I suppose we shouldn't post anything from the parts of the CBC/Radio-Canada currently on lockout - that is everything outside Québec and Moncton - but should we also refrain from posting stories produced in the area represented by the SCRC - CSN union?

[ 15 August 2005: Message edited by: Left Turn ]

Support our brothers and sisters at the CBC.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Yst:
Isn't creating a thread based on the premise "you can only take my position on this issue" a bit ridiculous? I mean, I'm not taking any position on current talks yet myself, because I simply don't know enough to make a judgment on whether current or future CBC contracts or union proposals are 'fair' or any such thing, but creating a precedent for threads which allow only a single outlook to be expressed seems perverse.

---

I certainly wouldn't be interested in a board where "only one position is acceptable" and, for example, nobody has the right to criticise the majority line of the Guild (or the SCRC in Québec and Moncton, which I am far more familiar with). There are many disagreements WITHIN such unions, such as whether they take the problems of non-permanent employees or part-timers seriously, the importance of women's issues, etc. Believe me, I've had the occasion to attend a meeting of the SCRC starting at 10 am and winding up at ... 2 am the following morning!

"The Guild should have/should have not..."

are ok. While,

"Those bums would have gotten fired at CTV"

is not. I think the idea is to get a constructive discussion going, not so much "ideas A,B and C are not allowed".

quote:

---

Originally posted by snowmandn:
The way I read the first post, comments like,

"The Guild should have/should have not..."

are ok. While,

"Those bums would have gotten fired at CTV"

is not. I think the idea is to get a constructive discussion going, not so much "ideas A,B and C are not allowed".

Just my thoughts ;-)

---

I suppose if this drags out, labour councils, provincial federations of labour and the CLC will begin organizing "mass pickets" or solidarity demonstrations of some sort.

If you're organizing an event that involves getting press coverage, don't invite the CBC.

I remember back in I think it was 1981 during the federal NDP convention in Vancouver, the CBC techs...members of NABET were on strike. The NDP convention banned CBC reporters from the convention...and I recall Mike Duffy...who was at the CBC at the time had a major hissy fit

E-mails to the CBC board I suppose will help too.

The disposable work force is a major reason why "quality" is becoming a thing of the past...in all kinds of occupations. If the union is trying to achieve some limits on contact workers, that's a "good thing" for the CBC in terms of quality programming.

quote:

---

CBC radio listeners (as opposed to TV watchers) are incredibly loyal. In many cases you could simply glue the radio dial permanently to CBC Radio.

---

So what's happening? Anything? Are they talking?

I want my CBC radio back. The rhythm of my days is screwed. I don't know what's happening locally. I tried some other stations and couldn't believe how moronic they are.

What can I do? I can't join a picket -- I have freelance work to do. I want to write or call or sign a petition.

It is unsettling not having any available CBC news. Antonia Zerbisias, who has been tending to her sick mother, had her first article in a while up at the Star yesterday (bugmenot.com still worked for me to get in). I don't know if I'm quite as pessimistic as her, but it don't look good.

snip -

quote:

---

For two decades now, CBC has been battered and bruised, thanks to deep budget cuts by successive governments. So management is not really off-base when it says it needs the "flexibility" to go with contract workers in the future.

But, at the same time, it is determined to assess the public broadcaster's productivity using private business measures. The phrase "business case" keeps coming up — as in "making a business case" for tossing out CBC's veteran publicists this year, and contracting out programming promotion to people who seem to believe that holding a fall launch on Sept. 7 will guarantee them good ink on the eve of the Toronto film festival, not to mention all the other arts events that crowd the calendar at that time.

Last I heard, the launch was still on — although what will be launched is now in question...

...But without workers to make the on-air promos that drive viewers to the specials, and without programming such as The National on which to run those ads, some of what might be the very best CBC has to offer could get lost.

Meanwhile, the warring parties are not even talking.

There's no point in my getting into the minutiae of which side offered what and when to the other through these many months of acrimonious negotiations. There's not even agreement on that. Suffice to say that the locked-out workers are split, with some saying management is unfair while others not showing much faith in their union.

