WESA, WYEP content staff overwhelmingly vote to unionize with SAG-AFTRA

The workers who bring Pittsburghers some of their favorite radio content have officially unionized.

Content staff at Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corp. — the nonprofit that owns 90.5 WESA and 91.3 WYEP — announced Thursday that they had voted 26-1 to unionize with SAG-AFTRA.

“We are thrilled to welcome PCBC workers into SAG-AFTRA,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director, said in a press release. “Investing in good, sustainable local journalism is an investment in the community, so this is a win not only for members but for Pittsburgh itself.”

“It’s not lost on us that, as we celebrate this win for local content creators, our union brothers and sisters at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are on strike. I urge the paper’s management to start negotiating in good faith and get those people back to work.”

The overwhelming vote came less than three months after a bargaining unit consisting of WESA and WYEP reporters, editors, hosts, DJs and more asked PCBC management to voluntarily recognize their union.

Terry O’Reilly, the president of PCBC, said the nonprofit is “pleased” that staff members had “an opportunity to share their voice” through the voting process. He noted there are still some lingering questions to be addressed before contract negotiations can begin, such as a final determination as to who will be part of the bargaining unit.

“We’re looking forward to resolving the issues that remain, and then to negotiating in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable agreement with SAG-AFTRA and their members,” O’Reilly said.

Several WESA employees took some time Friday to share their thoughts via email with the Union Progress on what the results of this vote means to them, and the work that still has to be done before their first official contract is ratified.

“It feels reinvigorating,” said Kevin Gavin, host of WESA news show “The Confluence.” “I mean, 26 to 1. What does that tell you? People know that we work together and that we respect one another, and this vote reaffirms that we stand together.”

Marylee Williams, a producer on “The Confluence” and organizing committee member, said the landslide win shows that content creators “were all on board from the very beginning” for the unionization effort. Maria Scapellato, the recently retired “Morning Edition” host who had been heavily involved in the process, was also heartened by the quantifiable amount of solidarity shown by her former PCBC colleagues.

“It was gratifying to know that the staff is so united and that these workers have each other’s backs,” Scapellato said.

Gavin is a self-described “public radio lifer” with 46 years of experience in public radio news. He knows how much work the organizing committee put into getting to this point and is “proud to work with such dedicated people.” That includes Williams, who recognizes that their work is far from over, “but it’s exciting work.”

Williams said the tally gave her increased confidence as the contract bargaining process begins.

“[It] is a decisive win, and it clearly shows that the staff is unified behind this union and that we are excited to sit down with whomever they put at the table, because this is an opportunity,” she said. “We look forward to the negotiations and think they’ll go great.”

In Gavin’s mind, a mutually agreed-upon contract will benefit union members, PCBC leadership, and WESA and WYEP listeners. He said getting this far has “invigorated our staff,” and thinks it will “lead us to redouble our efforts to be better for” PCBC consumers.

Scapellato said a fair contract between the union and PCBC would make for more secure employees and “a better news and music product for the wider community.” Williams concurred.

“This unionization effort is about how much we care about our workplace,” Williams said. “It’s about how we care about this public service that each of us throughout the organization contributes to.  We want to have something that lasts forever and makes great content, which means we want a seat at the table.”