SAG/AFTRA has posted an NPR contract countdown clock

As promised, SAG/AFTRA, the union that represents more than 400 on-air and off-air workers at National Public Radio, published a website Thursday complete with a countdown clock timed to Friday midnight when the temporary extension of the current contract expires.

The union says, “The Future of NPR is at stake.” And Becky Sullivan, a union shop steward and a member of the bargaining team, says she will not rule out the possibility of the union calling for strike authorization if there is no agreement by this weekend.

Here’s a GIF of the clock:

via GIPHY

The union raised the temperature of its public comments Thursday saying:

The management of NPR and their latest contract proposal seeks to tear apart fundamental workplace rights and benefits SAG-AFTRA members fought hard to establish. It threatens the core of NPR’s mission by devaluing the work of the people who have helped bring record audiences across NPR’s platforms, as is frequently touted by the same executives. Today, we have seen double-digit growth across all platforms, as well as a budget surplus. This is in spite of the executive ranks who have failed to secure the funding necessary to continue to allow NPR as a whole to innovate and grow.

The new website includes a statement from NPR Arts Critic Bob Mondello: “The mind reels — or rather unspools. NPR’s audience is up and its revenues high because of the uniquely creative work we do, and management wants to reward us by gutting our contract. If this were a movie, who’d believe that?”

Wednesday night, NPR executives released a statement to Poynter:

NPR and SAG-AFTRA are having productive discussions with the assistance of a federal mediator and continue to work toward a mutually satisfactory agreement that meets the needs of NPR’s employees and our operations. Our goal is to make this organization economically sustainable for the long-term – and, importantly, enable NPR to invest more resources in expanding audiences, innovating its multi-platform journalism, and adding newsroom staff to meet that growth and support current staff.

Sullivan told Poynter that two issues are at the center of the standoff.

“They are trying to lower salary minimums,” which she said would allow NPR to pay new hires less. And, she said, “they are really trying to weaken the power of the union. They want to write in more flexibility for outside people to do union work and take away the union’s ability to file a grievance.”

The union’s new website also includes a letter sent to NPR CEO Jarl Mohn and signed by NPR journalists including big on-air names like Melissa Block, Steve Inskeep, Rachael Martin and Anthony Kuhn. Here’s the letter: