Negotiations between NPR and NABET Local 31 opened on January 21st in Washington. With unit members working in Washington, Los Angeles (NPR West), New York, and Chicago, Broadcast Recording Technicians, Satellite Operators, Electronic Engineers and others are represented at the table by Joe Mills, Kurt Stalnaker, and Staff Representative Carrie Biggs-Adams. The current contract expires on April 1st. photo: NPR Bargaining Committee (left to right): Rich McDermott, Kurt Stalnaker, Joe Mills The first MontCo Paid Sick Days hearing is slated for Thursday night. Lawmakers will hear testimony and debate the policy, and supporters are urged to attend and testify. “No one should have to choose between their health and their job,” says Jews United for Justice, a member of the Maryland Campaign for Paid Sick Days. “We can't just wait for change, or it will never happen,” JUFJ adds. “The Chamber of Commerce is organizing the opposition to come out in force, and signing people up to testify against our bill. We need a strong community voice supporting workers' dignity and well-being.” Supporters will meet up beforehand at Rockville's California Tortilla; see calendar for details. To take action now, sign a petition pledging your support for #MDpaidsickdays.
Reality and non-fiction writers and producers will hold an informational picket on Thursday to protest wage theft and the lack of health benefits in the industry. The midday action (see calendar for details) will be outside the Realscreen TV production industry conference at the Washington Hilton, and will call on ITV Studios—one of the sponsors of the conference—to agree to a contract with workers that stops wage theft and provides benefits. The action is sponsored by the Writers Guild of America-East, which is working to organize 2,000 reality and non-fiction writers and producers in New York City. GCIU’s “Sunday Morning Rollers #1” team took first place in last Sunday’s CSA bowling tournament team competition with a 3191 total team score, just beating out the “One Lefty + Four” team’s 3167; Iron Workers Local 5 took third place with 3132. One Lefty + Four’s Mike Warboy won first place in the individual competition with a score of 736; Danny Morris (Sunday Morning Rollers #1) was second with 682 and Gregg Green (One Lefty + Four) took third with 681. All team names and bowlers have now been added to the photo albums on our Facebook page; please tag folks in the photos to help spread the word about this event, which benefits needy area families. photo: "Sunday Morning Rollers" combined 1 & 2 teams; photo by Chris Garlock |