And so, when all of this ends, CBC will be a dreadfully demoralized place, with workers limping back to their newsrooms and studios, while the responsible managers go back to business as usual.

Those of us who count on CBC to inform our lives will likely also return, at least to radio and cbc.ca.

But CBC-TV will never recover.

---

Seems to me the better option is to write to politicians, but is this the time to throw money at the problem?

[ 17 August 2005: Message edited by: baba yaga ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Michelle:
It's true. "Fresh Air" was on this morning on my radio program at 6 a.m. and oh man. I mean, nothing wrong with that show, but I was disoriented and thinking it was the weekend.

---

[ 17 August 2005: Message edited by: deBeauxOs ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by deBeauxOs:
...reruns of previous broadcasts of "Sounds Like Canada".

[ 17 August 2005: Message edited by: deBeauxOs ]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by scooter:

Why oh why are they rerunning broadcasts of the that old wind bag Sheila Rogers.

---

Anyway, it's "BBC world" specifically that's taking a side - the for-profit wing. That's actually supposed to be a separate entity from the regular "BBC" - the public broadcasting wing.

[ 18 August 2005: Message edited by: kurichina ]

quote:

---

Anyway, it's "BBC world" specifically that's taking a side - the for-profit wing. That's actually supposed to be a separate entity from the regular "BBC" - the public broadcasting wing.

---

Normally, CBC plays BBC World News 2x a day on weekdays. I notice that some of the current airings don't always carry that specific label.

From a letter to the BBC from BECTA and NUJ:

quote:

---

We are writing on behalf of the NUJ and BECTU to seek an urgent meeting to discuss the use of BBC material by CBC management during the course of the current dispute at the corporation.

BBC journalists in Canada and Canadian unions allege that the BBC is supplying additional material to CBC which is being used to replace regular news programmes and is thereby taking sides in the industrial dispute and undermining the rights of Canadian media workers.

We understand there have been a number of newspaper articles in Canada critical of the BBC’s role in the dispute and questioning its partisan approach in being seen to back the management position.

A number of BBC workers are already refusing to do handoffs for CBC. Some have sought advice about withdrawing their permission for their material to be used by the BBC if it is then going to be used by CBC.

---

[ 18 August 2005: Message edited by: baba yaga ]

ETA: This BBC story on the strike claims it's the "world service" that's providing the extra coverage, though. So I don't know.

[ 18 August 2005: Message edited by: kurichina ]

[ 20 August 2005: Message edited by: deBeauxOs ]

quote:

---

Next week, locked-out workers of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will use the Internet to compete against their employer. They are even setting up office and studio space in Toronto.

The site will have a national daily newscast available via podcast or download, released at the usual time of CBC Radio's flagship World at Six news program (currently off the air). Phase two will include local and regional news, expanded current affairs coverage, and perhaps video-casts.

---

I received this e-mail yesterday:

quote:

---

RALLY

Monday, August 22
Regina City Hall (outside)
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Regina
Civic Rally

Show your support for Regina city workers (members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 21 and 7 and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 588) and locked-out CBC workers.

Attend the rally.

---

programing has improved

[ 20 August 2005: Message edited by: abnormal ]

Don't you have anything better to do?

[ 22 August 2005: Message edited by: robbie_dee ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Michelle:
. . . brainstorm about ways to support locked out workers.

---

quote:

---

I have a question for CBC Radio listeners. Am I hearing right? Is Janice Stein scabbing for the CBC and reading the news?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Aristotleded24:

There are other threads on this board where people have debated the merits of unionisation or even the merits of the dispute between the CBC and the union, so you can make remarks there. This thread is to specifically discuss how to support the CBC workers. Many of us here have a connection to organised labour, so if you start ranting about how unions are bad, don't be surprised if people take offense and respond accordingly.

---

That is beautifully said.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sharon:
she doesn't really sound the same to me.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Wilf Day:
Do you mean you're listening to the CBC?

---

Other ways to help include raising a stink with your local MP (I know it sounds lame, but it's all the workers have)...and spreading the word...

