NABET Files an Unfair Labor Practice against Sinclair Broadcasting

NABET says that Sinclair is not playing fair, and they have filed an unfair labor practice against the company.

The union says that they have filed the unfair labor practice against Sinclair for disregarding the negotiation process with WJLA bargaining unit employees when the station changed their overtime policy, including when employees skip lunch and reduced the number of personal days without coming to an agreement with the Union. 

The Union claims that they have been in negotiations since August 2023 and have been fighting management to maintain benefits employees have had for decades such as nightshift differential.

WJLA was purchased by Sinclair in 2014, from Allbritton. 

NaBET says Sinclair took almost 5 years to negotiate the previous collective bargaining agreement. Employees at WJLA make 20% less than the average salary of broadcasting professionals in the area as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

While the employees are dealing with low pay, Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley received over $9.6m in total compensation.

“We are fighting for fair pay and to be compensated like the rest of our fellow workers in the market. We’re asking for people to turn of WJLA and not frequent their advertisers until we have gotten a fair contract,” WJLA Photographer Rich Guastadisegni said.