NABET-CWA’s 39 delegates, represent-ing 25 Locals and nearly 7,000 mem-bers, elected a new slate of officers to

lead the Union for the next four years dur-ing the Quadrennial Sector Conference onJune 4-6. On the Conference’s final day, Charlie

Braico was elected NABET-CWA SectorPresident by acclamation. Local 11 Presi-dent Lou Marinaro was elected by dele-gates as the new NABET-CWA Sector VicePresident. “These are difficult, challenging times to

be a Union leader,” Braico told delegates ashe described government roadblocks and“cutting edge” technologies that have se-verely impacted the Union’s members. “Butwe have a solid group of dedicated leaderswho are committed to improving people’slives.” Despite the challenges, Braico saw hope

in the country’s recovering economy and inmore respectable wage increases. In addi-tion, the Union is aggressively pursuingnew members, which he believes is criticalto NABET-CWA’s survival. “I am honored to be granted the opportu-

nity to lead this Union,” Braico said. “Weare one Union, not 30 different locals. OurUnion is like a family.”

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N A T I O N A L A S S O C I A T I O N O F B R O A D C A S T E M P L O Y E E S & T E C H N I C I A N ST H E B R O A D C A S T I N G A N D C A B L E T E L E V I S I O N W O R K E R S S E C T O R O F T H E C O M M U N I C A T I O N S W O R K E R S O F A M E R I C A

{www.nabetcwa.org}

Printed in the U.S.A.

NABETCWA News

VOLUME 64, #3 • Fall 2015

Page 1 • NABET NEWS • Fall 2015

2 0 1 5 N A B E T - C W A Q U A D R E N N I A LS E C T O R C O N F E R E N C E — D E T R O I T

New Sector Leadership Takes Over in “Challenging, Difficult” Times

Lou Marinaro, who served as a ShopSteward, Grievance Chairperson, and onLocal 11’s Executive Board before becom-ing Local 11 President, agreed that Labor isstruggling. “The Democrats take us forgranted and the Republicans ignore us,” hesaid. He wants to focus on building solidar-ity with other Unions to maximize theUnion’s political power and reverse thetrends. Within NABET-CWA, Marinaro stressed

the importance of reaching out to DailyHire members, many of whom feel disen-franchised, and to build bridges with the in-dependent Locals. Braico, who had been the Sector Vice

President since 2010, succeeds Jim Joyce,who was Sector President since 2010. Thedelegates passed a resolution in Joyce’shonor, thanking him for his services andwishing him the best in his future endeavors.As the longest-serving Regional Vice

President in attendance, RVP6 Bill Wachen-schwanz chaired the election of the new of-ficers and administered the oath of officefor the next four years.

CWA Elects New National LeadersCWA’s 75th Convention took place theweek following NABET-CWA’s Conference.On June 8, Chris Shelton, Vice President of

CWA District 1 for the past 10 years, waselected CWA President by acclamation ofconference delegates. Sara Steffens, whohad been serving as Secretary-Treasurer ofthe NewsGuild-CWA, was elected CWASecretary-Treasurer.As Vice President of CWA District 1,

Shelton represented 160,000 members inmore than 300 CWA locals in New Jersey,New York and New England. Prior to thispost, Shelton was assistant to the District 1Vice President, responsible for contract ne-gotiations and the thousands of collectivebargaining agreements covering DistrictOne members. He served as the Verizon Regional Bar-

gaining Chair in 2000 and 2003, and overallChair of Verizon bargaining for CWA Dis-trict 1, District 2-13, IBEW New Jersey andNew England in 2008 and 2011. He alsochaired negotiations in New Jersey for40,000 State Workers in 2008 and 2011.Shelton, a native of the Bronx, N.Y.,

started his union career when he went towork for New York Telephone in 1968 as anoutside technician. He was elected a CWALocal 1101 shop steward in 1968 andserved Local 1101 in various positions untilDecember 1988 when he joined the CWAnational staff.

Growing the Unionthrough OrganizingChicago (Local 41)

Chicago Public TV WorkersSay, “YES, we CAN”!

Workers at Chicago Access NetworkTelevision (CAN TV) reached outto NABET-CWA to talk about

unionizing in March, and by June 75 per-cent of them had signed cards authorizingthe Union as their bar-gaining representative.On August 14, the em-ployees voted to joinNABET-CWA. This isthe second organizingwin for Local 41 thisyear.“It all happened pretty quickly,” said

Local 41 President Don Villar, who organ-ized the group along with E-Board memberDan Moreno. “Within a couple of months,the majority of the 24 employees pledgedtheir commitment to NABET.” CWA rec-ommends at least a 70% show of supportfor the Union before moving forward withelection proceedings. In light of the support, the Local first

asked CAN-TV management to voluntarilyrecognize the Union by “card check,” in-stead of going through the National LaborRelations Board election process. Manage-ment at the time was noncommittal, so Vil-lar filed for an NLRB election and wentbefore the Board to argue for wall-to-wallNABET-CWA representation of all non-management employees at the station. TheNLRB sided with the Union and the elec-tion was scheduled.

Former CWA President Larry Cohen hands the reignsover to new CWA President Chris Shelton

(Continued on page 2) (Continued on page 2)

RVP 6 Bill Wachen-schwanz adminis-ters the oath ofoffice to newlyelected SectorPresident CharlieBraico and SectorVice President LouMarinaro

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C O N T R A C T A TK O I N - T V

After 25 months of negotiations without a contract, NABET-CWA ratified an agree-ment with Portland station KOIN-TV (Media General) on July 29. The members hadrejected the same contract previously, but then voted in favor of it when the Union

brought it back for a revote.“The negotiating committee went back to the table several times, but the Company

wouldn’t budge on the issues and the Labor Board wasn’t acting on the unfair labor prac-tice charges,” said NABET-CWA Staff Representative Carrie Biggs-Adams. “It would havetaken a huge mobilization effort to get any movement, so we decided to bring the contractback to the members.”The two-year contract was accepted by a two-thirds vote of the membership. An initial

raise of 4% will be effective for the first year of the contract and the second year raise willbe 1%.The previous contract expired in 2013, and the most recent talks were under the auspices

of a federal mediator. In the midst of the negotiations, NABET-CWA filed numerous Un-fair Labor Practice charges, some of which were resolved with the Company. The Bargain-ing Committee included Frank Brown, Jeff Burda, Local 51 President Kevin Wilson, andCarrie Biggs-Adams.

