I don't want to delve into the inside dynamics as to why KNBR personnel chose to join the union. I'll leave that to the members themselves, but I have a few theories.
Most of the KNBR on-air staff make decent money, not by everyday standards but good enough. There were inside-the-house grumblings that made the rounds that the few people who voted no on joining the union were largely on-air talent. They're right.
Most of the pro-union block are the board ops, producers, and editors; the people who do a lot of the grunt work. You hear those people on the air who double as both producers and contributors --they do a lot of the behind-scenes material that is a bulk of KNBR's on-air presence when there's no Giants, 49ers and Warriors games. Much as KNBR's sports clients are the most valuable assets of the station, it's the hard work of the lesser-known broadcasters, (like a Ted Ramey, for instance), that keep the station running, (producer, Brian Smith too), and the background players that make sure the spots play, the guests coordinate --all things that need to get done. Things like this are taken for granted but in essence, without them, the station wouldn't be able to run. It's that simple.
For all my criticisms about KNBR, I congratulate the hard-working, (for the most part), and dedicated staff who don't get a lot of recognition for working their butts off for very little compensation and acknowledgement from staff; they may find that organizing a union brings with it future angst but much-needed benefits and improvements-- it's a step in the right direction.
Most of all, it shows KNBR's less visible but just as important workers have a backbone and won't continue to act like a bunch of lemmings getting minimal pay while their cross-building counterparts are making much more money and receiving better and more benefits.
Yeah, down the road negotiating an actual contract will be difficult and tough, especially with a company that is as doggedly anti-union as Cumulus is, but it's a good start. More importantly, it's KNBR staffers showing some self-respect. A cheers and huzzah for the real "leader."
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I'm glad to see the 'little folks' at KNBR finally standing up, but as you say, it may be too little, too late. Cumullus is under no legal obligation to grant them their wishes, and given that company's already abysmal track record with unions, it would be shocking to see them give the 'grunt' workers anything more than the paltry salaries, (if you want to call them that!) than they're currently getting.
ReplyDeleteI get a kick out of Mel Baker's post yesterday where he said the Union can make a difference. Maybe for the folks at KGO who have been unionized for many years, it can. But for KNBR, which had its union broken many years ago by the anti-unionist Tony Salvadore when he was the GM there, it's a different story. I think Mr Baker is living a fantasy world or an alternate universe!
Salvadore- a man who loves himself to the extreme- is gone. And hard workers cant respect a man who's too lazy to drive his Bentley to the World Series- a few blocks away- and then he votes to keep them down so THEY can work more hours on straight pay?.
DeleteGive a new union a chance.
You bring up a good point. When a manager arrives who is hell bent on breaking the union, very often that's what the workers get...hell. I've always wondered whether having to pay dues and working in an environment where your bosses were trying to make you miserable intentionally was what I wanted. If you go through that, you may not reach retirement to get your "health benefits" or pension. If you do, how much did that pension cost you in lifetime dues before retirement and the typically exorbitant initiation fee?
DeleteStan...Salvadore never had a Bentley....and the reason he drove was because of a debilitating back condition. Maybe he didn't want to unionize KNBR, but give the guy a break.
DeleteI was intimating Radnich. Maybe a separate paragraph would have made it more clear.
DeleteI figured once I said Bentley and skipped something as boring as the Giants in the World Series, was enough ..
And many days later...Krueger who once got on Radnich for leaving a 49er close game IN THE THIRD QUARTER..hasn't said peep about anybody at KNBR going to the WS..wow,talk about circling the wagons.
It is funny though to hear Radnich pat himself on the back for not riding in the parade or asking for a ring. Well,I guess if you don't even care to go to the games it would be easy to skip a float a the parade.
Raddy,always playing both sides.
One last on the Radnich at the WS,my theory: He went all season to remote shows at ATT when knbr sent him. Why? because they were at empty stadiums,early in the morning. At the WS..people. People who heckle and boo.
DeleteAnd Radnich never leaves his bubble.
"There were inside-the-house grumblings that made the rounds that the few people who voted no on joining the union were largely on-air talent."
ReplyDeleteThat pretty much describes Gary Radnich. Gary (he has made this point abundantly clear on many occasions) prides himself on negotiating his own salary and work conditions with management. This is not a knock on the guy.
