KGTV Employees Reveal Personal Profiles
June 17, 2009; updated
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:
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 — 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."
NABET-CWA sent each employee a copy of their own profile. Some of them decided to share their profiles here as an example of how far McGraw-Hill will go with its use of fear and intimidation:
John Suarez
John Suarez is a 14-year employee, former "Employee of the Year" and an Emmy award-winning director. He is a former Vice-President of the Local and a current Board member. Suarez and other Executive Board members were targeted for disciplinary action starting in November 2007, immediately after former Broadcast Group President Ed Quinn axed General Manager Derek Dalton and assumed Dalton's duties himself. The profile:
Suarez said, "Of course I'm a strong union advocate. Unions have done great things for this country and created the middle class. The Company is aware that my beautiful 3 year-old son, John, has a potentially serious genetic 
condition that can flair up with little notice. He gets his blood tested and receives an ultrasound examination every 3 months. He's a brave boy. My fear is not losing medical benefits because I don't use the McGraw-Hill benefits. Ironically, right after this profile was created my wife and I switched to the benefits package offered by her job. This was right after KGTV managers threatened my employment by taking me from clean record to "final warning" in about 30 days in December of 2007. My real fear is not standing up for my children, dear wife and fellow employees. I find the whole idea of profiling — including racial profiling — to be immoral and unethical. It lacks integrity and is a clear violation of the McGraw-Hill Code of Business Ethics (COBE)."
Tony Velez
Tony Velez is a 9-year employee who started as an Operations Technician and was quickly promoted to Graphic Designer. He has been a Shop Steward since 2000 and has also been elected by members to 2 terms on the Negotiating Committee. Velez is among the Executive Board members targeted for disciplinary action starting in November 2007, immediately after former Broadcast Group President Ed Quinn axed General Manager Derek Dalton and assumed Dalton's duties himself. The profile:
Velez said, "If by "oppressed" the Company means I carry the burden of their union-busting attempts and use of fear tactics against employees, 
then I
guess that's true. As a Shop Steward and Negotiating Committee
member, I have continually looked for ways to reach an agreement with
a Company that invents one excuse after another not to reach an agreement. Of course, my medical condition is only my business. But
when Don Wells expressed concern for me, I shared with him. Now I
know what he was planning to do with that information. To the "core team" of
managers who compiled this personal information and the McGraw-Hill
executives who supported them, I have to say, How dare you! You
should be ashamed of yourselves. It's unethical and immoral. I have
negotiated contracts with Darrell Brown in the past and while I have
enormous respect for him as a manager and as a person, it is very
disappointing that he has not taken responsibility for the actions of
his predecessor. As President of the Broadcast Group, it's time for
him to enforce the honesty, integrity and good faith dealings called
for in the McGraw-Hill Code of Business Ethics (COBE)."
Robert Buchanan
Local 54 Vice-President Robert Buchanan is an 11-year employee who started as an Engineering trainee in 1996, was hired as an Operations Technician in 1998 and then promoted to Maintenance Engineer. He is now serving his third term as Local 54 Vice-President. Buchanan is among members who were targeted for disparate treatment and disciplinary action starting in November 2007, immediately after former Broadcast Group President Ed Quinn axed General Manager Derek Dalton and assumed Dalton's duties himself. The profile:
Buchanan said, "I guess management believes all I do is run around making babies. The truth is I have 3 beautiful children and this dispute has been a great tool for me to teach them the difference between right and wrong. 
One comment above is blocked because it's a cheap shot related to my children. On my profile, there is an interesting use of the "ice breaker" and "personal fear." Both are wishful thinking on the part of management and they have wasted a lot of effort on me trying to carry out their agenda. I've spent hours hearing, "We'll never settle" and "This Company has unlimited resources" and that I personally "don't need a Union to have a successful career here." Managers have also told me that they consider many of our members as unskilled labor who would be in danger without a Union, but the overall message is that I should not be concerned with everybody else's future and only do what's best for me. It's a "divide-and-conquer" tactic and if my kids can't get away with it, there's no way it will work here. That's why I have no problem calling management "union-busters." The fact is it's the Company that has painted themselves into a corner, but there is a perfect way out. Stop the union-busting and sit down and negotiate in good faith. It can be on or off the record, any time, any place. The most successful work environments are those where both the management and the employees jointly agree on the terms they can live with. In the meantime, the use of fear-based tactics and profiling of employees brings nothing but bad publicity to McGraw-Hill and is a violation of their own Code of Business Ethics (COBE)."
