For Immediate Release: August 24, 2026
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers International President Kenneth W. Cooper issued the following statement today regarding the litigation over the proposed Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery merger and reports concerning settlement discussions between the parties:
“The IBEW represents more than 4,000 broadcast professionals at CBS; the technicians, engineers, and production employees who put CBS News, CBS Sports, and CBS television stations on the air every day. We also represent members who work on the soundstages of Hollywood, building and powering the productions of the very studios this merger would combine. We take no position on the antitrust questions before the court. Those belong to the Attorneys General, the parties, and the judge.
“We were pleased to learn the parties have begun discussions, but those talks have stumbled over the weekend. The IBEW has enjoyed a productive labor-management relationship with CBS for nearly ninety years, and if that history has taught us anything, it is this: Talks between parties who disagree are supposed to be hard. The difference between the disputes that get resolved and the ones that don’t is never the difficulty. It is whether the parties stay in the room. That is true in a courtroom, in a boardroom, and at a bargaining table.
“But while the headlines are focused on false starts and leaked rumors, almost nothing has been said about the people who do the work. So, we will say it plainly: If this matter is resolved by agreement, enforceable workforce protections must be part of that agreement. Not assurances. Not projections. Binding commitments that survive beyond the press conferences and headlines.
“The voice of the American worker belongs at every level of American companies, from the breakroom to the boardroom.
“Our members have carried these companies through every change of ownership for nearly ninety years, and they will be at work at the broadcast centers and soundstages the day this deal closes, or the day it doesn’t. The IBEW is watching this process closely, and we expect the people who do the work to be a key consideration in whatever agreement may or may not be reached.”
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The IBEW represents approximately 901,000 members and retirees who work in a wide variety of fields, including construction, utilities, manufacturing, telecommunications, broadcasting, railroads and government.