WFAE journalists want to become the first public radio station in the Carolinas to unionize. Will they succeed?

WFAE may become the first public radio station in the Carolinas to form a union. On Tuesday, a group of content staff members — hosts, reporters, producers and other journalists — announced their intention to unionize in tweets issued under the handle @wemakewfae.

More than 70% of WFAE’s content staff signed on to a petition to form a union, the organizing committee said in the tweet thread and accompanying press release. The petition does not include newsroom managers.

The committee cited wanting “a seat at the table in making big decisions about the station’s future and in negotiating our wages, salaries and working conditions” as the main drivers for forming a union.

WFAE has undergone a period of growth and content expansion in recent years. In the press release, the committee said it’s “an exciting and critical moment” and that “a long-term investment in staff will improve morale and reduce staff turnover.”

WFAE weekend host and reporter Nick de la Canal said ina tweetthat amidst the outlet’s growth — including an upcoming move to a new location in uptown Charlotte — there has also been “significant staff turnover.”

WFAE President and CEO Joe O’Connor declined to comment to WUNC when asked about the announcement. A WFAE web articlequotes O’Connor as saying that “he will be happy to work with SAG-AFTRA if employees decide on union representation.”

Since the announcement, WFAE content staff members shared support for the union effort on Twitter using the hashtag #WeMakeWFAE.

“As public radio reporter, host & producer for 15 years. I savor so many moments - covering hurricanes, investigating housing & homelessness in #CLT, bringing a local perspective to climate news, and working with great people. Today, another big moment,” wrote WFAE reporter David Boraks, whose stories are often published on wunc.org.

WFAE newscaster Kenneth Lee Jr. said he is “excited and proud to stand with my fellow reporters/hosts/producers/content creators in asking station leaders to voluntarily recognize our union.”

WFAE employees are working through SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

“The fact that more than 70% of WFAE’s content creators signed the petition to form a union in North Carolina, one of the most challenging states in the nation for union organizing, signals a sea change,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland in the press release. “The pro-union, pro-worker movement is strong and can’t be contained by traditional thinking about where unions can and cannot succeed.”

South and North Carolina have the lowest and second lowest union member rates in the country at 1.7% and 2.6% respectively, according to the latest available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national average for union members sits at 10.3%.

At this point in the process, National Organizing Director at SAG-AFTRA Maggie Russell-Brown says they’ve “extended a hand to upper management at WFAE and continue to hold the door open for voluntary recognition. However, we'll use every process to secure the right to collective bargaining."

WFAE senior leadership can voluntarily recognize the union. That process allows SAG-AFTRA to represent the content staff without having to move to an election. If leadership does not recognize the union, then the National Labor Relations Board will conduct an election. If a majority those voting choose to unionize, then the board will certify the union.

Pay inequity and more representation drive media unionization

The station is in “good company” with their move to unionize, said de la Canal on Twitter. Over the past few years, public radio stations including WHYY in Philadelphia, WNYC in New York City and WBUR in Boston formed unions. In 2021, NPR — which is a union outlet — signed a new collective bargaining agreement. These stations, and possibly soon WFAE, are members of SAG-AFTRA.

Pay inequity and a desire for a stronger role in shaping the future of organizations are common reasons for union pushes by public media outlets. At WAMU in Washington, D.C., staff also highlighted “deeply ingrained internal racism, high turnover among women of color” and a lack of protections for temporary employees in their union petition.

The public media’s uptick in labor organizing is playing out in a new, more union-friendly environment. A recent Gallup poll released in August shows that overall, Americans’ approval of labor unions is at the highest point since 1965.

David Zonderman, a professor of history at NC State specializing in American labor history, says there are a couple of theories behind the media union wave that “make sense” to him.

“A lot of traditional news organizations have had massive cuts and layoffs. And so a lot of content and newsroom employees have organized to protect their jobs,” said Zonderman.

Pro-union sentiment among younger workers may be a big contributor, said Zonderman.

“In a lot of the so-called ‘new media’, you often have younger reporters, younger bloggers, people like that. And just recently, we have data showing that the public perception of unions is more positive than it's been in about 50 years, and particularly among younger workers.”

But Zonderman also says some workplaces have responded to those union efforts with hostility. And the battles can be drawn out. At WAMU it took 40 months for the 55 staff union members to secure their first contract.

“Some, what I would call progressive, nonprofits have become very hostile to their own staff organizing,” said Zonderman.

Organizing in an anti-union state

Forming a union is a challenging endeavor in North Carolina, says Zonderman.

North Carolina is a right-to-work state, which means if an employee goes to work somewhere that’s under a union contract, that worker is entitled to the benefits of the contract — like receiving union representation — but they do not have to pay union dues. A 2018 Supreme Court rulingextended that principle to the public sector as well.

“So now public sector workers who go to a public sector workplace that has a union contract can become what unions call ‘free riders,’” said Zonderman. “It's designed so that unions look and say, ‘Well, gee, do we really want to organize in this state? We're gonna have to bust their butt to organize people and get them a contract, and then they don't even have to pay union dues.’ So yeah, North Carolina has always been a hard state to organize in.”

Zonderman says there have been “some victories” including that nurses at Mission Health in Asheville, who unionized two years ago, are now celebrating $22 million in wage hikes that went into effect Sept. 11.

Public sector employees in North Carolina are in a unique situation when it comes to unions.

“Among public workers, it's illegal to get a collectively bargained contract. But it's not illegal to join a union,” says Zonderman. “It makes it harder to organize, no doubt about it.”

As for WUNC

WUNC, a partner station with WFAE that participates in broadcast and digital news content-sharing agreements, is a university-affiliated non-profit within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This makes WUNC’s permanent employees also state employees. The station's news department is editorially independent from the university.

WUNC’s new President and General Manager Paul Hunton – who formally stepped into the role on October 3 — confirmed that “all personnel actions go through the university.” Hunton said he was unaware of WUNC staffers ever taking steps toward union formation.