NLRB Ruling Ends Unionization Effort At WYPR/Baltimore

No Union

The BALTIMORE CITY PAPER reports that the effort by SAG-AFTRA to unionize YOUR PUBLIC RADIO CORP. noncommercial News-Talk WYPR/BALTIMORE has ended after the National Labor Relations Board rejected the union's challenges to the makeup of the bargaining unit.

SAG-AFTRA objected to including some hosts and producers it considered part-time and anti-union in the bargaining unit and thus eligible to vote on unionization, but the NLRB disagreed and ruled in management's favor, as it did in determining some hosts as management.

Staffers voted 11-9 against unionization in the vote prior to the NLRB's ruling on the challenges.  The union told CITY PAPER that it is "disappointed with the NLRB decision and we are considering our next steps."

And the WYPR Organizing Committee sent an e-mail statement to the paper calling the ruling "a disappointing conclusion that reflects an imperfect process ... While we certainly think it's important for employees to be compensated justly for their work, this was never the essential tenet of our grievances. We want to work at a radio station that values and prioritizes its locally produced content; that understands the importance of an effective firewall between commercial and editorial concerns; and where all staff feel empowered to raise legitimate concerns without fearing that we'll be ignored, ostracized, or dismissed.  We are disheartened by management's decision to spend significant station resources to undermine our democratic effort. We hope they will commit as fully to making measurable improvements to the workplace and supporting the production staff."

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