Fairness 4 WTAE

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TELL HEARST TV AND WTAE MANAGEMENT TO PLAY FAIR IN PITTSBURGH!

Hearst TV bargains fairly with on-air staff in at least six major U.S. cities...

Why not at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh?

For more than a year, reporters and anchors seeking a contract through collective bargaining at WTAE-TV (Channel 4) have been stonewalled by owner Hearst TV. After 13 bargaining sessions, Hearst still refuses employee proposals for such basic contract standards as:

• Severance benefits when the station fires a worker without cause.
• A minimum salary scale.
• Overtime pay after eight hours work in a day.
• Retirement plan benefits on same terms as other employees at the station.
• Consideration for unscheduled call-outs, split shifts and work on the sixth consecutive day and thereafter.

Meanwhile,  Hearst signed collective-bargaining agreements containing these basic standards in six other cities: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Boston, New Orleans and Omaha.

Why should Hearst deny its Pittsburgh WTAE-TV staff benefits and rights they grant the same kind of workers in other cities?

Please help WTAE reporters and anchors by telling GM Michael Hayes: "Pittsburgh is not a second class city!"

CLICK HERE to sign the online petition.

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*AFTRA is the union that represents 70,000 workers in the entertainment and broadcast news industry, including on-air personalities at WTAE, KDKA and WPXI, as well as many top radio stations in Pittsburgh.

On June 30, 2010, the on-air employees at WTAE-TV voted for representation by AFTRA. The election results were certified on July 14 by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Click here to read the story.

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