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Global Campaign Supports Locked-Out CBC Workers
CWA members in the Washington, D.C., area are urged to join a lunchtime rally Monday in front of the Canadian Embassy to support the 5,500 locked-out workers at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The workers are members of the Canadian Media Guild, Canada's branch of The Newspaper Guild-CWA. The national public broadcaster locked them out Aug. 15 after more than a year at the bargaining table.
Management's proposals, described by the unit president as "the worst I have ever seen from the corporation," call for allowing the CBC to hire almost unlimited numbers of temporary workers and otherwise weakening the Guild's contract.
The two sides have returned to the bargaining table and have resolved some issues but many remain left to negotiate. The contract covers on-air, production, technical and administrative staff across Canada at CBC sites.
Public opinion has been overwhelmingly in the workers' favor, with politicians joining picket lines, fellow unions demanding action and everyday viewers expressing anger at CBC management.
The Washington rally Monday, featuring CWA President Larry Cohen, TNG-CWA President Linda Foley and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, will be among actions taken worldwide on behalf of the locked-out workers. The rally begins at 12:15 p.m. at the embassy, located at 501 Pennsylvania Ave., across from the National Mall.
In London, protesters will demonstrate in front of the BBC, while journalists and union representatives in Tel Aviv, Brussels, Sydney, Paris and likely Moscow, Tokyo, Berlin and Seoul will take letters in support of the workers to their respective Canadian Embassies, said Rachel Cohen of the International Federation of Journalists.
Locked-out members are doing news reports via podcasts available at www.CBCunplugged.com. Updates about the lockout are available online at www.CMG.ca and www.CBContheline.ca.
The workers are members of the Canadian Media Guild, Canada's branch of The Newspaper Guild-CWA. The national public broadcaster locked them out Aug. 15 after more than a year at the bargaining table.
Management's proposals, described by the unit president as "the worst I have ever seen from the corporation," call for allowing the CBC to hire almost unlimited numbers of temporary workers and otherwise weakening the Guild's contract.
The two sides have returned to the bargaining table and have resolved some issues but many remain left to negotiate. The contract covers on-air, production, technical and administrative staff across Canada at CBC sites.
Public opinion has been overwhelmingly in the workers' favor, with politicians joining picket lines, fellow unions demanding action and everyday viewers expressing anger at CBC management.
The Washington rally Monday, featuring CWA President Larry Cohen, TNG-CWA President Linda Foley and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, will be among actions taken worldwide on behalf of the locked-out workers. The rally begins at 12:15 p.m. at the embassy, located at 501 Pennsylvania Ave., across from the National Mall.
In London, protesters will demonstrate in front of the BBC, while journalists and union representatives in Tel Aviv, Brussels, Sydney, Paris and likely Moscow, Tokyo, Berlin and Seoul will take letters in support of the workers to their respective Canadian Embassies, said Rachel Cohen of the International Federation of Journalists.
Locked-out members are doing news reports via podcasts available at www.CBCunplugged.com. Updates about the lockout are available online at www.CMG.ca and www.CBContheline.ca.