Feder: Strike at WTTW puts politicians on the spot
As the first strike in WTTW-Channel 11's history enters its second week, politicians are being urged to honor the picket lines - both real and virtual.
In an email to political candidates Wednesday, the Chicago Federation of Labor asked them not to participate in remotely recorded Zoom interviews on the public television station while the strike goes on.
Local Union 1220 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, representing more than two dozen technicians, graphic artists and floor crew members, walked out March 16 over work jurisdiction and job protection issues.
On-air employees and producers at the station, represented by Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, continue to do their jobs under contracts that bar sympathy strikes.
A Window to the World Communications spokesperson said: "The company stands ready to return to good faith negotiations with the bargaining team's representatives as soon as possible."
The last work stoppage at a Chicago station resulted in an 11-week lockout for camera operators, news writers and other technical workers represented by the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 in 1998.
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