WKBN-TV, WYFX-TV Union workers ratify a 3-year pact

The union said it will work to win back advertisers who pulled their ads.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Union workers who spent the last two weeks on picket duty at WKBN-TV and WYFX-TV are focused now on winning back viewers and advertisers for their employer.
"The family feud is over," said Joe Bell, a union spokesman. "We'll be working with the company to inform people that we've resolved our differences and to restore viewer trust."
Members of Local 47 of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians ratified a three-year contract by a vote of 28-4 Friday morning and were to begin returning to work today.
The workers had been off the job since Jan. 31, the day members rejected the company's last contract offer. Members said they were locked out of their jobs that afternoon, so they set up informational pickets at the television stations' Boardman headquarters.
Since then, Bell said, union members persuaded more than 40 advertisers to pull their ads to show support.
Now, he said, they'll participate in a joint advertising campaign to win the advertisers back.
Normal operations
John K. Amann Jr., director of promotion and production for the stations, said normal business operations will resume today.
"The company appreciates the support it received from its customer base during this disruptive period," Amann said. "We look forward to the return of the employees impacted by the labor dispute and concentrating on running the business."
The new agreement provides a $500 signing bonus, a 2-percent pay increase this year and increases of 1 percent and 3 percent in the second and third years. Before their last contract expired, the workers earned between $390 and $788 weekly, with some high-profile on-air personalities earning more.
Employees' share of their health-care premium rises immediately from 7 percent to 20 percent under the pact. The company said the higher payment will cost $30.95 per bi-weekly pay for single employees and $78.20 per pay for family coverage.
WKBN-TV and WFYX-TV are owned by Piedmont Communications based in Charlotte, N.C.
vinarsky@vindy.com