LOS ANGELES (November 10, 2020) — Today, producers at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh have announced their intention to unionize with SAG-AFTRA. Producers first informed station management of their organizing drive on Oct. 22, 2020, with the presentation of a petition signed by nearly 75% of their colleagues. The 27-member unit includes news, sports, web and digital line (CBSN) producers.
KDKA-TV is Pittsburgh’s oldest television station and a pioneer in the medium. SAG-AFTRA has represented announcers – including hosts, anchors, meteorologists and reporters – at the station since the 1950s. The producers are seeking to be included in the same bargaining unit as the announcers.
SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris said, “This is an exciting and important achievement for the employees of KDKA-TV. We are thrilled that these talented professionals have chosen to organize with SAG-AFTRA.”
The KDKA-TV producers organizing committee said, “We are proud to work at KDKA and to provide the region with high-quality news every single day. And today, we are just as proud to join Pittsburgh’s rich tradition of labor unions fighting for workers’ rights. All of us joined KDKA because we believe in informing the public and providing context for the ‘first draft of history.’ Organizing with SAG-AFTRA will ensure that we can continue to provide the professional journalism that Pittsburghers have come to expect from KDKA-TV since 1949.”
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at sagaftra.org.