Locked out workers at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation have been pushing the envelope with their use of the new communications technology, as the dispute enters its second week. A good source of information about the dispute is the union's new website, CBC On the Line.

Bring CBC back: A benefit for locked-out CBC workers in Ottawa featuring

The Cultural Heritage Choir

Tuesday, August 23, 8 p.m.

Library & Archives Canada,
395 Wellington Street

The Cultural Heritage Choir is a Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble whose mission is to preserve Black American music, from songs about slavery to soul. Their percussion-driven vocals are rooted in the Deep South and in their West African and Caribbean origins.

Ottawa’s labour community is organizing this benefit to say:

•Get back to the bargaining table, CBC management
•Get back to long-term jobs, not unstable contracts
•Get excellent programming back on the air

Tickets: Voluntary donation at the door, all money goes to the locked-out members of the Canadian Media Guild.

quote:

---

Thank you very much for your comments regarding our current labour situation and the
alternative programming we are offering. We will share your thoughts with our senior
management team and our contingency programmers, and will answer any questions you
may have as quickly as possible. For updated program schedule information, please
visit www.cbc.ca/programguide/ .
cbcnegotiations.ca

---

[email protected] (Spokesperson for CBC and its board of directors)

Since management career advancement in the CBC seems to be entirely dependent on how many workers are abused by the neo-con policies of the reigning political party since at least the days of Mulroney, about the only effective thing that I can suggest for those of us who cherish the CBC is to contact our elected representatives and inform them that we intend to vote NDP in the next election unless stable funding and worker protection is legislated.

Although I am an NDP supporter, the above comments are justly based upon the historical record, and the present situation reinforces my position which is that the PM could end this tragedy today, and that anyone who seriously believes that Stevie Bush - oops - I meant Harper would treat these workers more fairly is, in my opinion, too dumb to be trusted with a pencil and a ballot box.

quote:

---

Originally posted by lagatta:
I certainly wouldn't be interested in a board where "only one position is acceptable" ...

Moreover, there are other threads on the subject of the lockout.

---

ummm, OK, I will think about that first notion;

meanwhile, I will search for those "other threads" where a CBC contract worker's thoughtful argument (viz Noah Richler op-ed piece in Globe today) is tolerated here

quote:

---

Originally posted by lucas:
ALL of the electorate, or just those 'smart' enough to be trusted with a pencil and ballot box?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by stewart:
[QB][/QB]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lucas:
I see, thanks for the clarification.

I doubt however, that Harper would turn the CBC into some kind of mouthpiece for his right-wing policies. If the CBC can withstand decades of pressure coming from the Liberals, who arguably are VERY good when it comes to exerting political pressure, and still produce balanced material... what makes you think they would knuckle under to a political novice like Harper?

---

Again, with respect, the Liberals have been hacking at the budget of the CBC for years - the legendary death of a thousand cuts. Since the CBC is funded by the reigning government, it would be as easy as pie to get completely rid of it whenever it suits the ruling party to do so. In addition, viewed beside Harper and Paul Martin, Chretien had at least a few relatively progressive attitudes in his head.

The very existence of Harper's party was made possible by the treachery of Peter McKay, who betrayed David Orchard's sad belief in the word of that worm. I don't have a crumb of respect for either Harper or McKay, and I don't have the slightest doubt that the leaders of these "Conservatives" are the most fanatically right-wing zealots in the history of our nation. His masters in the U.S. were in the process of dismantling N.P.R.(National Public Radio) the last I heard, and I have no doubt that Harper as PM would gut the CBC in a second, if elected, just on general principle, or merely to suck up to Bush the same way Mulroney did for Reagan.

The electorate didn't seem to be in the least bit disturbed when Chretien got first elected on a platform that included both re-negotiating NAFTA, getting rid of the GST (if my memory serves me correctly)- as well as providing stable financing for the CBC.

You will recall that these broken promises (to put it kindly) caused him little, if any problems getting another majority in the following election. Majority governments are de facto dictatorships - the opposition can squawk all it wants, but such governments can, and nearly always do, ignore their voices.

