SAG-AFTRA has scored a big win for 8 employees it says were fired for starting a union. The labor organization reached a settlement worth almost $500,000 with Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) that includes reinstatement of employees “unlawfully terminated” and payment of back wages for the months they were unemployed.
The employees from L.A. SBS radio stations LA RAZA (KLAX 97.9 FM) and MEGA (KXOL 96.3 FM), who voted to join the union in August 2016, were fired in March of this year.
“Reinstating the employees with full back pay, expenses, and interest sends the message loud and clear to the workforce at SBS, and throughout the industry, that employers cannot get away with firing employees for exercising their right to unionize,” says Julie Gutman Dickinson, an attorney for SAG-AFTRA working on the case since July of last year.
SAG-AFTRA accused SBS of violating fair labor practices and multiple other charges in a complaint filed before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in October.
Five of the fired staffers will return, including on-air personality Marlene Quintero and Félix Castillo, aka DJ Mr Boro, who actively campaigned for the union and for reinstatement after the firing. Three others opted to move on.
For the names of all employees scheduled to return and details of the settlement, check out the story in Forbes.
