Canada Radio: CFRA Staffers To Join CWA Union

Amidst the layoff of six per cent of Bell Media’s workforce, about two dozen 580 CFRA Ottawa staff have signed union cards with CWA Canada.

Broadcast Dialogue reports the union filed for certification Friday with the federal labor board, a little more than 48 hours after Bell announced the layoff of 1,300 workers and the abrupt shuttering of six of its AM radio stations.

The group, which includes a majority of non-unionized hosts, producers, writers and technicians at the heritage news/talk station – which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year – said in a mission statement that the company’s cost-cutting mandate “has caused a swift decline in staffing” and created “an ever-growing workload.”

Staff said they have propped up the station’s reputation, keeping ratings at a high level, while singular employees do the work of many, resulting in missed breaks and significant unpaid overtime.

“We have advocated for meaningful change with management countless times to no avail. It has become clear the only path forward is through collective bargaining,” reads their statement, with workers noting that pay raises have long failed to keep up with the cost of living and little communication from Bell Media on how the company plans to stabilize workers’ livelihoods.

Staff added that working conditions have never been worse for part-time employees who are “being left behind” due to inconsistent scheduling and unassigned shifts.

CWA said once formally unionized, the workers will form a unit within the Ottawa Newspaper Guild (CWA Canada Local 30205), which already represents employees at Bell Media-owned CTV Ottawa.

Lois Kirkup, president of Local 30205  noted that as of publication, neither CFRA nor CTV Ottawa had been impacted by Wednesday’s layoff announcement.

The full impact of the staff reduction on Bell Media’s news operations is not yet clear, however staff in numerous local CTV bureaus have announced their departures from the network, with cuts at CTV National News including Executive Producer Rosa Hwang, L.A. Bureau Chief Tom Walters, Chief International Correspondent Paul Workman, Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, CTV National News Senior Political Correspondent Glen McGregor, and UK-based correspondent Daniele Hamamdjian, among others.