2013.04.23 | CWA Canada Local 30213 | Canadian Media Guild
Striking radio workers welcome moral, monetary support of colleagues
The Saint John 7, on strike for 10 months against MBS Radio in New Brunswick, have received a hefty dollop of moral and financial support from their North American colleagues.
Delegates to The Newspaper Guild (TNG) sector conference collected and pledged more than $3,000 on Saturday. That was followed by a vote Monday at the CWA convention to raise weekly strike benefits to $400.
The seven members of the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), CWA Canada's largest Local, are in a fight for fair wages and to achieve a first contract.
“We are so grateful for this incredibly generous donation, and particularly for the moral support from our peers which means such a great deal,” says Gary Stackhouse, president of CMG at MBS Saint John. “I hope they know they have made a huge contribution to ensuring we can see this fight through to a successful conclusion.”
The workers have not received any across-the-board wage increases in more than a dozen years, and say wages for some positions have actually fallen dramatically. The latest company offer has wage scales from $10.58 to $12.98 an hour to start. CMG is asking for wages to start between $12.00 and $17.21 an hour in 2013.
TNG reported today that the list of Locals and district councils that have pledged funds to the strikers includes New York, the Southern District Council, Kingston, Pittsburgh, Washington-Baltimore, Chicago, Pacific Media, Great Lakes District Council, Buffalo, 9400, News Media Guild, UPAGRA, Denver, New England District Council, Erie and Detroit.
Any Local or members can contribute by sending cheques to the Canadian Media Guild with a note that the funds are for the MBS strikers. Mail to: Canadian Media Guild, 310 Front Street West, Suite 810, Toronto, ON M5V 3B5.
Stackhouse shared with TNG-CWA members a heartfelt thank-you and told them what the donations and moral support means to the Canadians on the picket line:
Donnie Robertson, our elder statesman (who was set for retirement before we organized, so is really only doing this for his younger colleagues and because of his love of radio) said that, while he was grateful for the very generous financial support, it meant just as much to him that we were acknowledged and supported MORALLY at the convention!
Jay Delong, a single dad who is living with his OWN father while trying to raise his five-year old daughter, was particularly touched. I know that as this dispute has dragged on, I have had several heart-to-heart talks with Jay (having raised my own three kids while struggling on a crappy radio salary) and I can tell that having less of a question mark about whether he can pay the bills and feed and clothe Hanley is a huge weight off of his shoulders.
Nancy Wood, our youngest (and at $22,000 a year also poorest-paid) member has been perhaps one of the most financially stable ... but for all the wrong reasons. Nancy, who lost her mother at a very young age and was raised by her father, tragically lost her Dad a year and a half ago. I'm sure her father intended her inheritance to go toward building her family, buying a home or sending her future children to college, not subsisting during a labour stoppage!
Our Treasurer, Rob Weir, who has spent years trying to feed his family of nine as a producer making $27,000 a year, says he is humbled and touched by the fact that people we have never met stand so strong and firm behind us. Rob also sits on the hardship committee, meaning his task right now is to ensure all our financial needs (personally and for the bargaining unit) are met. He says this donation will make that job much easier.
For my part, I just want to thank you for this incredibly generous donation and your moral support, which also means a great deal. Please let all of our TNG colleagues know that they have made a huge contribution to ensuring CMG's "Saint John 7" can see this fight through to a successful conclusion!