CBS News and a union representing 500 of its employees announced Wednesday that they had reached an agreement on a new contract, ending a two-and-a-half-year dispute that contributed to the cancellation of a presidential primary debate last month.þþThe news writers, producers, editors, artists and assistants working for CBS radio and television stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington had worked without a contract since April 2005. Like the striking Hollywood writers, the workers are represented by the Writers Guild of America, but their contract is handled separately because they write news rather than entertainment.þþNegotiations had stalled over issues related to salary increases and consolidation provisions, but the issues were resolved Wednesday, when the two sides spoke by phone to complete the deal.þþ“To go without a contract for two years was quite unsettling and nerve-racking,” said Sue Brown, a guild council member and a news writer at WBBM, the CBS television affiliate in Chicago.þþUnder the new contract, which is subject to ratification by the membership, employees will receive a 3.5 percent raise both this year and next. CBS had previously proposed different salary increases for national and local employees, an idea the guild rejected. þþThe contract also includes a 90-day notification and bargaining period in the event CBS decides to consolidate its operations.þþIn November, after the news writers voted to authorize a strike, the leading Democratic presidential candidates said they would not cross picket lines to participate in a debate that CBS had scheduled for December, prompting the network to abandon its plans.þþThat show of support, combined with labor actions at the local affiliate stations, may have led CBS to revise its contract proposals, guild leaders said. þþ“We decided to practice a new kind of labor campaign,” said Mona Mangan, executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East. “We worked very actively with Congress, the F.C.C., the Democratic National Committee, the mayor of New York City, and others.”þþIn a statement, CBS said it was gratified that an agreement had been reached. “Our focus throughout the process has been on reaching a fair agreement and we think this contract is good for both sides,” the network said.þþIn December, 250 members of the guild ratified a similar deal with ABC News.þþThe dispute between the writers’ guild and the Hollywood studios is much broader. More than 12,000 television and film writers have been on strike since Nov. 5 over issues including compensation for work that appears in new media.þþ
Source: NY Times
