United Against Union-Busting at Univision

CWA-represented Univision employees in Puerto Rico, joined by fellow union members, marched on breaks, lunch hours and off hours Jan. 16 to protest the Spanish-language television giant's attempt to subcontract work. The contract between the station and union, known as UPAGRA, CWA Local 33225, expired more than a year ago, with no progress at the bargaining table. Univision is trying to take away the right of union members' to fill open positions, no matter how qualified the workers are for the jobs. The union fears that the company's attempt to turn members' work over to subcontractors is a step toward importing all programming and getting rid of UPAGRA altogether. "They want to put the corporate policies that they have in the United States in effect in Puerto Rico and fill the jobs from here with people from outside," UPAGRA President Néstor Soto said.