibusters, seen as key to moving forward legislation on issues such as labor law reform. AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney said, "America’s workers congratulate Al Franken and the people of Minnesota for their unanimous victory today in the Minnesota Supreme Court. The seating of Senator Franken is also a crucial step towards passing the Employee Free Choice Act that will allow workers to have a voice at work, lift their standard of living and build stronger communities as well as stronger families. We urge the Senate to move forward swiftly on this crucial piece of legislation as well as health care reform, financial re-regulation and all the crucial issues facing working families."
Comic-Con Used For TV Testing.
