NABET nabs net pact

ABC, union agree on contract for workers

By NICK MADIGAN

ABC and the National Assn. of Broadcast Employees & Technicians have reached agreement on a contract for 1,400 workers who had rejected an earlier deal.

The new pact now goes to the members for a ratification vote. Results are expected by July 16.

Representatives of NABET, an arm of the Communications Workers of America, said the pact is "modified in a few respects" from the company's proposed contract offered in December and accepted by just 250 of the net's NABET-repped employees.

The 1,400 workers in five bargaining units who turned down the deal initially have been working under a contract implemented by ABC in February over their objections.

'A positive step'

"Now they have a contract that's going to be recommended by the union leadership, which is a very positive step," ABC spokeswoman Julie Hoover said Friday. "It's quite similar, but there were some tweaks they felt were important. Our goal has always been to have our NABET-represented employees working with a ratified contract."

ABC is happy with some of the changes, too, notably a hike in the daily hire cap to 40%, from 26%. It will go up again on June 1, 2001, to 50%.

The latest proposal, like the previous one, provides wage increases of 3.5% effective on the ratification date of each agreement, with additional increases of 3% effective one year after ratification, an additional 3% effective one year thereafter, and a further 3.5% a year after that. In the case of the San Francisco local, the wage increase will take the form of a bonus.

Clarifications

The new proposal provides clarification of pro-rata vacation entitlement, network engineering buyouts, improved discharge provisions and meal buyouts, tighter jurisdiction for newswriters and producers in San Francisco and resolution of outstanding litigation between the parties.

The contract will be submitted for ratification to engineering technicians in New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles, newswriters in San Francisco, and desk assistants, couriers and radio talent coordinators in New York. If approved, the agreement would expire on March 31, 2003.

According to a NABET statement issued Friday, union leaders were recommending acceptance of the deal even though it "falls short of the union's objectives, because they sincerely believe that it is the best agreement that could be achieved at this time."