THE ZONE AND AFTRA

By Stoney Richards

For the past few years there has been much talk about the problems that can arise with the new technologies that incorporate pod casting, streaming, voice tracking and automation for daily use under AFTRA contracts. We’ve all agreed, union and management, that this is a “new world” with no set rules. I have always held that the main issue in all of this remains a pay for play scenario where talent under an AFTRA contract are more than willing to work with new technology since the benefits can be great but simply wish to be paid for doing so. Long held management beliefs in contract negotiations anyway, held that the company could assign any work order that came under a forty hour work week.

	Stoney Richards with Tracey Morgan Click photo for larger image.

Recently some positive progress seems to have been made. As steward for three CBS-FM stations in Pittsburgh (WDSY,WZPT and WRKZ) I was able to watch an interesting scenario unfold. WRKZ changed from a music format to a CBS Free FM talk type format. Three live full-talents were let go with full notice and severance, all according to contract. Of course there were rumors of a live staff being replaced by syndicated programs all piped in from other markets. This was not the case here in Pittsburgh. The station retained the Opie and Anthony morning show that comes from New York but chose to add a full line up of local talent to fill out the roster.

John Steigerwald from our sister TV station KDKA took over an hour sports talk program followed by the syndicated Dennis Miller (Pittsburgh native) show from Westwood One. Then local talk show host, John McIntire switched from our KDKA AM radio station for a mid–day shift on the new Zone followed by Scott Paulsen who had moved over from Clear Channel WDVE.

Through it all management was very careful to write contracts for all talent involved that covered any additional media such as podcasting and special Best Of voice tracked specials.

The producers of these shows where the talent is locally based were offered AFTRA contracts at reduced scale that allows them to be on the air but not the focus of the show. While many members of the units composing three stations worried that this might have been the beginning of the end I saw it as a bit of a road map to the future. A couple years ago, I sat down with our Vice President of Programming, Keith Clark to answer his question which was something like, “What does AFTRA want in all this?”

He was talking about our major contract hurdle of voice tracking and generally, as we called it then, new technologies. I said then as I say today, “AFTRA members want to do it all, have no interest in digging their heels in the sand to impede progress and are ready to make this all work. They just want to be paid for what they do. If they have to be paid by personal service contracts, so be it but they want to be paid.”

That conversation took about an hour and forty-five minutes and it occurred long before this format change happened. But when the change came, Keith and other management at the station found a way to make this work in an equitable way for all parties. Along the way, AFTRA was consulted though CBS made its own decisions and along the way this union and management worked together. And we worked in areas that we hadn’t been able to make any progress on at all in the past.

Obviously, as I write this, when you read this, even more changes will come to media and the talent who inhabit this world but to paraphrase President John F. Kennedy…at least we have begun.” On behalf of AFTRA may we wish The Zone in Pittsburgh good luck and great success.