Media General-Meredith MergerThe merger between KOIN-TV owner Media General and Meredith Corporation will be-come effective at the end of June 2016. Meredith-Media General says it is “creating a pow-erful multiplatform and diversified media company.” The companies are going to sell orswap their sta-tions in six oftheir overlap-ping markets(see graphic). Meredith

will have tosell or swapstations in thePortland mar-ket, where itowns KPTVChannel 12(Fox) andKPDX 49(MyNetworkTV). The Com-pany also ownsKUBN 43 (which also serves as a satellite of KPDX) in Bend, OR. Since the LIN Mediamerger last year, Media General owns KOIN.“We thought it was unusual to have only gotten a 24-month contract at KOIN and that it

was likely there would be a change in station ownership soon,” said Local 51 PresidentKevin Wilson in a Sept. 9 bulletin to members. “KOIN has changed owners many times –Emmis, New Vision, LIN, and now Media General.” Wilson pointed out that a Union con-tract helps keep wages, hours and working conditions intact during these changes.Hartford/New Haven/Springfield, CT, is an overlap market in this merger. NABET-CWA

represents members at three stations in the market: WTNH (Media General/No. 3), WFSB(Meredith/No. 1), and WTIC/FOX (Tribune Media). The Union has three units at WTNH(Media General) in New Haven, and will begin bargaining in November for the station’sproducers and directors, and bargaining for the photographers/technicians contract nextyear. NABET-CWA just organized WTIC/FOX, which had been the only non-union televi-sion newsroom in the state. “The stations are heavily unionized, but will change hands,” predicts Biggs-Adams.

“They will have to sell/swap before the sale is finalized and they apply for FCC approval.We should know what is going to happen by the end of the year because the deals wouldhave to close by the end of the first quarter of 2016.”

Meredithand MediaGeneralmarkets,withoverlapmarkets inred

Shelton succeeds Larry Cohen, whostepped down after serving as President for10 years and organizing for 39 years inCWA. Shelton called on all CWA membersto “unite and fight because we are fightingto defend the living standards not just of ourmembers, but of the entire working class.That is our job and that is our mission.”As TNG-CWA Secretary-Treasurer, Sara

Steffens managed the TNG-CWA operatingbudget, its investments and other funds. Sheassisted locals with fiscal and legal compli-

ance and also served on the NewsGuild'scollective bargaining and legal servicescommittees. Steffens is a native of Minnesota and

worked for nine years as a reporter for theContra Costa (California) Times. Whilethere, she successfully led her co-workers atthe Times and other newspapers in the BayArea to organize and join the Northern Cal-ifornia Media Workers Guild, now calledthe Pacific Media Workers Guild.

Just prior to the election, Local 41 joinedwith the interfaith community delegationArise Chicago to rally in support of the or-ganizing campaign at CAN, which is a pub-lic, education and government access cabletelevision services primarily funded by theCity of Chicago. On July 30, approximately80 people rallied in front of the station,prompting management to address the gath-ering to say that they would remain neutralthrough the process.Executive director of CAN TV Barbara

Papovic stated, “CAN TV respects the rightof its workers to exercise their free will inthis election. As the employer, we will nottake any actions that interfere with the exer-cise of this fundamental right.”“The members are very connected to the

community through the station, so they arethe ones who got other community groupsto back us,” said Villar. Progressives fromgroups representing Women, Latino,African American, and Gay Rights commu-nities as well as members of the ServiceEmployees International Union came to-gether in support of these workers who,ironically, did not have a voice in the CANTV workplace.“All of these groups use CAN TV as a

way to get their message out, but the sta-tion’s workers themselves didn’t have avoice,” Villar said. The station considers it-self progressive, fighting for social justiceissues, except when it comes to its own em-ployees. “It’s almost like dealing with anyother corporation. There is a disconnectthere,” he said.Citing a lack of respect and unfair treat-

ment in their workplace, the group ofmostly young millennials sought out theUnion to boost their quality of life. Manyhadn’t received a raise in years and didn’t

New Sector Leadership(Continued from page 1)

feel like management was listening to them.These workers are struggling, with someworking multiple jobs to help pay studentloans and make ends meet.“There is a lot of anger toward managers

over economic issues and a feeling that theydon’t care about the workers’ concerns,”said Villar. The station’s upcoming move toa brand new headquarters building mademany question the Company’s financialchoices. If they had the resources to build anew facility, why weren’t the employeesgetting raises?“For the longest time, they thought they

could never change their circumstances, butnow they have a chance,” said Villar. “Weoften say Labor can’t connect to the youngergeneration, so it is very refreshing to see thisyoung group of people reach out to us forhelp.” The group is unique in that there wasno prior relationship with the Union. The campaign itself exemplified the

CWA Triangle: Organizing, MovementBuilding, Representation. Organizing thisgroup led NABET-CWA to organize alliesoutside of Labor, building a movement thatcan bring change not only to the CAN TVworkplace, but on the political front as well.It may also pay dividends at the bargainingtable if the Union and its supporters can ap-peal to local lawmakers to increase fundingfor the public television station.“We really saw everything coming to-

gether in this drive,” Villar explained. “Ourgoal here is to help CAN TV grow and be-come an even bigger voice for the city ofChicago. I really think it will be a greatbenefit to the labor community here.”The Chicago City Council will soon pass

a resolution applauding CAN TV for organ-izing.

New York (Local 16)Organizing win at ABC/GMA

NABET-CWA Local 16 gained six newmembers over the summer when the EVSoperators who work on ABC’s “Good Morn-ing America” program voted unanimouslyto join the Union. The group was the last ofthe technical staff to become members ofNABET-CWA, which represents approxi-mately 30 staffers on the program.According to Local 16 President Art

Mazzacca, the workers were concerned

about their job security after the network re-duced their hours.The Company has expressed willingness

to negotiate with the new unit. Once theUnion sits down with the members to as-sess their concerns, Mazzacca said he hopesto begin negotiations by late September.The Union believes the group should be ac-creted into the NABET-CWA/ABC MasterAgreement. Mazzacca credited the hard work of Steve

Rubbinaccio and Jim Nolan, who broughtabout a successful conclusion to the cam-paign.

