Welcome to the NPR Contract Area

 Memorandum of Agreement (.pdf format)(04/17/09)

 Proposals of National Public Radio to NABET-CWA October 6, 2009 (.pdf format)

NPR/NABET Bargaining Bulletin #7
Thursday, January 14, 2010

To:  NABET Members at NPR
From:  Carrie Biggs-Adams, Bill Bremmer, Melissa Marquis, Stu Rushfield, Mark Bejarano
 
The NABET-NPR Bargaining Committee spent Wednesday January 13th meeting in caucus preparing proposals and counterproposals.  On Thursday January 14th we met with the Company’s bargaining team.

While the list of open areas and items are reduced now to a shorter list, the issues – Jurisdiction, Buyouts, Benefits amongst them – are of major import.  Given the attitude of Jerry Kauff (who did have a bad cold) not much progress was made today.

Your BRT pod leaders will contact you early next week to look at our proposal on the vacation selection process. We need your vote on which of the concepts you think we should propose to the Company the next time we meet.  Please make your voice heard by Friday January 22nd.

As a mobilization we have decided to make every Thursday be: Wear Red Day.  Please remember to wear red to show our solidarity – and remind your colleagues to join us too.

During the day today, a meeting was held for the Newscast unit – advising them that they will be moving to the 3rd floor in mid-February.  This is part of the NPR plan to have Newscast operate by Self-Op by April (or that might slide).  At the end of the bargaining session, we held a meeting with Shawn Fox, David Sweeney, Beverly Davis and legal intern Amanda Dupree to discuss these changes.  We were assured that there is no plan, at the moment, to originate newscasts from NPR West within the next 5 years.  The staffing impacts of the changes on our members are something that they are still assessing.  Shawn Fox has said that he will answer questions via email – and send his responses to all of us so we can see his answers.

Our next bargaining sessions are scheduled for week after next – January 27th and 28th.

In solidarity,

Your NABET Negotiating Committee

The proposals are posted in our yahoo group site (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NPR-Audio-Engineers/files/NEW%20NPR-NABET%20proposal%20100609.pdf ) and will be available on the Local 31 website (www.nabet31.org).  We urge you to read the proposals in their 90 page entirely.

In solidarity,

Your NABET-CWA NPR Bargaining Committee

Current NPR/NABET-CWA Collective Bargaining Agreement (.pdf format)

Current List of NPR Grievances (.pdf format)

 Text of the Company's Proposed Contract Package. (.pdf format)

 Text of the Union's Proposed Contract Package. (.doc format)

 Bargaining Commitee Contract Package Status Report (.doc format)

 Budget Director Meeting Report (.doc format)

DCRTV Reports: Cutbacks Cause Conflict Between NPR, Member Stations - 4/8/09 - Cutbacks and budget worries at National Public Radio are exacerbating tension between the DC organization and some of the member stations. Some member stations fear NPR budget cuts might hurt the quality of marquee public radio shows "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered," making it harder for local stations to raise funds during those shows, which typically bring in the lion's share of listener donations and corporate underwriting. In addition, the cost-cutting has reignited long-simmering fears that NPR will grab the bulk of online listeners, at the expense of individual station websites. The Wall Street Journal has more... See also current.org. for more information.