SAG-AFTRA has been using the media to try to help in its contract negotiations with Entercom in several cities. Yesterday The Philadelphia Business Journal reported that the Union is accusing Entercom of “low-balling” them during those negotiations. The union representing on-air personalities at KYW Newsradio has requested federal mediation.
The KYW group, which includes about 50 employees, have been working without a contract since Oct. 1.
SAG-AFTRA Philadelphia President Sam Clover told The Journal, “We’ve bargained for years with CBS Radio and never had to take this step, but now we’re dealing with a new company who won’t compromise, so we’re reaching out for help.” Clover is also a traffic reporter at KYW.
SAG-AFTRA Philadelphia Local Executive Director Stephen Leshinski told The Journal Entercom is “low-balling on wages and retirement, which is always part of bargaining but they’re challenging our jurisdiction and, most offensively, looking to slash severance benefits 50-90 percent.”
An Entercom spokesperson told the paper that the company has been negotiating with SAG-AFTRA in good faith. “These discussions include contracts that had been open for years prior to our merger with CBS Radio, as well as more recently expired agreements. We prefer to negotiate directly with SAG-AFTRA and our employees, not publicly, and do not intend to comment further.”
