Employees of WEHT/WTVW ABC 25 rallied Saturday afternoon at the Henderson riverfront to show support for the recognition of their union and for union employees they say were unfairly laid off and fired.
Former employee Brody Shaffer spoke at the rally in which more than 20 past and present employees and supporters gathered. Shaffer said he was one of two employees who were fired for speaking out after the company laid off five employees who had voted to unionize. All the job cuts came in April, Shaffer said.
Shaffer said employees informed the company last summer that they intended to hold a vote about joining a union and then held the vote in September when a large majority voted to unionize. He said the National Labor Relations Board certified the election in January.
A release sent to media outlets said the employees are a part of the NABET-CWA, which is the National Association of Broadcast Employees and
Technicians, the Broadcasting and Cable Television Workers Sector of the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO
“We’re a certified union,” he said.
Shaffer said the local media outlet’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group of Irving, Texas, has challenged their right to unionize, has not recognized the union and has declined to negotiate with them.
“That is against the law,” Shaffer said.
The Hendersonian left a message with Nexstar Saturday afternoon but did not receive a response before this article was posted.
Shaffer called on advertisers to quit advertising with the local outlet, while also asking sources to quit granting interviews and people to quit associating with the local channels “until they listen.”
Clover Blake, a former videographer with WEHT, said she was fired for going to the Evansville City Council to speak out against the five employees laid off in early April. Blake said there exists a lack of respect in company management towards employees.
Blake said management feels like employees’ “labor is more valuable that our right to be paid for it.”
Shaffer said that the current situation never had to happen, and the union employees never wanted an “us versus them” relationship with management.
He said the union is fighting to get the seven employees who lost their jobs reinstated. Shaffer said he would come back to work at the company if he had a contract and had assurance that union employees would be protected.