In short, a majority Harper government can reasonably be expected to rid itself of any government-funded sources of dissent, in my opinion. Unfortunately, in the event that Harper ever gets the majority he seeks, I fear that the loss of the CBC will be only the start of his turning Canada into yet another colony of the U.S.

To digress for a moment,don't forget that if Harper was PM at present, our military would be in Iraq, and we would already be partners in Star Wars, which would merely be a handy funnel for sticking billions of Canadian dollars into the blood-soaked hands of U.S. weapon manufacturers money for a weapons system that, even if they can get it to work, isn't going to do anything other than ignite another global arms race.

The CBC, for all its warts, is the voice of Canadian democracy and must be protected at all costs from the whims of any vengeful government.

Some local CBC people aired a half-hour program about the lockout for our community radio station today. They pointed out that management who work extra hours during the lockout get many monetary bonuses, including $57/hour for each overtime hour worked as well as a flat fee of $7oo/week.

They also noted that the government has given the CBC over 31 million dollars since the lockout began - an amount that a private company would be unable to receive if it locked out its employees.

CBC management is screwing its workers, screwing its viewers and listeners, and screwing the taxpayers.

Heads should roll among the CBC executive.

[ 15 September 2005: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]

If they decide to picket Rideau Hall, will she sleep in the park until the lockout is over?

quote:

---

Originally posted by deBeauxOs:
Michaëlle Jean will not cross ex-colleagues' picket line on September 27. [/URL]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Red Albertan:

They're all a bunch of media whores...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hephaestion:

Well, considering that (except for a very few employees) most of them only work in one field (ie: radio vs tv), and that "media" is the plural form of the word, I think it's more accurate to call them "medium whores." Call me when the el grande whores come up...

---

quote:

---

Dear Prime Minister Martin,

The CBC lockout has been going on for weeks now. Enough is enough.

Why must Canadians continue to be disappointed by your government's repeated failure to adequately fund the things we care about? Health care, the environment, foreign aid, the CBC--sadly, the list goes on and on and on...

I realize it may be a waste of time to appeal to the finance minister responsible for one of the largest tax-cut-gifts ever to Canada's wealthiest citizens (i.e. people who number among the most privileged humans who have ever lived on this planet), but I nevertheless call on you to help end the CBC lockout and do what's right for ordinary Canadians who want to see their public broadcaster--and their other priorities--adequately funded.

Added funding will definitely help the CBC to do the job we all count on it to do.

How much longer do we have to wait for you and your government to act in our interests?

Sincerely,

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lucas:
Stewart,
I agree fully. My only point was that I doubted Harper would turn the CBC into his propaganda machine... I believe he would avoid the 'death by a thousand cuts' by simply cutting it completely. A possible, but ultimately sad, reason why Chretien and Martin have been able to get away with cutting the CBC's resources to the bone is that a majority of Canadians are not fans of CBC. The CBC's fanbase consists of fervent supporters. Having said that, I am not one of those who believes in the 'I don't listen to it so I don't want to pay for it' mantra. I just think the CBC has been beaten down largely due to apathy. In short, you can't make people care about something they view as irrelevant.

---

quote:

---

Mr. Rabinovitch, end this lockout

Dear Mr. Rabinovitch:

You are answerable for the decision to lock out your workers, and it is within your power to end the lockout. Do so, forthwith. That is, drop this absurd demand that a still-larger (and constantly growing) portion of the CBC workforce be composed of contract workers.

No-one except perhaps MBA students, and those quaint, rather pathetic figures known as neo-conservatives, can take seriously the claim that the CBC must hire more and more contract workers if it is to remain "strong, distinctive, [and] relevant" (your own words, in your Aug. 30 Globe and Mail op-ed). Nor is the claim that "the *only* way to maintain and improve service is to make the money the CBC has go further" (emphasis added) remotely plausible.

No institution can cut its way to greatness; and a CBC president truly committed to the ideals of public broadcasting would be prepared and equipped to fight for such ideals in the political realm -- that is, at the very least, to lobby Parliament and the government to restore years if not decades of budget cuts. More, he or she would be prepared and equipped to find new revenue sources; and even more important, to formulate and articulate really compelling ideas about what public broadcasting ought to be and what a public broadcaster ought to be doing.