Arise Chicago rallied with NABET-CWA Local 41 in solidarity with workers from CAN-TV

Organizing(Continued from page 1)

is #3 or #4. “Because WCCO is owned-and-operated by CBS, it is very much cor-porate-run,” he said. “The network operatesthe station very seriously, and we have avery talented group of people there.”

NABET-CWA andWCCO-TV signed anew three-year agree-ment in August, soonafter concluding a law-suit. The Union suedthe Company over itsdesire to allow itsAFTRA employees toperform NABET-CWAmembers’ duties. Thelawsuit was initially

upheld by an Administrative Law Judge, butwas eventually overturned after the Com-pany appealed the decision. The two Unionsand the Company have agreed to permittwo AFTRA employees per day to performNABET work and two NABET employees

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Over the summer, NABET-CWA andNBC Universal came to terms on anew contract to replace the Master

Agreement that expired on March 31, 2015.The deal was ratified by a majority of thebargaining unit’s members on August 14. The Union's Bargaining Committee said

it was “extremely grateful to the NABET-CWA members working across the countryat NBC Universal for their support and de-termination during this process.”The new ratified agreement covers all of

the Union’s members at NBC, including ap-proximately 2,700 Staff and Daily Hire em-ployees working as broadcast technicians inthe studios, as well as in the field for NBCNews, NBC Sports and NBC Entertain-ment. Also covered under the MasterAgreement are building maintenance, airconditioning and plant maintenance person-nel, staging services personnel, and couriersat various Network and TV station opera-tions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles,and Washington, D.C.This package contains a number of en-

hanced economic and benefits improve-ments for NABET-CWA-representedemployees. The general wage increase to-tals 8.25% over the next three years (3%,2.75%, and 2.5%), and becomes effectiveupon ratification. Notable gains for Daily Hire employees

include an increase in the payment-in-lieuof benefits, an increase in the Company-matching contribution to the Daily Hire401(k) plan, and an increase in ‘travel-only’pay by $6/hour over the life of the agree-ment. In addition, eligible Daily Hire em-ployees who work 195 days or more in acalendar year would have the option to se-

NABET-CWA Ratifies Contract with NBClect NBCU/Comcast healthcare benefits inthe following year.The new contract will run

through March 31, 2018. TheNABET-CWA Network Ne-gotiating Committee includedSector President CharlieBraico, Local 11 PresidentLou Marinaro, Local 53 Pres-ident Steve Ross, Steve Mit-nick (Local 31 Negotiator),and Ed Dabrowski (Local 41Negotiator).

In April, Local 411 members elected JoeKaczinski as their new president.Kaczinski ran unopposed to replace for-

mer local president Tony Peterson, whoheld the position for one term.“When Tony stepped down, I decided to

run because I thought it was important forour side of the group to be represented,”Kaczinski explained, referring to his em-ployer, WCCO-TV, which employs a largershare of the local’s members. In total, Local411 represents 81 full-time, part-time andDaily Hire members at WCCO and KTCA-TV (PBS). Six members are employed atKTCA.This is the first Union position for

Kaczinski, who has worked at the Min-neapolis station for 13 years. He was em-ployed previously at KSTP-TV/Channel 5(Hubbard Broadcasting), which Kaczinskidescribed as “notoriously non-union.”Kaczinski said WCCO is #1 in the Min-

neapolis market, while the Hubbard station

NBC membersrally in NYCoutside theJames Taylorconcert.

L411 President Joe Kaczinski

Local 411 Elects New Local President per day to do AFTRA work. If an employeeis cross-utilized in a higher paid group, theCompany will compensate them at thehigher rate.Adding to staffing concerns, WCCO re-

cently added a new hour-long morningshow to its programming, which they ini-tially said would create two new positions.However, they ended up doing the showusing current staff. “The people in the group are very tal-

ented, and WCCO has traditionally had avery high level of production quality,” hesaid. “But adding an extra hour of produc-tion to each work day becomes challengingfor a staff that is always trying to create thebest they can every day.”Job security and promoting unionism are

areas that Kaczinski would like to focus onas local president. “It’s more important thanever for Unions to be involved in the work-place,” he said. “There’s an entire group ofpeople who really need to learn whatUnions are and their history. It would be re-ally tough if we didn’t have a Union.”

Long-time Advisorto Savings andRetirement Trust(SRT) OustedNABET-CWA, representingmajority of participants, opposed change

NABET-CWA members who are par-ticipants in the CWA Savings andRetirement Trust (SRT) should

have been notified that there was changein the financial advisor to the fund, effec-tive January 1, 2015. Meketa InvestmentGroup replaced Eric Zakarin, who hadbeen the plan advisor for over 20 years.His removal from that position was con-trary to the strong objection of NABET-CWA. The Sector Executive Councilpassed a resolution – and the NetworkLocal Presidents wrote letters to theTrustees – supporting Eric Zakarin andopposing the change in financial advi-sors. What makes this situation ironic isthat NABET-CWA members represent amajority of the participants, and hold thelargest balance of funds in the plan. Thevote to remove Mr. Zakarin was 2 to1 by

...................After the Show

ing a column about the SRT, since I am nota participant. I believe as your National Re-tiree Coordinator, I should be concernedabout all retiree issues, and the “R” in SRTdoes stand for retirement. When I inquired as to why Mr. Zakarin

had been replaced, I was told that Meketa’smanagement fee was significantly lower.That may be true, but since I am not amember, I am not entitled to that specificinformation regarding fees of the SRT.What I do believe has been compromised isthe personal customer service provided byEric Zakarin. When that issue was raised,NABET-CWA was told that thatpersonal service to the participantswas not the job of the financial ad-visor. The only responsibility of theadvisor is to advise the Trustees.From my perspective that is a veryshortsighted approach, and it re-mains to be seen if Mr. Zakarin’spersonal touch will be missed.

