SF Radio: SAG-AFTRA Hints At KNBR Work Stoppage

Gabrielle Carteris, national president of SAG-AFTRA, speaks during a news conference

Newly unionized employees of KNBR 680 AM radio, the longtime broadcaster of San Francisco Giants baseball, staged a rally outside AT&T Park Wednesday as an opening salvo in what could be a long labor war.

According to sfgate.com, the employees are seeking a minimum of $17 an hour for off-air staff, and $30 an hour for on-air talent. The station’s owner, Cumulus Media of Atlanta, has countered with the San Francisco minimum wage, which just rose to $13 an hour, plus 1 percent, according to union negotiators.

The 35 staffers voted in 2014 to join the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) but have not been able to secure a contract. There has been no movement in negotiations on the wage gap since February.

This could definitely lead to a work stoppage,” said Len Egert, executive director of the SAG-AFTRA San Francisco local, “and I don’t know if we could continue programming.”

Employees insist that KNBR is a money-making station.