CBS News and the Writers Guild of America, which represents 500 of the network’s news employees reached an agreement on a new contract. The deal proposes a 3.5 percent salary raise both this year and next and includes a 90-day notification and bargaining period if CBS should decides to consolidate its operations. It has yet to be ratified by the membership.
The NYT reports the deal ends a two-and-a-half-year dispute that led to the cancellation of a presidential primary debate last month. The news staff working for CBS radio and TV stations in N.Y, L.A, Chicago and Washington have been working without a contract since April 2005.
In December, 250 members of the guild ratified a similar deal with ABC News.