MSNBC Union Marks Two Years of Negotiating First Contract

This week marked two years since Writers Guild of America East members at MSNBC (MSNBC Union) began negotiations on their first collective bargaining agreement. The Union and management at MSNBC resumed negotiations on Wednesday, with the MSNBC Union still fighting for a contract that includes livable wages and fair pay for performing extra work.

In the last two weeks, more than 5,000 letters have been sent by union members to MSNBC President Rashida Jones and NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde demanding a fair contract now. The letter writing campaign has been supported by the AFL-CIO and the New York City Central Labor Council-- click here to add your name!

The MSNBC Union is asking MSNBC management to codify meaningful work-from-home flexibility for its workers. Over the last three and a half years, the staff at MSNBC have proven that their jobs can be done remotely without sacrificing the quality of the content they produce. In addition, short-staffing at MSNBC means that workers are regularly assigned the work of higher paid employees without additional compensation. And workers are regularly expected to work long hours and be available on standby outside work hours, without any additional compensation.

“For two years the Guild has made it clear to MSNBC that the status quo is not acceptable to the MSNBC employees who organized with our union. For two years we have patiently presented the facts about how difficult it is to balance work and life at MSNBC, how important it is for the company to address legitimate workplace concerns. Patience runs out,” said Lowell Peterson, Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America East.