WGA East members, who are ABC News employees, voted overwhelmingly (96% in favor) to ratify the New Year’s contract. The 110-member bargaining unit includes news editors, news writers, continuity writers, investigators, assignment editors, desk assistants, production assistants, and graphic artists working in New York and Washington, DC Good morning AmericaWABC, ABC News Radio, NewsOne and on the network benches for national ABC news.
“We are proud that our members have achieved solid salary increases and pension contributions, full-time ‘pace’, DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) protections and more,” said Lowell Peterson, the union’s chief executive. “This shows that even in a mature sector, collective bargaining works.”
The new contract includes wage and pension packages that increase by at least 9% over three years. According to the union, it also includes a significant increase in minimum rates for desk attendants in Washington and increases in minimum rates for some jobs where people work on personal service contracts, such as WABC program producers, assignment editors, and continuity screenwriters.
Other important points of the agreement include:
• More paid vacation
• Staff employees will have four weeks of vacation after 10 years of service
• Temporary “full-time” workers will receive an additional day’s pay
• Staff employees will receive an additional floating license
• Temporary compensation days will not count towards the accumulation of seven sick days per year.
• Both staff and full-time employees will receive top-up days
• The leave differential for full-time employees will increase from 5% to 6%
• The Work from Home between Work and Management Committee examines a manager’s decision to decline an application for work from home
• Temporary workers who forgo pension and health plans can participate with a single 3-year contract period
• The company will provide annual diversity, equity and inclusion training, including training on unconscious bias, for employees in the sales unit.
Source: Deadline
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