But perhaps a CBC president with scant or no broadcast experience, appointed by the government and hoping to receive future appointments from it, would have difficulty giving more than vague rhetorical support to "the ideals of public broadcasting" -- let alone saying what they might be.

I am not a CBC employee, nor a journalist or union activist of any kind, and have no connection to the CBC other than being a long time radio listener and TV viewer, who believes that public broadcasting is a public good fundamental to any democratic society. You and your senior colleagues are -- to speak plainly -- trying to break the employees' union. To the extent that you are giving aid and comfort to those in the Conservative Party and elsewhere who fear and distrust public broadcasting, you are thereby endangering that public good.

Yours for an equitable settlement,

['lance]

---

[ 18 September 2005: Message edited by: 'lance ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by lucas:
Stewart,
I agree fully. My only point was that I doubted Harper would turn the CBC into his propaganda machine... I believe he would avoid the 'death by a thousand cuts' by simply cutting it completely. A possible, but ultimately sad, reason why Chretien and Martin have been able to get away with cutting the CBC's resources to the bone is that a majority of Canadians are not fans of CBC. The CBC's fanbase consists of fervent supporters. Having said that, I am not one of those who believes in the 'I don't listen to it so I don't want to pay for it' mantra. I just think the CBC has been beaten down largely due to apathy. In short, you can't make people care about something they view as irrelevant.

---

Sorry to keep posting replies to only Lucas, but I'm new to these forums plus my eyesight sucks and I can't stare at a computer screen forever without going cross-eyed as I attempt to learn the finer points of posting my comments.

Anyway, here's what I've done lately: I've sent e-mails to Rabinovich, the PM, and Randy Bachman (sp?) to ask him why he is on the air while his colleagues are still on the picket line.

quote:

---

Originally posted by stewart:

Sorry to keep posting replies to only Lucas, but I'm new to these forums plus my eyesight sucks and I can't stare at a computer screen forever without going cross-eyed as I attempt to learn the finer points of posting my comments.

Anyway, here's what I've done lately: I've sent e-mails to Rabinovich, the PM, and Randy Bachman (sp?) to ask him why he is on the air while his colleagues are still on the picket line.

Next, I plan to contact Eleanor Wachtel (sp?) with the same question, as well as an e-mail to Jack Layton to urge him to raise merry hell about this outrage.

---

So they're doing new programming -- it isn't just old tapes being replayed?

quote:

---

Originally posted by al-Qa'bong:

I have a question for CBC Radio listeners. Am I hearing right? Is Janice Stein scabbing for the CBC and reading the news? In any case, stories about random murder and mayhem in Chicago and Detroit aren't what I'm used to hearing on the Mother Corporation.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by al-Qa'bong:

I have a question for CBC Radio listeners. Am I hearing right? Is Janice Stein scabbing for the CBC and reading the news? In any case, stories about random murder and mayhem in Chicago and Detroit aren't what I'm used to hearing on the Mother Corporation.

---

If you are thinking that this is the Janice Stein that usually participates in panel discussions on The National, you are wrong.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Red Albertan:
Why support CBC workers, who have helped to delivered US-Propaganda to canadian homes? They're all a bunch of media whores who will sell their voice to the highest bidder. You'd think a "public broadcaster" could send some 'truth' over the airwaves that counters all the corporate- & war-friendly BS the commercial networks spread. No sympathy for disinformers.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by fern hill:
Anybody got email addresses for CBC brass?

---

As long as you have their first and last name spelled correctly you can e-mail anyone at CBC this way:

[email protected]

quote:

---

TORONTO (CP) - Famed American documentarian Michael Moore demanded
Friday that the CBC drop plans to air this weekend his Academy Award-
winning film, Bowling for Columbine, because of the month-long
lockout at the public broadcaster.

"I do not want my film being broadcast on the network unless it is
willing to let its own workers back in to work and promises to
bargain with them in good faith," Moore said in a statement Friday.

