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CBS News saw staffers walk off the job on Tuesday amid an ongoing labor dispute.
Writers Guild of America East members at CBS News 24/7 held a 24-hour walkout on Tuesday, claiming management failed to reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement with the 60-member bargaining unit. The current contract expired on March 9, and union members believe CBS is offering a “worse” deal.
Unionized CBS News 24/7 staffers believe they need “to protect their livelihoods during a period of uncertainty in broadcast news,” pointing to “layoffs, editorial interference and political pressure” that have become “existential threats” following last year’s Paramount-Skydance merger, according to the guild.
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The bargaining unit is asking for “fair pay, respect and a sustainable work-life balance.”
The CBS News 24/7 Union bargaining committee and contract action team told Fox News Digital that “management refuses to agree to a new contract with essential work protections and fair wages,” so a walkout was necessary.
“Despite multiple days of good faith negotiations and a strike pledge signed by 95% of our members to emphasize the seriousness of our demands, management continues to offer us worse terms than in our last contracts. We chose this field to cover the news, but we believe this work stoppage is necessary to achieve a fair contract. We eagerly await an acceptable contract offer from Paramount—which just shelled out tens of billions of dollars to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery,” the CBS News 24/7 Union bargaining committee said.
After the Paramount-Skydance merger closed, David Ellison took control of the combined company and installed Bari Weiss as CBS News’ new editor-in-chief, acquiring her outlet The Free Press in the process.
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Weiss’ CBS has become a target of the left, who insist the organization has worked to appease the Trump administration, although it has continued to publish critical reports.
Last month, Netflix dropped its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery after the studio announced Paramount’s offer to buy the entire company was “superior.” Paramount, the parent company of CBS, is now set to acquire WBD for $31 per share, putting the company’s valuation at $111 billion.
“Paramount has billions to spend acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, but still hasn’t guaranteed fair wages and basic job protections for the workers who make their streaming news operation run,” WGAE Vice President Beth Godvik said.
“Our members are walking out today to show management they stand united in their demand for a fair contract,” Godvik continued. “And the WGAE is with them every step of the way.”
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CBS News management disagrees with the union.
“We continue to negotiate in good faith and hope to reach a fair resolution quickly,” a CBS News spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
More than 2,900 union members and supporters of the CBS News 24/7 Union have sent letters to management urging them to agree to a fair contract for WGAE members at CBS News 24/7, according to the guild. Tuesday’s walkout featured staffers from CBS News locations in New York and San Francisco.
Paramount slashed roughly 1,000 jobs across the company last fall, many of them affecting CBS News, with plans to cut more.
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Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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