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Hungry for a Contract at Univision
Martin Castellano has given his all to the Fresno, Calif., Univision station for 10 years, proud to be part of the Hispanic television network’s heritage.
He’s a father of four daughters and takes care of an extended family. Yet he earns just $22,000 a year as a master control technician at KFTV, a meager salary in spite of the fact that the station’s newscasts get the area’s highest ratings — even topping the market’s English-speaking stations.
So Castellano and seven other underpaid, overworked KFTV employees, members of NABET-CWA Local 51, went to extraordinary lengths in late February to try to get Univision’s executives to pay attention:
They went hungry.
They stopped eating on Feb. 18, kicking off their hunger strike with an event that drew media and fellow union leaders. In the following days, union members picketed and passed out boycott cards.
“What we’re asking for is to become close to parity with the Anglo stations,” said Carrie Biggs-Adams, a member of NABET-CWA Local 53 in Los Angeles who speaks Spanish and is serving as the chief negotiator for Local 51. “Channel 21 (KFTV) is the No. 1-rated station in Fresno, and the people are making half as much as the people at other stations.”
Hunger-strike participants, who were allowing themselves only fruit and vegetable juices, had hoped to start eating again when Univision President Henry Cisneros came to Fresno for a business conference Feb. 24. They spent $385 for a table at a noon luncheon where Cisneros, the former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was speaking. But he ignored them, and the rallying cries of another 150 people outside.
“We had our food removed from the table and we sat there and drank water and coffee in our green ‘Union Vision’ shirts,” Biggs-Adams said. “I was disappointed that he didn’t talk to us. I think he’s better than that.”
The local was certified last May and has been in negotiations since July with next to no progress. The station offered no raises at all to begin with and has proposed only tiny increases in the ensuing months.
It’s an unacceptable stance for a station that has prided itself on helping the Hispanic community and fighting injustice, said Castellano, a member of the negotiating team.
“Many people in the community are shocked and appalled to find out that Univision, the station that’s always out there advocating for Hispanics and fighting discrimination, is doing this to its own people,” he said.
Employees taking part in the hunger strike include the station’s anchor, Fermin Chavez, who Castellano said has pledged to continue the strike indefinitely.
Chavez told the Fresno Bee newspaper he and coworkers are angry about management’s strong-arm tactics against union members. “I was told if I wanted to progress in the company, I should not be part of the union,” he said.
Five days into the hunger strike, Castellano said he was surprised at how much energy he had and how good he felt. “We’ve got a lot of support,” he said. “This is really bringing us more together than we’ve ever been.”
He’s a father of four daughters and takes care of an extended family. Yet he earns just $22,000 a year as a master control technician at KFTV, a meager salary in spite of the fact that the station’s newscasts get the area’s highest ratings — even topping the market’s English-speaking stations.
So Castellano and seven other underpaid, overworked KFTV employees, members of NABET-CWA Local 51, went to extraordinary lengths in late February to try to get Univision’s executives to pay attention:
They went hungry.
They stopped eating on Feb. 18, kicking off their hunger strike with an event that drew media and fellow union leaders. In the following days, union members picketed and passed out boycott cards.
“What we’re asking for is to become close to parity with the Anglo stations,” said Carrie Biggs-Adams, a member of NABET-CWA Local 53 in Los Angeles who speaks Spanish and is serving as the chief negotiator for Local 51. “Channel 21 (KFTV) is the No. 1-rated station in Fresno, and the people are making half as much as the people at other stations.”
Hunger-strike participants, who were allowing themselves only fruit and vegetable juices, had hoped to start eating again when Univision President Henry Cisneros came to Fresno for a business conference Feb. 24. They spent $385 for a table at a noon luncheon where Cisneros, the former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was speaking. But he ignored them, and the rallying cries of another 150 people outside.
“We had our food removed from the table and we sat there and drank water and coffee in our green ‘Union Vision’ shirts,” Biggs-Adams said. “I was disappointed that he didn’t talk to us. I think he’s better than that.”
The local was certified last May and has been in negotiations since July with next to no progress. The station offered no raises at all to begin with and has proposed only tiny increases in the ensuing months.
It’s an unacceptable stance for a station that has prided itself on helping the Hispanic community and fighting injustice, said Castellano, a member of the negotiating team.
“Many people in the community are shocked and appalled to find out that Univision, the station that’s always out there advocating for Hispanics and fighting discrimination, is doing this to its own people,” he said.
Employees taking part in the hunger strike include the station’s anchor, Fermin Chavez, who Castellano said has pledged to continue the strike indefinitely.
Chavez told the Fresno Bee newspaper he and coworkers are angry about management’s strong-arm tactics against union members. “I was told if I wanted to progress in the company, I should not be part of the union,” he said.
Five days into the hunger strike, Castellano said he was surprised at how much energy he had and how good he felt. “We’ve got a lot of support,” he said. “This is really bringing us more together than we’ve ever been.”