WGME-13 and union resolve contract
Behind-the-scenes employees at news station WGME-13 in Portland have a new three-year contract, following a drawn-out and contentious negotiation that started in early 2009 with parent company Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. of Maryland.
The new contract for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1837 covers about 40 employees at the station, including operating technicians, news editors, assignment editors, photographers, engineers, producers and directors, according to a press release from the union. In 2010, the contract disagreements led to an advertising boycott of Channel 13 by Maine's Democratic gubernatorial candidates. In February of 2010, Sinclair declared that negotiations were "deadlocked" and began implementing parts of its last contract offer, cutting pay by as much as 10%, the release states.
The new contract includes a 3% pay increase for top-scale employees and smaller increases for the second and third years of the contract. Newer employees also receive unspecified increases in their pay. The pact also offers enhanced severance pay for workers who lose their jobs to automated equipment, according to the union.
"It was a disappointing, concessionary contract considering how successful Sinclair Broadcasting and WGME have been," Dick Rogers, IBEW Local Union 1837's business manager, said in the release. "Ultimately in these tough economic times, it was the best package our union negotiating team could get for our members."
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