Contact information for the CWA Sav-ings & Retirement Trust can be found inthe highlighted box. If for some reasonyou have a question or a problem that youfeel is not being addressed, please sendme a detailed email so that I may lookinto it.I can be contacted at

bfreedanabetcwa@verizon.net.

the three Plan Trustees. At the time, theUnion Trustees were Annie Hill, CWA Sec-retary-Treasurer, and Jim Joyce, NABET-CWA President. Frank Tucker is themanagement Trustee. Jim Joyce cast thelone dissenting vote on this action. It is interesting to note that NABET-

CWA did not have a Trustee until the sum-mer of 2014, when Larry Cohen resignedand the CWA Executive Board appointedJim Joyce. I do find that surprising, espe-cially in light of NABET-CWA’s level ofparticipation in the SRT. With the changein leadership at CWA this summer, twonew Trustees have been appointed by theCWA Executive Board: Sara Steffens,CWA’s newly elected Secretary-Treasurer,and Charlie Braico, the newly elected Sec-tor President of NABET-CWA. I am nowconfident our voice will be heard, whenimportant decisions are being made regard-ing the SRT. Some people may wonder why I am writ-

Contact information for CWA SRTPhone: 1-800-987-0721 Hours: 8:30am-4:30pmKathy Richardson: krichardson@cwa-union.orgIsabel Baez: ibaez@cwa-union.orgEoin Fitzgerald: efitzgerald@cwa-union.org

by Bill FreedaNABET-CWA National Coordinator and President of the Media Sector, CWA Retired Members Council

Page 4 • NABET NEWS • Fall 2015

NABET-CWA delegates, alternates,members of the Sector ExecutiveCouncil, NABET-CWA Staff and

guests gathered to take care of Union busi-ness, gain insight into industry trends andtechnology, and learn more about plans tobuild Labor back up in Detroit, the “Come-back City.”In his welcoming address, Sector Presi-

dent Charlie Braico reported that the stateof the Union is good overall and stressedthe importance of the Union’s work as it im-proves the quality of life for members andtheir families. On behalf of all of the NABET-CWA De-

troit locals, Local 43 President DoretheaBrown-Maxey welcomed the conference toher city. Unions need to make a comeback,a renewal, she said. Detroit was once con-sidered the labor movement’s capital city,but is now a city trying to recover from aneconomic freefall in right-to-work Michi-gan. “We have clearly lost our way,” shesaid. “We have to make a difference for ourfamilies, our members and ourselves.”Delegates also heard from Brenda Jones,

the President of Detroit’s City Council, andRick Blocker, the President of the Metro-politan Detroit AFL-CIO. Jones, a lifelongDetroiter, described a city that is workingits way back after a bankruptcy and emer-gency order that required every city em-ployee to re-apply for their jobs only tofind that they may no longer qualify forthem. She made a call to action for Laborto educate new workers about labor historyand the source of their benefits. Blocker,who proclaimed, “I’m Union from thewomb to the tomb,” added, “We have totake part of the blame for not doing enoughin the community, but if all of us work to-gether and fight together, we can buildUnions back up.” On the second day of the Conference,

outgoing CWA President Larry Cohenasked attendees: “Are you going to tell yourkids that life is hopeless?” If not, then heurged people to give their lives meaningapart from being consumers. “It’s aboutdemocracy and economic justice,” he said.“The world today is all about deregulationand anyone being able to do a job anywherein the world.” A prime example is the pro-posed Trans Pacific Partnership, whichCWA has opposed because of its unen-forceable labor protections. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan reiter-

ated concerns about the TPP and its poten-tial ill effects on workers. Peters invoked thewords of Henry Ford that “raising wages forhis workers was the best cost-cutting movehe made.” There was less turnover, theworkers were more productive and they be-came customers for his products.

By-LawsAfter much work and discussion, the dele-gates to the Conference made amendmentsto the NABET-CWA Sector By-Laws. Thisis the only forum in which the Sector By-Laws can be amended. One change in-cluded a requirement that the SectorPresident sit on the negotiating committeefor network contract talks involving ABCand NBC. The By-Laws also now includethe creation of a new membership status en-titled ‘Associate Membership’. EachNABET-CWA Local will have the discre-tion to establish a non-voting AssociateMember status. An Associate Memberwould enjoy various union-provided bene-fits, such as access to training programs,but be required to pay only minimum dues.

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Many believe this is a way to expose a newgeneration to the many positive benefits ofthe Union.

ResolutionsConference delegates passed ten resolu-tions, including resolutions for:

Daily Hires. Vigorously address Daily Hireissues through representation, contract ne-gotiations, effective enforcement and politi-cal/legislative activism. Daily Hires havebeen a part of the Union for the past 25years.

Trans-Pacific Partnership. Join the voicesof Democrats and Republicans alike whoopposed the TPP.

End Income Inequality. Support the FairMinimum Wage Act which increases theminimum wage to $10.10/hour as well asthe CWA/AFL-CIO “Fight for $15.”

Appreciation for RVP 2 Freddie Saburro.Wish Freddie – the “grandfather” of Region2 – a speedy recovery from the illness thatprevented him from attending this NABET-CWA Conference.

Building up the Middle Class. Support leg-islation and policies at local, state and na-tional levels that protect the bargainingpower of Unions, guarantee paid sick leave,ease student debt, make higher educationmore accessible, and expand retirementcoverage.

Fight Right-to-Work. Recognize MissouriGovernor Jay Nixon’s veto of a right-to-work bill and support the state legislatorswho voted against the legislation. Half ofthe United States is now “right-to-work.”

Abolish Citizens United. Call on Congressand the President to rectify this corrupt de-cision and urge all Union members to be-come more politically active to counter thehundreds of millions of dollars spent by bigbusiness.

