Oct. 1, 2021: We’re excited to announce that we’ve ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with NPR.
We believe this new contract will improve our members’ lives and working conditions, as well as make NPR a more equitable and inclusive workplace. Here are some highlights:
1) Our union secured *20 weeks* of fully-paid parental leave — up from a previous 8 weeks — and 26 weeks of job protection for the birth, adoption, foster or other placement of a child.
2) We secured an overhaul of the minimum salary system that we believe will bring greater pay transparency and equity back to NPR — and what’s more, about 150 people in our union will receive raises in January as a result of these new minimums.
3) We created a new, more transparent promotions process that will give employees, in writing, an explanation if their promotion request is denied — and the right to appeal that denial through our union.
4) For the first time ever, we succeeded in getting NPR to agree to both minimum pay for interns and a pay increase for interns through the length of the contract.
5) NPR has agreed to bargain and work cooperatively with SAG-AFTRA over provisions related to the future of our work, including how the company decides what type of work is best performed on-site vs. what can be performed remotely (or a hybrid combination).
6) Our union won new protections for temporary employees and a higher minimum salary for our most entry-level positions, as well as limits on how long the company can keep employees at this lowest level.
7) NPR has now agreed to negotiations with our union over members receiving a percentage of money from film/TV/other projects based on our work. The company has also agreed to negotiate over our ability to keep the rights to original ideas, shows and concepts.
8) NPR has agreed to expand our bereavement leave, and will also grant bereavement leave for miscarriages and stillbirth.
9) The company has agreed to improve its policies over protection from online harassment, including an agreement to work with our union over safety services NPR may make available to people, and what steps the company will take in cases of severe harassment.
10) Last summer, our union released a series of demands related to diversity, equity and inclusion. After a year of productive dialogue with management, we’re extremely excited to have secured several new contract provisions stemming from those demands:
a) NPR has agreed that at least 30% of external candidates interviewed for all positions will be from underrepresented groups that advance NPR’s diversity goals.
b) The company has agreed to request an exit interview from departing employees and establish a standardized set of questions as part of its efforts to better retain a diverse workforce.
c) The company has agreed to conduct regular pay equity studies.
d) NPR has committed to include minimum salaries in job postings for the vast majority of positions in our bargaining unit.
e) Our new contract will clearly define the process for requesting disability accommodations, NPR’s obligations to provide them and examples of the kinds of accommodations possible.
f) We secured language making it easier for employees to take time off for holidays, religious or cultural observances that are not part of NPR’s holiday calendar.
g) Moving close to industry best practices, NPR has agreed to prohibit the use of non-disclosure or non-disparagement agreements in cases of sexual harassment, discrimination or retaliation, unless an employee specifically requests it and SAG-AFTRA agrees.
h) NPR agreed to a comprehensive, transparent and ongoing review of the editorial style guide and corrections process, with the goal of ensuring the newsroom has access to clear and updated policies. The company will also consult journalist affinity groups as part of this work.
We are thrilled about the many victories won for our union through the course of these negotiations, and we are so grateful for the support from our listeners and colleagues throughout the public media and greater news industry.
We hope many of these provisions will serve as new standards for the public media ecosystem.
(And if you’re a unionized public media station and want to talk about getting some of these provisions into your contracts, please reach out. We’d love to help.)
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