"CBC has locked out its union workers, an action that is abhorrent to
all who believe in the rights of people to collectively bargain. Why
the great and honourable CBC is behaving like an American corporation
is beyond me."

Bowling for Columbine, an examination of America's obsession with
guns and violence, is scheduled to air Sunday night on CBC and a
spokesman for the broadcaster said the documentary will be shown
despite Moore's objections.

"We've promoted the film heavily and our audiences are expecting it
to be on," said Jason MacDonald. "We will broadcast it."

Moore won an Oscar for best documentary for the film in 2003.

He used his acceptance speech at the Oscar ceremony as an opportunity
to launch a broadside against President George W. Bush and his
participation in the war in Iraq, which had been launched only a few
days earlier.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lucas:

So... is the CBC biased then, or not? Which is it? I didn't think that they were supposed to 'swing' on one side or the other. I am somewhat troubled when a public broadcaster is thought to have 'swayed' public opinion. Is that their role as journalists... to direct public opinion? Scary.[/QB]

---

Point well-taken. You're absolutely right, a journalist's role is to be balanced and fair to both sides. I guess what I'm saying is that the CBC was just that, balanced and unbiased. The fact that both sides were there and available to the public allowed people to make their own educated conclusion about the war.

Perhaps I worded it wrong when I suggested that the CBC swings one way or the other. I think we all have biases as people...and CBC journalists are no different.

However, I believe that most CBC journalists will bend over backwards to make sure that both sides (including the one they may be biased toward) get on the air. That's what they're trained to do as journalists, and that's what they do. And it's that kind of journalism that sets the CBC apart from networks like Fox or CNN...who often do act as talking heads for the U-S government.

quote:

---

Personally, I think it would help us all if the CBC gave present and future employees a multiple choice quiz to determine whether they are ideologically suited to working at our tax-funded broadcaster.

This so their heads won't explode in the middle of a news report where they're frantically trying not to say "terrorism" to describe terrorism. I suggest the following questions for weeding out anyone who lacks that tiresomely predictable CBC world view.

Ready? Here we go:

(1) The most dangerous nation in the Mideast today is:

(a) Israel (b) Israel (c) Israel (d) Israel.

(2) Canada's most dangerous religious fanatic is:

(a) Stockwell Day (b) Stockwell Day (c) Stockwell Day (d) Stockwell Day.

(3) The most dangerous media outlet/website in Canada is:

(a) The National Post (b) The Toronto Sun (c) CBC Watch (d) Norman Spector.

(4) Given that Osama bin Laden is not a terrorist is he:

(a) a "militant" (b) an "extremist" (c) a "gunman" (d) the "inevitable result of the foreign policies of The Great Satan."

(5) Given that the term "gunmen" could be offensive to non-male "gunpersons", what should the new name of CBC News editor-in-chief Tony Burman be, given that his surname could be offensive to non-male CBC staffers and to our audience:

(a) Tony Bur (b) He Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken (c) The Great Leader (d) The Dear Leader (e) The Thought Police.

(6) Given that the term "Canadian Broadcasting Corporation" could be offensive to non-male CBC staffers and to our audience, what should the new name of the CBC be:

(a) Big Brother (b) Pravda (c) Anti-Fox News (d) Al Jazeera.

If you answered a, b, c, d or e to the above questions, congratulations. How could the CBC not hire you?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Big Mac:

Ummm...do you listen to or watch the CBC? I'd say they swing way to the other side. Most of the time, the CBC jumps at any chance it gets to counter US war-speak! I would say that the coverage on CBC of the Iraq war was significantly different than what you would have seen on any private network. I would dare say the CBC's more thoughtful coverage was one of the things that swayed Canadian public opinion against the war.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Red Albertan:

There must be more than one CBC then. I found their "news reporting" (especially CBC-TV) to be in line with the corporate media, trying to make as little waves as possible. In respect to Iraq, they have adopted all the US-speak, complete with "Insurgent", when what these "Insurgents" really are is "Resistance".

---

You're right, more neutral language than "insurgent" should be used. My blood boils when I hear CNN use this term. However, "resistance" isn't neutral either. So where does political correctness stop?

