Councilmember Sawant Urges Management to Recognize Crosscut Union

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Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle) shared excerpts from an open letter addressed to the CEO of Cascade Public Media, underscoring her support of Crosscut and PBS KCTS 9 journalists and employees efforts to form a union, and urging management to voluntarily recognize the union.
 

Sawant, after having successfully supported other unionization efforts including Frye Art Museum Employees, and having fought alongside unions such as Teamsters 763 Emergency Medical Technicians, calls on Cascade Public Media to voluntarily recognize the union Crosscut and KCTS 9 employees have formed.  

Sawant declared in her open letter that:

“I was extremely disappointed to read your response, in which you refuse to voluntarily recognize the union. Your claim that you “respect the rights of individual employees to form a collective bargaining union” rings completely hollow with your refusal to recognize that union. By essentially refusing to abide by card check neutrality, you, a public entity, are echoing the union-busting tactics so ubiquitously displayed by for-profit corporations.

“…Last month, my office and I stood with workers at the Frye Art Museum as they demanded union representation. Like you, the Frye Board refused to voluntarily recognize their union, forcing an NLRB election. At that election, the workers voted unanimously for union representation. Refusing to recognize the unionizing call of an overwhelming majority of workers is, in our view, an unacceptable use of public resources.

AND:

“…Instead of obstructing the union, you should immediately agree to begin bargaining a fair contract with the journalism staff who make Crosscut and KCTS a respected and valued source of local news. In their statement they say, “By forming a union, we are seeking a greater role in shaping decisions that affect our lives, as well as the quality of the product we deliver.” You should support them in that effort.

IN CLOSING: 

“…I urge you to recognize the union representation of journalists at Crosscut and KTCS, and immediately begin bargaining a good contract with them.”