LOS ANGELES — The 57-member Audacy Bargaining Unit, which covering Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) members at three all-News stations once owned by CBS Radio, have unanimously ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Audacy.
The agreement with WCBS-AM in New York, WBBM Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles calls for annual wage increases — starting with a 3% raise for most employees that is retroactive to April 6.
The agreement includes a number of other gains, including “improved vacation, substantially greater Acting Editor fees at WBBM, improved diversity and inclusion language, and digital training,” WGA announced on Tuesday.
In addition, the contract secured employees’ ability to remain in the WGA Pension.
The Guild ran a campaign that included nearly 4,000 Guild members sending letters to Audacy executives urging the company to fully fund the pension for workers at the trio of all-News stations.
It is a four-year agreement. Among the key takeaways:
- Newswriters, Editors, Promo Writers, and grandfathered WCBS Desk Assistants (in WGA pension) will receive annual increases in each year of the contract between 2% and 3%
- WBBM Associate Producers (not in WGA pension) will receive an hourly-salary increase of up to $16.90 for employees who have been working at the company for more than five years
- Effective April 1, 2023, WBBM Acting Editor fee increases to $3.50 per hour
- Vacation time increase to 3 weeks after 3 years and 4 weeks after 10 years
- Improved Diversity Committee language addresses training and funding for diversity initiatives
- Company to provide digital training, including web production and podcasting
- Company agrees to meeting to discuss editorial standards at WBBM
- Company may provide commuting reimbursements for work during overnight shifts., or inclement weather, or breaking news assignments,
- Company shall meet to discuss hazard pay in the event of a health or safety emergency
- Employees may use floating holiday for Juneteenth.
“We are proud of the agreement we were able to present to our fellow Guild members at Audacy for ratification, and we are happy to see that they agreed,” The Audacy Bargain Committee said.
This was by no means an easy negotiation, they also shared.
“We faced a difficult challenge in ensuring Audacy would make sufficient contributions for our pension, and this was critical to our members,” the Committee said in a statement. “Thanks to member solidarity, we were able to secure the future of our pension, amongst many other gains that will benefit us. We thank our fellow members for their support, because we would not have won this agreement without everyone standing together.”
Lowell Peterson, who serves as Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America, East, said, ”Audacy needs the talent and hard work of our members to craft audio content. This agreement underscores that the foundation of our power as a union is our members – their engagement and solidarity.”
The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, online media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government.
The labor accord comes as Audacy Corp.’s stock faces a delisting, short of a reverse stock split to maintain its place on the NYSE. Shares as of 1:11pm Eastern were at $0.4747 and trading in a range equal to all-time lows that date back to the company’s history as Entercom.
While the company’s stock price has been the subject of much scrutiny by analysts, life goes on at Audacy, which announced on Tuesday the launch of “Game Time with Boomer Esiason,” a new podcast produced by 2400Sports, Audacy’s sports podcast studio.
Audacy is heavily invested in spoken word programming, largely thanks to its CBS Radio merger. Meanwhile, it has a large footprint in podcasting thanks to its acquisition of Cadence13 and Pineapple Street.