I have to admit that I haven't been in Canada for almost a year, so my knowledge of whether the word "insurgent" has become widespread on CBC is limited. However, I do know that words which are less than neutral like that are usually treated with extreme caution.

If the use of this word or other words really bother you, why don't you contact Judy Maddren, host of World Report? She's the CBC's word guru and helps make these decisions.

But we should get back to the topic of this thread...and that is the 5,500 Canadian Media Guild workers who are locked out of the CBC.

They have my full support, mainly because I was once one of the contract workers that the CBC wants to hire more of.

The idea of the CBC having more flexibility to hire contract workers makes me cringe. The use and abuse of contract workers there is already widespread. The people who do it are usually strung along for years with the hope that some day they'll get a real job. Sometimes they do, but more often than not they get frustrated and go to greener pastures...like I did.

quote:

---

I would like to thank you for your e-mail message in which you express concern about the Corporation’s current labour situation.

Labour disruptions are always tremendously difficult – for our employees, for our organization, for partners, and especially for our audiences. To date, we have managed to negotiate agreements on more than half of the 40 outstanding issues. It is our hope that through continued negotiations it will allow us to work together to reach a new collective agreement – one that acknowledges the needs and aspirations of employees represented by the CMG and that recognizes CBC/Radio-Canada’s business pressures and need for change. These efforts will help to ensure that CBC/Radio-Canada and its services remain a vital and relevant part of Canadian society.

Sincerely,

Robert Rabinovitch
President and CEO and Acting Chair
Board of Directors

---

Sure, sure. I feel like writing back saying "I'm now less concerned about the Mother Corp's labour situation than about its leadership."

According to CBC Unplugged, it's the less contentious issues that have been settled so far (as is common in negotiations, of course).

[ 20 September 2005: Message edited by: 'lance ]

Once we get back, I will be known as JOHNNY CANUCK, but for the time being I am Mr Temp Name. (I registered under JC, inserting my CBC e-mail, not realizing that my password would be sent there - we have not been permited access to our CBC accounts since Aug 15 and it seems the moderators here think I am some sort of troll)

On Monday, buses of us are going to Ottawa (I am located in Toronto) to demonstrate for CBC and make our voices heard as Parliament opens.

Today, the Canadian Media Guild bargaining committee tabled an offer of settlement with the Corporation. The offer is a complete package dealing with all outstanding issues at the table.

The Guild presented the offer in response to the slow rate of progress of the talks. It took more than a week to reach agreement on the outsourcing language. It has been a week since we presented our language on the important issue of rules and procedures regarding layoffs and it appears there is a long way to go to get a settlement.

“With 5,500 members on the street, this is no time to turn the negotiations into a debating society. We need real negotiations on all the remaining issues. The dynamics of the talks had to be changed and management has to realize how important it is that we get our work done as soon as possible. With our offer of settlement, the Corporation now has an overall view of where the negotiations must go,” said Dan Oldfield, the Guild’s chief negotiator.

Our offer proposes a 60-month collective agreement expiring on March 31, 2009. We have proposed across-the-board wage increases of 3.5% in every year of the agreement, fully retroactive to April 1, 2004. We are also seeking a signing bonus of $1000 for each member who has worked 60 days or more in the 12 months prior to the lockout. The bonus would be paid out of the money saved by the Corporation during the lockout.

The agreement includes a new proposal on Employment Status that addresses the Corporation’s need for operational flexibility and improves job security and benefits, including pension, for contract employees. The proposal also permits contract employees who have been engaged for more than three years to convert to permanent staff. We’ve also proposed a type of seniority for temporary employees for access to work, and protection from termination before the agreed-upon end of engagement. And we are asking for a complete review of all non-permanent engagements to ensure that our members have been hired properly and that they are getting all their entitlements.