Special PresentationsSelect speakers made presentations to Con-ference attendees on topics such as: newtraining programs, legal updates, dronecamera technology, emerging social mediatools, retirement planning and a new pro-gram focused on extended and enhanced re-mote servicing.Local 41 member Colin Hinkle, a free-

lancer at Chicago’s ABC7 and CBS2 gavethe conference’s first presentation on drone

camera technology. Hinkle owns SoaringBadger Productions and recently receivedone of the few FAA exemptions to fly hisdrones for news gathering and productionpurposes. With the technology advancingrapidly, Hinkle said he thinks that mostnews stations around the country will beusing drones at some point and they willsoon replace cable cams. Drones may alsotake the place of helicopter shots becausethey minimize cost and danger.Investment Advisor Eric Zakarin gave a

presentation on Retirement Planning, ad-vising people to follow these general strate-gies: 1. Know the available distributionoptions 2. Use conservative assumptions 3.Invest and consider risk in proportion tolongevity 4. Diversify 5. Rebalance 6. Stayinvolved.Training was the focus of CWA/NETT

Academy Administrator Kevin Celata’s talk.Celata said that lynda.com is the most suc-cessful thing he’s done at CWA: “The bene-fits are so tangible because they engage themembers and help further their jobs and in-terests.” He introduced CWA’s newest train-ing product, Kelby One, which is availablefree for NABET-CWA members. The soft-ware simplifies the process of learning Pho-toshop®, Lightroom® & photography. Jim Kolendo of NABET-CWA Local 42

administers the Union’s training programsin Regions 2 and 6. The program is so pop-

ular that he has filled every training “seat”for the past 2 1/2 years. Access to the pro-grams is unlimited, 24/7 for both membersand their families. He noted that severalcolleges and institutions use lynda.com, in-cluding Yale, Georgetown, Case WesternReserve, Princeton and the New York Pub-lic Library. Kolendo urged members to keeptheir email addresses current in order to getthe latest information on training opportu-nities.Richard Mack, Jr. of Miller Cohen PLC

explained the NLRB’s new fast-track or-ganizing rules, which have streamlinedelections. The new rules shorten the time-frame of filing to an election from 38 daysto 14-21 days. Once a petition is filed, ahearing must occur within eight days. In ad-dition, the employer is required to post no-tice of the petition for an election withintwo days after the region serves notice ofthe hearing. Elections are scheduled asearly as possible: within two days instead ofthe former seven days. According to Mack,the win rate goes up 25 percent if Unionsuse the rules correctly. CWA’s Director of Online Communica-

tions, Beth Allen (@CWABeth), gave anoverview of social media techniques. Allensaid the two fundamentals of online com-munications are a website and email, whichprovides the structure to communicate tomembers and is the best way to get in touch

Resolutions Committee (l-r): L53 Secretary Cheryl Bacon, L51Secretary/Treasurer djovida, L31 Vice President Bob Williams, L412President Linda Dielman, and L211 President Anthony Vecchio

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Sector PresidentCharlie Braicopresented NABETLocal 43 with aplaque for itsefforts on behalfof the laborcommunity.

NABET-CWA General CounselSteve Sturm and Local 16Vice President Jim Nolan

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with them. Why use social media sheasked? Because people/members use it tospread and share information. Half of Face-book users get their news there, and Unionsneed to be a part of the conversation.Nearly 71 percent of Internet users have aFacebook account, so Locals should startwith Facebook before Twitter, which 23 per-cent of Internet users subscribe to. CWAalso uses the Action Network to set up andplot events, which is free of charge to CWAlocals. Allen asked everyone to send her old“throwback” pictures for the CWA Face-book page!NABET-CWA is enhancing its remoteproduction representation and servicingprogram. A panel of Local 16 and Local 11representatives, including NABET-CWARemote Service Coordinator Steve Rub-binaccio, explained that the enhanced serv-ice is a result of an increase in workassignments at ABC Sports and NBCSports. They are recruiting people fromwithin NABET-CWA and other unions to

service and support crews at these events.Forms were available at the Conference tobecome part of the NABET-CWA SportsRemote Servicing Team. Those interestedmay also contact Rubbinaccio at NABET-CWA Local 16: 212-757-7191.The President of the News Guild, Bernie

Lunzer, spoke of the importance of growingNABET-CWA and the Guild using toolssuch as the Strategic Industry and GrowthFunds. These initiatives,which are funded sepa-rately from a portion ofmembers’ dues and an-nual investment earn-ings from the MembersRelief Fund (MRF), re-spectively, are used tosupport movementbuilding, enhance or-ganizing, leadership de-velopment and research,and to increase CWA’sbargaining power. The

CWAPresidentChris SheltonaddressesNABET-CWAdelegates

Colin Hinkle ofSoaring Baderexplains dronetechnology.

Bylaws Committee(l-r): L41 TreasurerJackie Denn, L25President RoySchrodt, L42 VicePresident KenKoscick, L16 Sec-retary-TreasurerRichard Gelber,and L26 SecretaryKate Murray.

Left to right: Pat Tubiolo, Paul Spadafora,Ron Gabalski, Steve Rubbinaccio, andMike Moore

NABET Staff, Delegates and Sector President Braico at CWA Convention

Representatives from Michigan Locals with Senator Gary Peters (l-r: L48 PresidentZaragosa Maldonado, L412 President Linda Dielman, Senator Peters, L43 PresidentDorethea Brown-Maxey and L46 President Sheldon Neeley)

Bill Freeda with award recognizinghis devoted service to the Union’sretired sisters and brothers

funds helped to fight against the TPP andhave supported NABET-CWA in FCC fil-ings and in a News Guild/NABET-CWA re-search report on the media’s portrayal of

Hispanics that is due out this fall. NABET-CWA locals are encouraged to submit theirown proposals for funding.

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On June 25, Ronald B. Melzer, a retired Technical Director atWLS/ABC-TV and a long-time NABET-CWA officer, passed awaysuddenly from an apparent heart attack.

