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December 8, 2004

Unions have won some big battles in Las Vegas, Nevada, improving the lives of hotel and casino workers, the building trades and others.

The gamblers mecca, however, was a union-dry desert for the folks who work at local TV stations. That was until December 1, when photojournalists at KTNV-TV, an ABC affiliate, voted 11-1 to join the IBEW.

The drive was the culmination of a strategic organizing plan developed by Hollywood, California Local 45 and the IBEWs Ninth District staff.

Ron White, a news photographer at KTNV and lead organizer, states that "slow" pay hikes and difficult shift changes were key issues in the union drive. Many workers were not "being evaluated for pay increases in a timely manner."

A few years back, says White who was member of New Orleans IBEW Local 1139 for two years at WVUE 14 photojournalists were employed at KTNV. He says, "They are moving workers around a lot," disrupting their schedules to cover the slack.

Brian Ahakuelo, International Representative for the Ninth District, says, "The company really battled the employees. They gave raises in an attempt to bribe them to reject the union. We decided not to file an unfair labor practice complaint at the National Labor Relations Board because it could have bought the company time to pound the employees even more." Instead, says Ahakuelo, the union stepped up its worker-to-worker contact, holding onto the option of filing a charge later.

White claims that a previous organizing effort was lost early when management made "veiled threats of retaliation." This time, he says, organizers waited until a solid majority of workers signed authorization cards before opening up the campaign.

Ahakuelo credits Local 45 Business Manager Lloyd Webster and Business Representative Rick Rogers for their focus on making an organizing breakthrough.

"Workers at other stations now want to jump on the bandwagon," he says. "We will approach the whole work force, including technicians and editors."

The same downsizing that disrupts work schedules at KTNV, says White is taking place throughout the Las Vegas media market. The prospects for spreading the unions influence are enhanced by the movement of media workers between the stations. "A lot of us have already worked together," he says.

"Members are excited to be in the union," states White. "Im hopeful that management will not delay a first agreement. They should know by now that we are not going away."

An online magazine for photojournalists, www.b-roll.net, features a lively discussion on its message board about the KTNV campaign. One worker responded to an anti-union message by quoting President Dwight D. Eisenhower, "Only a fool would try to deprive working men and working women of their right to join a union of their choice."