Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees who work for Fox-owned stations WNYW in New York and WTTG in Washington, D.C., say they feel the pinch of negotiations that continue to drag out for a new bargaining agreement.
IATSE spokesperson Nick Kroudis spoke with TVSpy, saying he hasn’t had a raise in over 15 years. Kroudis adds that if he compares his paycheck from 2006 to one he received a week ago, he’s “actually making less now.”
“We’ve been at the table for eleven years now trying to reach a successor agreement, and Fox has been trying to erode our ability to represent our members, erode our jurisdiction, no job protections, reduced severance, and eroding our benefits,” Kroudis, said.
“Any raise they have put on the table results in a negative gain with all the concessions they are forcing on us. So it’s all losses for our members in their current package. Our members are struggling big time.”
In July, Fox staffers who had worked for the television station group for more than a year received at least a $2,000 bonus, which, at the time, Kroudis said was “definitely welcome.” However, the IATSE spokesperson added that there was a catch these bonuses “as they give us $2,000 in a bonus they’re trying to take away up to 30+% in benefits, severance, and jurisdiction.”
For its part, a Fox Television Stations spokesperson disclosed to TVSpy, “We’re currently in private discussions with IATSE and have always negotiated in good faith and will continue to do so.”
“Ultimately, we want Fox to come to the table to negotiate fairly and reasonably with a group of employees that have been nothing but standout employees for the last 25-30 and close to 40 years for some,” said Kroudis.
“And we’ve been here every single day no matter what the conditions and what the circumstances including 9/11, hurricanes, disasters and pandemics.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