“I worked with Ron both as a Technician and as a Union Officer,” saidLocal 41 President Emeritus Ray Taylor. “He was an enthusiastic UnionSteward and very dedicated to the members of NABET-CWA Local 41.”Taylor was especially struck by the memorial card that was distributed atMelzer’s wake: It was stamped “Union Made” on the front.“The card was very unique and extremely representative of the dedi-

cated way he lived his life,” Taylor said.Melzer was born on October 16, 1941, in Chicago. He graduated in

1959 from St. Ignatius College Prep on the old West Side of Chicago. Hethen attended DeVry University and served in the U.S. Air Force for fouryears. In 1964, Melzer joined NABET-CWA Local 41. For 35 years, he

worked as a Technician at WLS-TV, rising to the rank of Technical Direc-tor. While at WLS, he was elected Union Steward and attended manygrievance meetings. He was later elected Vice President for NABET-CWA’s Region 4. During his tenure at ABC, he married his best friend, a nurse, Judy

Murphy. They were married for 46 years. Melzer also was a volunteerfirefighter with the Brookfield Fire Department for many years.Ron retired from WLS-TV/ABC in 1999. Ron and Judy Melzer spent

the winter months in Texas and returned to the Chicago area to participatein many of Local 41 retirees’ spring and summer lunch meetings.

NABET-CWA Local 53 SecretaryCheryl Bacon was fired from her jobat KTTV Fox 11 for appearing on

camera with “Turn off FOX 11” informa-tional signs during one of the station’smorning live shots. Bacon’s actions werepart of an ongoing Unionmobilization campaign toinform the public aboutthe four-year-long con-tract talks betweenNABET-CWA and KTTV.“We do this to get our

message to the public thatFOX is unfair,” saidBacon. “The live shots areone part of a whole mobi-lization strategy of rallies,outreach to advertisers,community organizers,and leafleting. It’s one of many strategiesthat we partake in to get our message out.” Bacon was off-duty on August 12 when she

participated in the Union activity. When sheshowed up for her shift later that day, manage-ment fired her immediately. Bacon had ap-peared in live shots several times previously.“I would never do anything to jeopardize

my job,” Bacon said. “I did exactly as I had

Memorial card distributed atMelzer’s funeral.

Ron Melzer, Local 41: Union-MadeOctober 16, 1941 – June 25, 2015

FOX fires NABET-CWA Local 53 Officer for Union Activityin the other live shots: I stood silently be-hind the reporter so as to be in the picture,but I did not interfere with them at all.”According to Bacon, she has never had

any disciplinary problems in her 39 years atthe station. She would have qualified for

full retirement in Oc-tober, but had plannedto work a few moreyears. The 62-year-oldworked as an engineer,video editor, microvanoperator and satelliteoperations staffer, andhas been a NABET-CWA member sinceAugust 1976.NABET-CWA,

which has been nego-tiating with the station

to get her job back, filed a grievance assert-ing that the station did not follow the dis-charge clause outlined in the Unioncontract. An unfair labor prac-tice charge also was filed,for which Bacon provideda six-hour statement tothe National Labor Re-lations Board (NLRB).

The Board is expected to decide whether totake up her case in October.Vowing to “Bring Home the Bacon,”

Local 53 held a rally outside of FOX 11’sstudios on August 27. On Sept. 10,NABET-CWA Local 41 also spoke out insupport of Bacon during a rally to highlighttheir fight for a new contract at FOX32/WFLD-TV. “Our contract expired in 2011, so this has

been going on for a very long time,” saidLocal 53 President Steve Ross. “The com-pany only wants concessions in wages andbenefits, while at the same time we seeother companies being able to reach agree-ments with their workers.”Local 53 has been engaged in heightened

mobilization activities since the Companydeclared impasse in contract talks for theEngineering unit in 2013. The membersoverwhelmingly rejected the Company’scontract offer in November 2012, andKTTV implemented parts of the rejected

proposal on July 15, 2013. The Com-pany reduced employees’ workdayby a half hour, which amountedto a 6 ¼ percent cut in pay. TheCompany also decreased vaca-tion time and reduced DailyHires’ pay in lieu of benefitsby 15 percent. Local 53 said it will continue

its mobilization campaign until afair labor agreement is reached.

However, the Local has put a tempo-rary moratorium on its live shot mobiliza-

tions out of respect for the two WDBJ-TVjournalists killed in Roanoke, Va., while re-porting live. Bacon has started taking blood pressure

medication and is experiencing tremendousanxiety since losing her job. She had hopedher case would be resolved within a fewmonths, but is concerned that it could takemuch longer.

Bacon holding signs during Live Shot

KWHY-TV in L.A.Lays OffNewsroom Staff

On August 31, KWHY-TV/Mundo-Max22 announced that RCN Televi-sion (MundoFOX’s parent

company) was overseeing the station’soperations and immediately canceled itsnewscasts. Management then laid offmost of the station’s 60 employees – fromnews, marketing and sales – on the spot.NABET-CWA represents 30 of those – 27Daily Hires and three Staffers – who losttheir jobs as editors, photographers, audioengineers, and automated control roomoperators. Under the terms of the deal, the sta-

tion’s owners – Meruelo Group – cannotproduce any local content. Instead oflocal newscasts, Local 53 President SteveRoss said the station will carry theMundoMax network’s programming. Thestation’s lead anchor, who kept his job,will do one-minute local and nationalnews briefs. NABET-CWA’s contract with KWHY-

TV runs through 2018, and the Companyis still obligated to comply with its terms,which includes giving employees twoweeks notice prior to any layoffs. The Union is awaiting a response from

management and, in the meantime, isurging its members not to sign buyoutpackages. “It’s tough enough getting jobs out here

in L.A.,” said Ross, “To lose 30 more re-ally hurts.”Four years ago, NBCU sold KWHY-

TV to the Los Angeles-based investmentfirm The Meruelo Group, as part of itsmerger with Comcast because they can’thave more than two stations in one mar-ket. Meruelo Media was an independentstation until 2012 when it became Mund-oFox’s flagship affiliate.

Ron Melzer

Regions 1 and 3 Vice Presidents Elected

On June 1, ballots were tabulated, and winners were announced in elections for VicePresidents of Regions One, Three and Five. In Region 1, Cristina Silver prevailedin an election against incumbent Richard L. Gelber and was elected RVP-1. Mau-

rice “Moe” Thomas defeated challenger Carl Mayers to retain his position as RVP-3 onthe Sector Executive Council. In Region 5, James “Suds” Sudweeks received the major-ity of votes; however, CWA President Chris Shelton, responding to an election chal-lenge, has directed that the Region 5 Vice President election be re-run. At press time,that process is underway.

