Chicago Radio: Union Files Complaint Against Chicago Public Media

The local unit of SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 60 employees at WBEZ, has filed an unfair labor practices complaint against Chicago Public Media in the wake of layoffs and buyouts thinning the ranks at the NPR station.

The Chicago Tribune reports the charges at the National Labor Relations Board allege the nonprofit parent company of WBEZ and the Chicago-Sun-Times “failed and refused to provide information demanded by the union” regarding an employee headcount and financial data.

The unfair labor practices complaint is the first filed against Chicago Public Media by the union since it began representing WBEZ employees more than a decade ago. It preceded an annual board meeting Monday shifted from in-person to chat-disabled Zoom, thwarting an opportunity for union members to voice their concerns about cutbacks at the radio station.

“We have been asking and asking for a dialogue, and for a chance to work together on some of the issues that we face at WBEZ,” said Mary Dixon, host of “Morning Edition” on WBEZ and a member of the union’s labor management council. ”It just is so disappointing to have that annual meeting moved online. To me, that’s not what public media should be about.”

There has been significant uncertainty at Chicago Public Media in recent months, beginning with the December announcement that CEO Matt Moog would be stepping down two years after combining WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times under the same nonprofit banner.

Despite a launch backed by $61 million in philanthropic support, declining revenue has been putting the potentially groundbreaking media model through an increasingly stressful financial test, forcing cost-saving measures to keep operating losses in check.

In April, Chicago Public Media announced the decision to dramatically scale back WBEZ’s podcasting unit, eliminate its urban alternative radio platform Vocalo and lay off 14 employees across the station and newspaper.