Some of the other highlights of the Guild package include proposals for:

• a standard workweek of 38.75 hours for all employees except those engaged in the former Unit 3 whose hours will remain at 36.25
• overtime beginning at the end of a regular work day or the end of a regular work week
• a layoff and recall process that preserves the seniority based system and provides increased opportunities for many employees to retain employment during downsizing
• better rights and fees for freelance workers
• improved annual leave entitlements
• multilingual compensation for employees who must work in two or more languages

But I can't read it, because it's the Globe...

[ 23 September 2005: Message edited by: ronb ]

[ 23 September 2005: Message edited by: Albireo ]

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Originally posted by Mr Temp Name:
it seems the moderators here think I am some sort of troll)

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Huh? I hadn't heard that. Where did you get that idea?

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Simply put, I registered as Johnny Canuck, and was told my password was sent to my CBC e-mail.

I immediately sent an e-mail explaining that as a locked-out CBC employee, I could not retrieve that e-mail, and I reproduced all the info I had supplied as proof that I was the same person, requesting the password be sent to an alternate e-mail (which could replace the CBC one).

I have yet to get a reply, and after talking to my friend here who invited me, it was her opinion they likely assumed I was a troll.

After several days, I realized I wasn't going to get any satisfaction, so I registered under an alternate name.

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Originally posted by 'lance:

Ooops - Eleanor Wachtel is OK as far as I know - I meant instead to ask Kayde Maloch(sp?) why she was on the air, but I now find that Jazz Beat is produced in Montreal, so is Jazz Beat, uh, cool?

Anyway, I've contacted my M.P. and replied to an e-mail from Rabinovich who has assured me that management is heartbroken about the whole thing, and that they are attempting to obtain a fair and equitable settlement, etc.

I've also contacted the Media Guild to offer them best wishes, as well as sending an e-mail to Jack Layton asking for his support.

One very low-tech thing people could do is somehow get their hands on a button supporting the CBC workers & wear it - many humans are walking billboards already, so one more ad wouldn't hurt...
So they're doing new programming -- it isn't just old tapes being replayed?

Bachman's show only just started a while ago, and no telling whether it would have been a short-lived gap-filler like Jeff Healey's show was ten or twelve years ago, or whether he was angling for a long-term gig. But Eleanor Wachtel has been a regular staff member there for years and years. I'd be seriously disappointed to find she was scabbing.

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Originally posted by Mr Temp Name:
I have yet to get a reply, and after talking to my friend here who invited me, it was her opinion they likely assumed I was a troll.

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Originally posted by ronb:
I missed this in yesterday's Globe: Patrick Watson wants to fire all 5,500 CBC employees and sell all the buildings.

But I can't read it, because it's the Globe...

[ 23 September 2005: Message edited by: ronb ]

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Patrick Watson, calling for the whole thing to be shut down on the grounds that the culture of "profound management ineptitude" within the corporation was too deeply rooted to change.

What is novel in Mr. Watson's prescription is what he would do next: Put the CBC's licence out to tender

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Originally posted by skdadl:
Don Ferguson, of the Royal Canadian Air Farce, wrote a stinging reply to Watson on today's op-ed page of the G&M, pointing out several tasty errors in Watson's piece along the way. Ferguson also, alas, is behind the subscription wall.

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Godsdammit, skdadl. I wish you wouldn't do things like that.

Now I'm going to have to go out and buy (or steal; from the point of view of a newspaper addict in recovery, it makes no odds) the Glob. Who knows when I'll manage to get back on the wagon again.

Mr. Ferguson's bias shows regarding the need for change in CBC's attitude toward the utilisation of taxloonies but the CBC is and has been his mealticket.

"Whenever Mr. Watson's arguments do find a toehold in reality, they're banal and trite: a purer vision, more regional representation, more bang for the buck, swifter decision-making, less committee-think. He's right to make these points. He's also kidding himself if he doesn't acknowledge that they've been part of the public discourse about CBC for decades."

Mr. Ferguson does make a very spirited defense of the status quo.

" If he doesn't watch, then he can at least read that CBC television produces hours a day of commercial-free children's programming, as well as the most extensive lineup of news and documentaries in the country."

"CBC television leaves every other broadcaster in the dust when it comes to producing primetime Canadian drama, comedy and serious arts programming."