St. Louis Public Radio Reporters Unionize

"We want make this a place where people can work for a long time," photojournalist Brian Munoz says

Jun 30, 2023 at 11:35 am

DOYLE MURPHY

St. Louis Public Radio in Grand Center.

Reporters at St. Louis Public Radio have voted to unionize, their guild announced today.

The announcement comes after a group of the station's journalists, producers, on-air talent and marketing staff voted on whether or not to join the Communication Workers of America, with the yeses carrying the day by a roughly 80-20 margin.

The Communication Workers of America is a union with about 700,000 members in the United States and Canada.

St. Louis Public Radio is operated by the University of Missouri-St. Louis, part of the University of Missouri System, which is the entity the union will now negotiate with.

Tammy Chaffee, a district organizing coordinator with the Communication Workers of America, said in a statement that the union welcomed the guild of St. Louis Public Radio workers. “Journalism is critical to our democracy, and we want to ensure STLPR’s staff has a seat at the bargaining table, so they can continue doing their best work," she said.

Sk8Liborius Fire 'Destroyed' Nearby Urban Farm: New Roots Urban Farm lost between 5,000 to 7,000 pounds of food

In the guild's statement, it pointed out that the University of Missouri System didn't allow many non-reporting positions and support staff, such as business and events staff, to join the union, part of what the guild called "a larger anti-union campaign."

Photojournalist and guild member Brian Munoz tells the RFT that they are "strategizing" on how to get those individuals into the new union as well.

Munoz says that one of the union's goals will be pushing back against reductions to paid time off, which have recently been implemented across the entire University of Missouri System. (Before making the change, the System poled its four campuses about the proposed reduction and found that only 2 percent of staff approved of it, according to information obtained through an open record request.)

The union will also work to boost the salaries of some employees. Munoz says there are some station employees who, despite having worked many years at the station, are making significantly less than shorter-tenured, similarly credentialed employees.

"We want make this a place where people can work for a long time," Munoz says. "We want people to be able to create long-term careers in the community they love. You know, the University of Missouri System has shown us that that's not always their intention. They will always be looking at the bottom line."