Say No to NPR's Anti Labor Firing of a Union Negotiator

In 1997 the engineering Unit of NPR began the process of Unionization. NPR management hired a large outside law firm to attempt to thwart these Unionization efforts. NPR filed many costly appeals. Finally, after the appeals and two votes, NABET-CWA was certified as the Engineering Union of NPR in 1999. After long arduous expensive negotiations the first contract was signed in 2002.

NPR violated the contract and a large amount of grievances had to be filed. NPR continued to pay their inside legal team and outside hired expensive law firms. For the second contract negotiations, NPR management hired an additional outside large expensive law firm. One of the negotiators who had also been involved in the Union mobilization efforts and a staunch supporter of workers fair rights was then fired by NPR management. That same negotiator was also utilizing the provisions of the FMLA at the time of her firing.

After the negotiator made her thoughts clear on the then current contract non favorable to workers rights proposal, the negotiator, was brought in to meetings and told she would be terminated for any absences FMLA or not and/or any inadvertent errors. The Negotiator had had an excellent professional record and had been an employee of NPR's for 12 years, and with a family and a young child.

NPR Management concurred that the Union did not agree with what they were doing, NPR was told by Union officials that NPR management was in violation of the contract. However, NPR Management fired the negotiator anyway and the workers voted for NPR's contract. Further resulting in another labor violation and insult: a Union worker would not want to volunteer to be a negotiator unless that volunteer made sure to agree with (NPR) Management.

NPR continues to violate their worker's rights and contract, and still resulting in more and more legal costs from their inside legal team and additionally hired expensive outside law firms.