Employees want a minimum of $17 an hour for off-air staff, and $30 an hour for on-air talent at the Cumulus sports station. SFGate.com says Cumulus has countered with the San Francisco minimum wage of $13.00 per hour., according to union negotiators. The rally was held outside AT&T Park in San Francisco. None of KNBR’s big name talent such as Gary Radnich, Tom Tolbert, and Murph & Mac were at the rally.
35 KNBR staffers voted in 2014 to join the Union but have not been able to secure a contract. There has been no movement in negotiations on the wage gap since February. The Union says since 2014, Cumulus has refused to offer compensation in line with KNBR’s sister stations and the last attempt at negotiations was in February. Host Matt Kolsky said, “It’s time for Cumulus to come back to the bargaining table and stop taking its hard-working employees for granted.” SAG-AFTRA Executive Director Len Egert sais this could definitely lead to a work stoppage at the radio station.
Sports anchor and Producer Ryan Covay said, “We love this community, we love this radio station and we love our jobs. Unfortunately, the powers that be at Cumulus know how much we love our jobs and they use that against us. I was started at minimum wage. I’ve never received a raise or vacation pay. I have never received a day of holiday pay. The only pay increase I have received was the mandatory bump to the San Francisco minimum wage.”
The company did not provide a comment to SFGate.com but as everybody knows Cumulus is in the midst of a massive turnaround under new CEO Mary Berner, and is about $2 Billion in debt.
