Latino leaders joining union in urging duopoly pay equity.

The American Federation or Television and Radio Artists is receiving the help of Latino leaders as the union mounts a campaign against what it says are pay disparities between KNBC-TV and non-union Spanish-language KVEA-TV as the stations consolidate operations.

As part of a merger between NBC and Telemundo, the two stations will be housed at KNBC's Burbank studios within the next year, sharing staffs and some news programming. Telemundo station KWHY-TV (Channel 22) also will be housed there, but NBC will likely be forced to divest that station to comply with Federal Communications Commission ownership requirements.

AFTRA is pushing KNBC (Channel 4) to give on-air KVEA employees the same wages, rules and benefits as their current employees without a union vote. Generally, workers at KVEA (Channel 52), which has fewer viewers than KNBC, are paid less than their Channel 4 counterparts. KNBC workers are represented by AFTRA.

"It's important that the elected leaders, as well and the community organizers, are aware of the situation and the treatment that NBC is giving to the Telemundo employees", said Leslie Simon, director of the Spanish-language media project at AFTRA's local chapter. "We expect NBC to do the right thing and we want the community to be aware of it to make sure that they do."

The head of the NBC-Telemundo stations in L.A., Paula Madison, is receiving calls from Latino leaders, including L.A. City Council President Alex Padilla and National Hispanic Media Coalition President Alex Nogales.

"It is our position that people who work at the Telemundo station should be covered by our NBC contract," Simon said.

Election required

The KNBC and KVEA consolidation comes at a time when the networks are under increasing pressure to become more diverse. The National Latino Media Council and two other groups working to promote minority representation in television last week released report cards giving ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC mostly poor marks in their efforts to promote diversity.

Telemundo employees are free to organize but NBC policy requires AFTRA to hold an election sanctioned by the National Labor Relations Board, said Madison.

"What we've said for months now and continue to say is that should our employees decide that they want to hold the election and it's NLRB-sanctioned, we will abide by the results," Madison said. "AFTRA is saying, 'Why do you need an election? Why don't you just make them AFTRA?' We are not going to do that."

AFTRA said it has presented NBC with a compromise that would grant union officials access to Telemundo facilities and require the network to remain neutral on the issue of organization. Instead of an election, AFTRA is asking NBC to recognize the union once a majority of eligible Telemundo employees sign cards designating it as their exclusive bargaining representative.

"Elections are very often contentious," Simon said.

A few years ago, KVEA was the only major TV station in L.A. without union representation. AFTRA and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians in 1996 launched a campaign to organize KVEA workers that resulted in a months-long battle between management and the unions.

While NABET succeeded in organizing the technical workers, an AFTRA vote resulted in a tie, and the on-air employees have since continued to work without representation. AFTRA officials maintain that six KVEA reporters lost their jobs because they were pro-union.

"Given the negative history of Telemundo, we feel that it is the responsibility of NBC, given their interest in having a relationship with the Latino community, to provide for a fair process with the absence of fear and intimidation for their new Latino employees," Simon said.

Even if AFTRA succeeds in organizing KVEA and KWHY employees, there's no guarantee they will get paid as much as those at Channel 4.

"KNBC makes a lot more money than not only the Telemundo stations but also some other English-language stations in town," Madison said. "It's not reasonable to assume that should the Telemundo employees decide to join AFTRA, they would expect to be paid at the same rate in most instances."

The issue might be subject to bargaining, Simon said, but she added: "There's no reason to have substandard wages for people working at Telemundo."

AFTRA represents about 30 KNBC employees. There are some 40 eligible employees at KVEA and KWHY

Gaining support

The union has been finding support among powerful members of the Latino community.

The National Latino Media Council -- which tried to block the NBC-Telemundo merger -- recently voted to back AFTRA's efforts to organize Telemundo employees, Nogales said. The council, which includes the National Hispanic Media Coalition, filed a petition with the FCC claiming the merger would fail to create more jobs for Latinos and was not in the public's interest.

"We've been asked by several people to step in and look at this," Nogales said. "It sets a precedent."

Madison said AFTRA has been asking people to contact her and ask that NBC not "intimidate" the Telemundo employees. "AFTRA cannot tell you that anybody at NBC has been threatening or cajoling," she said. "I don't know where these statements are coming from."

But there is some cause for concern, according to AFTRA's Simon. She points to a memo sent to local Telemundo talent in March by Rick Blangiardi, who recently left his post as president of Telemundo Group Inc.

"Our position is now, and will remain, that we prefer to deal with you, our employees, directly, without the need of a third party. We don't embrace the idea of becoming distracted with union-related issues," Blangiardi wrote. "AFTRA is interested in your dues money, not the success of Telemundo."

It's not surprising that Latino groups are paying close attention to the NBC-Telemundo merger. The deal represents the first major attempt by an English-language network to get into the growing Hispanic market.

"It's important to me, to us, and we're watching," Padilla said.