Just curious how this will settle with him.
I've heard Radnich and Krueger mention watching Fox News on a few occasions. I think that tells you all you need to know about their political affiliations. Though I'd say Krueger is probably more conservative, as Radnich at least has shown a willingness to empathize with others. Krueger just cares about the bottom line.
DeleteGary is old and in the top income bracket. Larry apparently comes from a well-off family.
Supply and demand. Modern labor relations dynamics are all about that. All of the low end KNBR staff could walk, Cumulus lock them out and there would be applicants 20-30 deep in line to replace them.
ReplyDeleteThis guy Ramey plays the fool. If he was due a larger salary his phone would be ringing off the hook. Cheers for his trying, but no upside for his union leadership role... maybe downside instead.
5 comments, hahaha. What does that tell you? Nobody cares about somebody else's union issues, we have our own problems.
ReplyDeleteHere's a recent photo of the KNBR trailblazers:
ReplyDeletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/B1S8LbuIgAAUw7k.jpg:large
Would you want any of them dating your daughter?
The way things are going with big business and monster-media companies taking over, the days of Union strength are now past-tense. Too bad, but KNBR should have worked on keeping the Union years ago, when Union-buster Tony Salvadore took over as GM. Didn't happen then and the Union certainly won't be coming back now. Our government and big business interests and high paid lobbyists have done and will continue to do everything they can to screw over the working man and woman. The GOP are their handmaidens, and a lot of stupid working class Americans support them and continue to vote against their own self-interests. They have only themselves to blame for the mess this country is now in! Keep buying into what bloviating egotists such as Savage, Limbaugh and Hannity are spewing out every day. HAIL DICK CHENEY!
ReplyDeleteThe title of your column says it all. Respect for the "little people." There is no respect for the little people, Rich, and hasn't been since Reagan fired all those uppity air traffic controllers for saying their jobs were too stressful. You know, Reagan, the man who presented himself as sweet on the military even though all he did in wartime was make training videos stateside. Reagan, who talked tough even though the only punches he ever threw were fake ones for the camera. Reagan, that rough-tough mach guy--"You can run, but you can't hide!"--who went through life in Hollywood with a silver spoon in his mouth, then increased his rank by ratting out on friends to the House UnAmerican Committee, mostly with false accusations and innuendo. He's what America's all about.
ReplyDeleteAir traffic controllers claim they were "stressed", maybe they were. They requested a big increase in pay...I guess that makes the stress go away. Such is the "BS" of many unions. Pay should be "market based". Giants revenue aside at KNBR, advertising revenue is down, big time, at most major radio stations
DeleteSo,the reasons that a union isnt needed for raises is because of "market" and supply and demand" So why then are the execs getting huge raises as revenue goes down or up..but not 24 million a year up for the captain,up?. Do you all notice that multimillionaire dollar homes are being built all over the bay area? Somebody is pocketing the money.
DeleteIts not even a debate. The wealthy have manipulated laws and politics to exclude them from the rest of us. Hell,even Warren Buffet says he wish's he could pay more by law. I get what he means.
"multimillionaire homes.... all over" not sure if that mutes your argument or makes it. There aren't that many CEO pulling down big bucks. A dual union earner homes, say a nurse at $ 100K and a PG&E Engineer at. $ 100,000 could qualify for a $ 1 million home. Good for them I say.
DeleteMy fav is unions on CEO pay.... investment groups like CalPers bitch about CEO pay and then as a stockholders approve the pay directly or via their electing someone to a Comp Committee that approves it. Pay secures talent, talent has a price and it's market based.
Who's pocketing the money, the investors of course. They are going to cluster stations and piping in traffic to SF from Dallas. Hint... to Stan, RL, etc., it's a free market! If consumers don't like the direction they'll stop listening. More importantly why don't some of these "studs" step up and start their own stations. Where is Mickey Luckoff, Jack Swanson, the genius at KSCO, etc.?
The radio world has changed, union power has decreased...I don't like it
one bit... but it is today's reality.
Who can prove we have a "free market"? That's the biggest lie around. We are a DEMOCRACY..not a "let them starve if they cant stand" society. We the people-heard of that? The worst of our history?- was when we came close to a free market..and the billionaires came close to being trillionaires.
DeleteWe came close to a society of 100% of all is owned by 5..