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Telemundo 52 talent

On-air talent at Telemundo Los Angeles votes for union representation

January 23, 2023 by Veronica Villafañe 3 Comments

Twenty six years after a group of KVEA Telemundo 52 reporters tried and failed to get union representation, the current on-air talent at the Los Angeles station has succeeded.

On an overwhelming 18-1 vote, anchors and reporters have been recognized as a bargaining unit of SAG-AFTRA. The election, which took place by mail over the span of two weeks, was overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.

The results were officially made known by SAG-AFTRA on Friday, January 20.

Contract negotiations are expected to start over the next few months.

In a SAG-AFTRA release, organizing committee representatives stated: “We look forward to working with management on improving the working conditions for KVEA-TV’s extraordinary talent who exist as part of Los Angeles’ biggest duopoly, but lack the same working conditions that our peers receive.”

Among the issues to be discussed is providing additional pay for Spanish-language Telemundo talent who report in English for NBC.

Inside sources shared they started a move to organize in 2022, after sensing the new GM of the Los Angeles NBC and Telemundo duopoly, Todd Mokhtari, would be receptive.

They said that under prior management they were afraid to even reach out to SAG-AFTRA for fears of retaliation and termination, given the history of prior attempts to unionize.

In 1996, after an AFTRA election ended in a tie vote, the contracts of six pro-union reporters were not renewed or terminated.*

Despite sharing a newsroom with KNBC – a SAG-AFTRA shop – for many years, Telemundo Los Angeles anchors and reporters remained non-union until now.

SAG-AFTRA already represents on-air talent at Telemundo stations in New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. After a years-long effort, the union signed a contract to represent actors and performers at Telemundo Studios.

*Disclosure: I was among the six reporters laid off as a result of the then AFTRA election.

Filed Under: People Tagged With: Telemundo 52

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. James says

    January 23, 2023 at 10:49 PM

    Gracias Celia por haberte largado….Por fin…se logro…Fatima ya no tenia a quien ponerle el dedo..amen

    Reply
  2. David says

    January 24, 2023 at 8:41 PM

    Make sure to read the contract and NEGOTIATE before signing! Telemundo Chicago sadly did NOT.

    Reply
  3. Ruben Chavez Gonçalvez says

    January 27, 2023 at 1:36 AM

    I’m wondering who voted against the REPRESENTATION. A new contract agreement would take years and the fight is not over and the company won’t give away anything.
    Stay strong!

    Reply

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Veronica Villafañe, Editor & Publisher

Emmy award-winning journalist and former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). Currently a reporter for Voice of America, she has worked as an on-air reporter, anchor, writer and producer for Spanish and English-language TV, print and online media, including Univision, Telemundo, Fox 11 News in L.A. and the San Jose Mercury News.

Hispanic media and entertainment contributor to Forbes.

Full bio here
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Veronica Villafañe, Editor & Publisher

Emmy award-winning journalist and former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). Currently a reporter for Voice of America, she has worked as an on-air reporter, anchor, writer and producer for Spanish and English-language TV, print and online media, including Univision, Telemundo, Fox 11 News in L.A. and the San Jose Mercury News.

Hispanic media and entertainment contributor to Forbes.

Full bio here
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