Alexander WallsAlexander Walls of Munroe Falls, OH, is the son ofLocal 42 member Eric Walls. A graduate of Stow-Munroe Falls High School, Alexander earned an honorsdiploma from the State of Ohio and was an AP NationalScholar. He also participated on the school’s footballand track teams, volunteered in the community for morethan 160 hours, and worked for three years at StowCone, a local ice cream shop. Alexander won theGeorge Smith Scholarship Award, and attends OhioState University in Columbus, where he is majoring inData Analytics.

The following students received a one-time NABET-CWA Scholarship of $1,000:

Autumn SpinaAutumn Spina is the daughter of Local 25 member AlanSpina. While in high school, Autumn lettered in Aca-demics and was a Western NY Section VI Scholar Ath-lete. She participated in Field Hockey, Drama, Bowlingand Music. Autumn won the Region Two James P.Nolan Memorial Award and is studying physics at theUniversity of Buffalo, where this scholarship will helpher finish school “with as little debt as possible,” shesaid.

Laura BarrecaLaura Barreca is the daughter of Local 11 memberLawrence Barreca. Laura graduated 4th in her class atMiller Place High School, where she received HighHonor Roll in her four years there. She was also a mem-ber of the National Honor Society, the Foreign Lan-guage Honor Society, and the Cross County and TrackAll-Academic teams. Laura received her school’s Out-standing Senior Athlete Award, which is given to an ath-lete who excels through his/her school career. Laurawon the Thomas F. Kennedy Scholarship Award andattends the State University of New York-Geneseo,where she is majoring in Biology.

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Simone AlexanderSimone Alexander of Boca Raton, FL, is the daughter ofLocal 31 member Cody Alexander. Simone graduatedfrom West Boca High School, where she was the presi-dent of the French National Honor Society and a mem-ber of the National Honor Society and NationalTechnical Honor Society. She also ran Varsity CrossCountry and Track. Simone is the founder and operatorof “Simskicks,” a custom artwork business. Simone wonthe Edward M. Lynch Scholarship Award and is a newmember of the Gator Nation, majoring in Architectureat the University of Florida.

Julia ForsythJulia Forsyth is the daughter of Local 16 member FrancisForsyth. Julia was a member of the Drama, Poetry, Cho-rus and Book Clubs in high school, as well as the Interna-tional Thespian Society. She was an actor, stage managerand set designer for high school theater and dance pro-ductions. Her community service included volunteerwork for the elderly, with an animal shelter, and at a localmiddle school art club. As an intern for GameMonger,she created graphic design banners, wrote promotionalmaterials and assisted in the game design process. Juliawon the Lawrence Dworkin Scholarship Award and at-tends the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Anastasia KlimovitzAnastasia Klimovitz of Hesperia, MI, is the daughter ofLocal 41 member Joseph Klimovitz. Anastasia gradu-ated from Hesperia High School, where she was ranked11th in her class and a member of the National HonorSociety. She also played Varsity Volleyball and Softballand competes in Powerlifting. Anastasia completed herfreshman year of college during high school through on-line courses at Muskegon Community College. Anasta-sia won the Dorr C. Wilson Scholarship Award andattends the Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant,where she is following in her father’s footsteps by ma-joring in Broadcasting and Cinematic Arts.

Bria MyersBria Myers of Southfield, MI, is the daughter of Local43 member Marcus Myers. Bria was a member of theNational Honor Society and President of the InteractRotary Club. She also participated in Wayne State Uni-versity’s C2 Pipeline Program and volunteered 400hours as a Counselor in Training and for other commu-nity service projects. Bria won the James P. NolanScholarship Award and is a freshman at Central Michi-gan University in Mt. Pleasant, where she is seeking aBA in Biomedical Science. Bria also received theJames Harris Scholarship Award, which provides aone-time scholarship of $500.

Alexander

Forsyth

Klimovitz

Myers

Walls

Spina

Barreca

SUPPORTING THE FUTURE:NABET-CWA AWARDS 2015 COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

NABET-CWA scholarships this year went to five accomplished high school students who are the daughters or sons of active

NABET-CWA members. They each will receive $750 annually for four years – a total of $3,000 – toward their college

education. In honor of their academic and community leadership, these students won merit-based scholarships named in

memory of past NABET-CWA International Presidents and/or employees:

Annual Fred Saburro Clam BakeLocal 21 tradition continues

On September 12, NABET-CWA Local 21 hosted its annual Clam Bake, whichis named after RVP2 Fred Saburro. “Freddie” has been a NABET member formore than 50 years. The

picnic was held at the ColonieElks in Latham, N.Y., justnorth of Albany. Sector Presi-dent Charlie Braico and VicePresident Lou Marinarojoined members from CapitalRegion stations WMHT(PBS), WNYT (NBC) andWRGB (CBS) came togethereach year to celebrate justafter Labor Day.

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Cumulus Media (Locals 16, 31 and 51)A new three-year extension agreement was ratified by secret mail ballot on July 10. The agree-ment, which is retroactive from January 6, 2015, and runs through January 5, 2018, contains aratification bonus of $500 to eligible full-time employees and $250 to eligible part-time em-ployees. The protracted negotiations began in 2009 with Citadel Broadcasting, and ended withCumulus Media, which purchased Citadel in 2011. In a statement announcing the deal, theUnion’s bargaining committee said, “Throughout these extremely difficult negotiations, Unionnegotiators kept fighting off drastic Company proposals aimed at gutting wages, vacation enti-tlements and other benefits that our members have enjoyed throughout their employment withABC Radio, Citadel Broadcasting and, finally, Cumulus Media.” The committee includes Local 16President Arthur Mazzacca, Local 51 President Kevin Wilson, Local 31 Vice President Alton Mor-ris, and NABET-CWA Staff Representative Louis Fallot.

