NABET-CWA/NBCU NEGOTIATIONS - BULLETIN #2

NABET-CWA/NBCU NEGOTIATIONS

NEW YORK CITY

BULLETIN #2 - December 9, 2022

On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, the Union's Network Negotiating Committee (NNC) commenced formal negotiations with NBCUniversal at the Company’s headquarters in New York City. This opening round of bargaining continued through Thursday, December 8th. The Master Agreement was originally slated to expire on March 31, 2022, but was extended by mutual agreement of the parties to March 31, 2023.

On Tuesday, NABET-CWA negotiators met in-person during a joint session with NBCUniversal senior management team, representing business units such as; NBC News, Owned Stations Group, NBC Sports, Rock Center Operations, Human Resources and Labor Relations.

Spokespersons for both sides made opening remarks covering topics such as the state of the industry and the changing media landscape, technology changes, new work opportunities on digital platforms, and economic concerns such as the cost of living. Both parties recognized the significant contributions and sacrifices made by our members during the COVID pandemic – with special recognition to those essential employees who were required to report to work during the earliest days of the pandemic.

The parties exchanged packages of contract proposal language which reflect desired changes for the successor to the Master Agreement. Proposed contractual changes include a variety of topics related to work assignments, employee benefits and overall economics. During the joint session on Tuesday, both parties gave an overview of each proposal in their respective package.

The parties spent Wednesday and Thursday conducting deeper, more comprehensive discussions of the specific contract proposals, and also covered a number of other important discussion topics which are not necessarily included in the packages of proposed contract changes.

The Union’s negotiating team is:

• Local 11: President Lou Marinaro and Executive Board Member Rob Weiss
• Local 31: Jim Long, Network News EJ and President Bantu Opiotennione
• Local 41: Executive Board Members Ed Dabrowski and Doug Webber
• Local 53: President Emeritus Steve Ross, Executive Board Member Tim Stepich, and Warren Stern
• NABET-CWA Sector: President Charlie Braico, Local 11 General Counsel and Advisor to the Bargaining Committee Max Sicherman, Assistant to the Sector President Jodi Fabrizio-Clontz, Kristen Helmstetter, and Nikisha Johnson

Master Agreement negotiations are scheduled to resume the week of January 23, 2023 in New York City.

Please monitor Sector and Local Union websites, and check email notices for updates relating to negotiations.

In Solidarity,

The NBC NABET-CWA Network Negotiating Committee