Washington:More than 200 NBC, MSNBC and Today Show employees will walk off the job on Thursday to protest company layoffs of union workers, the NBC news guild said in a statement.
“Over 200 @NBCNews, @MSNBC, and @TODAYshow journalists are walking off the job tomorrow,” the NBC guild said in a tweet Wednesday. “NBC has repeatedly broken the law, disrespected the rights of its employees, and illegally terminated hard-working union journalists. Enough is enough.”
In a letter to NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde and other executives, the guild demanded the network reinstate their colleagues and bargain towards a fair contract.
The guild also said it will hold a “solidarity rally” on Thursday outside 30 Rock to talk about the union’s fight against NBC.
On January 13, a day after the network “illegally” fired seven bargaining union members and told others they were no longer protected, the union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against the company at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), according to the letter.
The union has been tied up in protracted contract negotiations with NBC management since the guild began in 2019.
An NBC spokesperson told The Washington Post that the network was disappointed by the NewsGuild’s continued attempts to “misrepresent the facts” as they work in good faith to reach an agreement.