Matthew Burrow
Matthew Burrow has been an Editor in the Operations department since March 2007 and quickly set the bar for performance in editing and graphics in that position to a new height. The profile:
Burrow said, "My profile, though personal and intrusive, was not as insulting as some of the others. But there are still some important points that I would like to make about it. First, I don't view the statement that I am a 'renegade' as an insult to me. If by renegade they mean that I think for myself and don't take what anyone tells me at face value, then yes I am a renegade. Since management apparently 
lied directly to our faces and then said it was appropriate to do so, I believe my stance as a 'renegade' symbolizes me as being against lying and profiling people based on race and fears and then stating "its ok."
"The best part: 'If it wasn't for my union I wouldn't be making what I'm making.' People who work for KGTV without representation make no secret that they have submitted to pay cuts, been forced to do work not included in their job description without extra compensation, have not been paid for overtime worked, are forced to come to meetings outside their work schedule without getting paid for it, get yelled at for mistakes out of their control and receive implied threats. Also, PMP's seem to exist more to hinder people from getting a fair raise. So if it wasn't for our Union, the Company could treat us with the same disrespect. But when they try, the represented employees stand up for ourselves and demand that our jobs be secured and respected."
"In this day and age, especially at the corporate level, you can't take anyone's word as a promise. Many of the employees here have experienced this first hand. We want to see it in writing because in business (and in court), contracts are the only guarantee. McGraw-Hill needs to stop the union-busting and negotiate a fair contract."
"As for my fear, I take the threat to make my work less challenging very seriously. But I would say my biggest fear would be a manager asking me to partake in something that would be detrimental to my fellow coworkers by use of threats, intimidation, and deceit to abolish not only their pay and morale, but their respect for each other as well. If someone asked me to partake in that kind of behavior, I would tell them it's against my personal principles and McGraw-Hill's own Code of Business Ethics."
"I understand this "decertification plan" was probably leaked by someone who believed that it was against their own principles and decided to take action. I commend them for standing up for what is right."
Sean Robinson
Sean Robinson has been a versatile part-time employee in the Operations department since October 2003, working as a Technician, TOC Operator and Assistant Director. The profile:
Robinson said, "I look at my profile and scratch my head, disgusted and confused. Soft-spoken: Yes, I pride myself on possessing a calm demeanor. Amiable: I try to be. Versatile: You have to be able to handle the various tasks in this business and succeed. Engaged: We all make mistakes, but I make a conscious effort to never make the same mistake twice. As as far as the "?" goes, you can change that to a firm "N." If I am to be targeted by management, then let there be no doubt where I stand."
"I'm actually a 35 year-old Black male who doesn't leave work and hop on the 805 North or South, but who makes a couple of turns out of the parking lot and engages the community in which the station resides. I even dedicated my time, unpaid, to initiate a Diversity Committee at the station to address concerns that the Black community had about the 
departure of Lisa Lake and the lack of representation on our air. This was important to me as an employee of KGTV because I heard the gripes at Huffmans on Imperial; the disgust at Tina's on Euclid; the whispers at the American Legion a couple of blocks away on 47th Street. Working with prominent leaders of the Black community, we implemented a network to increase the diversity of our newsroom. After years in the background, the Minority Training Program was also brought back to life, to introduce young African Americans and other minorities to the news gathering process. As a Black employee representing 10News, it was the right thing to do."
"I recently got a letter from Mike Biltucci questioning my professionalism, based on comments he overheard in the control room where I was working as an assistant director. Unfortunately, Mike misunderstood the conversation. Fortunately, I'm part of a group that stands together and has elected representatives to address my concerns. I'm a part-time employee who works mostly weekends. There are a lot of changes during any given week and not a lot of notice on those changes. So I manage it the best I can, and successfully might I add, given the circumstances. I take pride in my professionalism."
"When I interviewed for the part-time Operations position in October 2003, I sat with Mike Biltucci and told him who I am and what my goals were. I explained how I left CNN to come to San Diego simply because this is where I wanted to settle down, start a family, and be part of a more close knit operation that focused on the local community and actually had an impact on its growth and development. And of course I took the position believing it would eventually lead to a full-time position. Who knew that supporting my Union would hamper that effort and eventually be used to exploit my fear of "not getting enough hours/$$ to support new family."
"Now as I shake my head in disbelief at this whole situation, I pray that things get better, that our new contract is fair, that the draining atmosphere at the station lifts, and that yes, I will be able to care for my new family like any husband and father."
Veronica Simonides
Veronica 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?"
Related Links
KGTV Documents Revealed | One Day Longer, One Day Stronger | 10NewsUnfair.com