WJET-TV – Erie, PA (Local 28)The 40-member unit ratified a new three-year agreement with Nexstar Broadcasting after nearlyeight months of bargaining. The Local’s mobilization efforts moved the Company off its .25% wageproposal, and were able to reach an agreement with 2%, 1% and 1% increases for each year of thecontract. The Bargaining Committee in-cluded Chief Steward Bob Neeley,Brian Moffett, John Walkiewicz, CharlesDeufel, and NABET-CWA Staff Repre-sentative Eric Seggi. Neeley, who re-tired in August, has been a Stewardand a member of every bargainingcommittee since NABET-CWA organizedthe station in 2001.

WFSB-TV – Hartford, CT (Local 17)A 10-day extension agreement was agreed to during the second round of negotiations on July13. The current contract between NABET-CWA and WFSB-TV (Meredith) had expired on June 30.Some progress was made on the issues and a “global grievance settlement” was reached re-solving two grievances that were filed against the Company over the transfer of three mainte-nance jobs to the photography work group. The three members will share equally in a $22,500settlement, with two of the members volunteering to remain in the photography group. Themost senior employee returned to maintenance. Under the settlement terms, the station alsowill hire a full-time NABET-CWA-represented employee and post the photography position in-ternally. Another round of talks took place on September 14. The Bargaining Committee in-cludes Local 17 President Andy Halpin, Local 17 Vice President Ernie Whitehead, JohnDiscenzaa, Kyle Buchanan, Al Wurst, and NABET-CWA Staff Representative Louis Fallot.

FOX Network Engineering and Operations Group (NE&O) – Los Angeles, CA (Local 53)Bargaining sessions were held Aug. 11-13 and September 21 for the 600 employees who workat FOX’s cable operations, FOX Sports 1, and the FOX MyNetwork. The Bargaining Committee,which includes Stan Edwards, Kevin Crane, Paul Ware, Albert Aguilera and NABET-CWA StaffRepresentative Eric Seggi, sent proposals to the company prior to the start of talks that wereformulated from Union questionnaires to members. The Committee said it received tremen-dous feedback from the questionnaires. The contract has been extended through September30, 2015.

WTIC-TV (FOX) – Hartford, CT (Local 17)The Local celebrated its 50th year by voting to accept the new WTIC-TV/FOX unit into the fold.“Bringing these brave members that have been putting their necks on the line is more than anhonor,” Local 17 President Andy Halpin said. Happy 50th Anniversary, Local 17 in Hartford!

WJLA-TV – Washington, D.C. (Local 31)The first round of bargaining with the Sinclair-owned station took place on September 9-10,and unit members were asked to wear their red shirts for unity. Based on member surveys,the Union presented proposals emphasizing jurisdiction, wages, benefits and workload. Thecurrent contract expired on August 23.

WCCO-TV – Minneapolis, MN (Local 411)A three-year agreement between NABET-CWA and WCCO-TV in Minneapolis was ratified by theLocal 411 membership on Aug. 18. The deal contains a 2% increase in each year of the con-tract. The initial increase is retroactive to March 31, 2015. “In spite of the recent overturning ofan Administrative Law Judge’s decision against the Union, the CBS O&O was willing to go backto the table and offer the unit a package thatwas deemed acceptable enough to allow themembership to vote on it,” said NABET-CWAStaff Representative Louis Fallot.

FOX Hub – Las Vegas, NV (Local 53)Another round of negotiations took placeSeptember 29-31 in Las Vegas. According toLocal 53 President Steve Ross, “The Companyis being difficult, but ‘baby steps’ are beingmade every time we meet.” Talks have beenongoing since March 2014. It’s been nearlytwo years since the 28-person group voted tojoin NABET-CWA in November 2013.

Official Publication of the Communi-cations Workers of America (AFL-CIO,CLC)International Union Headquarters501 3rd Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20001-2797Phone: (202) 434-1100

CWA News (ISSN 0007-9227) is published quarterly Jan/Feb/March,

April/May/June, July/Aug/Sept, and Oct/Nov/Dec by Commu-nications Workers of America, 501 3rd Street, N.W., Washing-ton, D.C. 20001-2797. Periodical Postage Paid at Washington,D.C. and additional mailing offices

Postmaster: Send address changes to NABET NEWS at 501 Third St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001-2797. Phone: 202-434-1254 E-mail: nabet-cwa@cwa-union.orgDistributed to all active and retired NABET-CWA members.This issue contains no paid advertising.

Please send news items to:NABET Newsc/o Jill GallagherFreelance Public Relations and Editorial Services9819 Haverhill Drive, Kensington, MD 20895Phone/Fax: 301-933-1415E-mail: gatorjfgal@comcast.net

Editor: Jill GallagherLayout: Chadick + Kimball

Sector Officers

Charles Braico, Sector PresidentLouis Marinaro, Sector Vice President

Regional Vice PresidentsRegion 1 - Cristina SilverRegion 2 - Fred W. SaburroRegion 3 - Maurice “Moe” ThomasRegion 4 - Donald R. Farnham, Jr.Region 5 - Region 6 - William Wachenschwanz

Local 28 held a rally during Erie’s annualZoo Parade, which WJET participates in.The members held up signs, passed out600 bags of peanuts labeled “WJET payspeanut wages” and handed out balloonsto the kids.

KGTV-TV – San Diego, CA (Local 54)Members of Local 54 in San Diego are ‘blue’ over the company's contract pro-posals. Blue mobilization shirts de-buted in May and have been proudlyworn throughout the station by NABET-CWA members. The Union and the Company met in July and August, reaching agreement on anumber of issues including Union representation, part-time schedules and workplace safety.The Company withdrew and/or modified some proposals that would have cut pay. Bargainingfor this contract began in April (the current agreement expired on May 31 and an extension ex-pired on August 12). These current negotiations are the first since a 2012 negotiated settlementthat left many issues unresolved for the future of the bargaining unit. Under the previous owner, McGraw-Hill, the Local waged a six-year mobilization campaignagainst an implemented collective bargaining agreement. That fight ended when KGTV was soldto E.W. Scripps Co., which reported on Aug. 7 that its television station group revenue was up2.7% in the second quarter of 2015. The Union bargaining team includes Local 54 PresidentDennis Csillag, Vice President Rob Buchanan, Executive Board Members Tony Velez and FrankCastillo. Staff Representative Carrie Biggs-Adams is the chief spokesperson for NABET-CWA.