John Krieger Dies, Retired NABET-CWA Network Coordinator

John Krieger, retired NABET-CWA network coordinator, died on Aug. 1. He was 81.

Krieger, a union activist for decades, received numerous print and broadcast journalism awards over a career spanning more than 50 years. He joined NABET's staff as an international representative in 1981 after serving 10 years as vice president of NABET Region 2. Earlier, Krieger was vice president and president of NABET-CWA Local 51025.

Following the merger of NABET with CWA in 1994, Krieger was network coordinator until his retirement in 2005. In this role, he headed up bargaining and worked with locals at the NBC, ABC and FOX networks. From 1996 until 2004, Krieger negotiated agreements for network coverage of the Olympic games.

Krieger started out as a general assignment reporter in 1951 for the Buffalo Evening News and entered broadcast journalism in 1956 while working for WBEN-AM and FM radio in Buffalo. He went on to become a government and political reporter and executive producer at WIVB-TV in Buffalo. From 1970 to 1980, Krieger was a correspondent for Newsweek magazine.

On his retirement, NABET-CWA President John Clark praised Krieger for playing "a significant role in improving the lives of workers in broadcasting."