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CNN To Pay Largest Labor Fine In History For Firing Technicians (nlrb.gov) 86

Posted by BeauHD from the longstanding-disputes dept.
DesScorp writes: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has handed down a ruling against CNN for firing video technicians illegally back in 2003. From the NLRB: "As part of a settlement signed today, CNN has agreed to pay $76 million in backpay, the largest monetary remedy in the history of the National Labor Relations Board. The backpay amount, larger than what the Agency collects on average in a typical year, is expected to benefit over 300 individuals.

The dispute originated in 2003 when CNN terminated a contract with Team Video Services (TVS), a company that had been providing CNN video services in Washington, D.C., and New York City. After terminating the contract, CNN hired new employees to perform the same work without recognizing or bargaining with the two unions that had represented the TVS employees. CNN sought to operate as a nonunion workplace and conveyed to the workers that their prior employment with TVS and union affiliation disqualified them from employment. After a lengthy hearing in 2008, an administrative law judge found that CNN's actions violated the National Labor Relations Act and that CNN was a successor to, and joint employer with, TVS. [...] The parties are the National Labor Relations Board, CNN America, Inc., and Local 11 and Local 31 of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET), Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO."
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CNN To Pay Largest Labor Fine In History For Firing Technicians More

CNN To Pay Largest Labor Fine In History For Firing Technicians

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  • No comment from CNN? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by blastard ( 816262 ) on Friday January 10, 2020 @09:21PM (#59608820)

    Funny thing is, you cannot find this story anywhere on CNN.

    I tried searching for NLRB, Team Video Services, TVS. No dice.

    Wouldn't you think they'd be able to cover this story? Fake news???

  • Not sure I agree with this. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by bjwest ( 14070 ) on Friday January 10, 2020 @09:46PM (#59608880)
    Why would CNN have to recognize or bargain with the union of a company it had contracted out services to? TVS was who the union workers worked for and TVS was who the union's contract was with, CNN's contract was with TVS. Unless CNN dealt directly with the union negotiations, then the union should have no say in what CNN does. Now if CNN hired some or all of those workers, then the union can come in and begin negotiations it the workers decide to remain in the union. This sounds to me like bad judgment for a bunch of lawyers and union reps looking for their payout. I'd really like to know how much the workers actually received.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by arbiter1 ( 1204146 )
      From above "CNN sought to operate as a nonunion workplace and conveyed to the workers that their prior employment with TVS and union affiliation disqualified them from employment" My guess is that is the problem. CNN wanted to get union out and if you worked for a union that disqualified you from employment. Sounds Illegal to me as that would likely bring in a union they tried to get rid of.

      • Unions have no right to demand jobs... CNN was able to do without these workers for 17 years.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by bjwest ( 14070 )

        I don't understand CNN's actions. Were the details of their contract with TVS being changed by the union after it was agreed upon by both parties? Was the contract up for renewal and CNN not able to agree to the new terms the union was making TSV ask of them? The first scenario should allow CNN to terminate the contract because TSV was trying to make changes after the fact, and the second should allow CNN to walk away from the negotiations with no problem. As for CNN wanting the union out of the picture

        • Were the details of their contract with TVS being changed by the union after it was agreed upon by both parties?

          Silly questions like that don't even need to be asked. That isn't how contracts work.

          But, I see no problem with saying if you're union, you aren't qualified for this job.

          Who cares? The relevant question is if it is legal, not if you would write the rule that way if you were king of the world.

        • "why in hell would they want to work for that company?"

          To pay the rent.

          "And if a company is so bad to their workers, why in hell hasn't that company either gone out of business for lack of workers,"

          For many classes of workers the economy has been in a depression since the mid 1970s.

          "or been taken to court by enough workers to force them to change?"

          That's what happened here. Alas, the price of access to "justice" is exorbitant, far beyond the means of individual workers not organized for collective action.

    • Re:Not sure I agree with this. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by edjs ( 1043612 ) on Friday January 10, 2020 @11:17PM (#59608984)

      That was the argument: "As detailed below, through the extensive requirements CNN placed on TVS through the [Electronic News Gathering Service Agreements], its decisive role in TVS’ collective-bargaining negotiations and its direct role in the assignment, direction, and supervision of the TVS employees, CNN exerted significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment of the TVS employees."
      https://www.chamberlitigation.... [chamberlitigation.com]

  • Double whammy (Score:5, Informative)

    by Dan East ( 318230 ) on Friday January 10, 2020 @10:13PM (#59608914) Journal

    CNN also settled out of court, for an undisclosed sum, the Covington Catholic High School case. The plaintiffs were seeking $275 million in the case, and they had a very, very strong case. Although the amount isn't known, it is probably $100 million or more. Cases for similar amounts are still pending against NBC and The Washington Post.

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/07... [cnn.com]

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Hahahahhaha. Without bias. That's fucking rich.

        • Re:Double whammy (Score:4, Insightful)

          by KermodeBear ( 738243 ) on Saturday January 11, 2020 @12:46AM (#59609108) Homepage

          No kidding. These companies exist to push agendas. Objective reporting, just the facts, is dead in the large outlets. I go between anger, annoyance, and disbelief on a regular basis. Even Slashdot isn't immune but at least the comments section lets us call out the bullshit.

          • Call it out, or add to it.

          • It is a physically impossible feat for a brain. Due to how neurons work. Or any life, for that matter, given relativity and such.
            Let alone for social beings, that would be unfit to live, wouldn't they just trust what they are told. (Have you personally checked if you die when falling from a 20-story building?)

            All there is, is people lying about the distortions they personally have, and people falling for it, before the Internet.
            "News" have always been 90% disguised press releases and 10% investigative jour

            • Two-thirds of the way through the relatively active discussion to find this reply, eh? Only mention of "journalism" in the discussion, though the reply chain goes back to the first post. Or should I blame the moderation and lack thereof?

              Don't get me wrong. I actually think it's a productive branch of the discussion. If I ever had a mod point to give, I might well have given one here in lieu of a comment. (Say... Maybe the reason I never get mod points is to nudge me towards commenting? Except that I can't e

          • Citation?

            All news being a liberal conspiracy is as crazy rant by Rush Limbaugh that has spread like gospel because said it is in confirmation bias.

    • They definitely had a Very Bad, No Good Week!

  • CNN, the people's network, the Democrat bulwark against capitalist exploiters, found guilty of capitalist exploitation?

    • Man, it's almost like greedy, money-hungry corporations will do anything to make more money. I mean, what is the world coming to what an organization's sole goal is to do whatever it can to make as much money as possible and then does just that? It's almost like its political agendas only hold value when they alight with their ability to rank in as much cash as they can. Who could have possibly seen this coming? I'm sure it will all work itself out if we just give them the same rights as people and then all

      • Morpheus turns to look at you, sunglasses reflecting a dingy room. "What if I told you it wouldn't have happened with a Democratic president?"

    • It's in their "genes". ^^

  • Uhm... what's going on here? [nlrb.gov] Seems like they've crashed.

  • What's bullshit is a 16 year long lawsuit. Those technicians will have waited a generation for justice

  • Ted Turner isn't the people's champion as much as we are led to believe I guess.

  • Just 17 short years later. Wonder how many of the affected employees are deceased by now.

  • They also settled a lawsuit for defamation with Covington kid Nicholas Sandmann [foxnews.com].

    One wonders how long a news network with less than a million primetime viewers can afford to hemorrhage money until AT&T pulls the plug.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

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