The staffs at Minnesota Public Radio’s two music stations, 89.3 The Current and Classical MPR, have voted to unionize and join SAG-AFTRA.
In September, more more than 80 percent of the employees signed a pair of union recognition petitions, which they delivered to MPR and its parent company, American Public Media. The National Labor Relations Board held an election by mail ballot and announced Tuesday that the vote to unionize had passed.
The two new bargaining units include the staff who create content for all areas of the stations, including on-air hosts, producers and all the people who make content for The Current and Classical MPR, including Classical 24 and Performance Today. MPR News unionized its newsroom in 2016.
“This is an amazing day for those of us who work at Classical MPR,” said Classical host Steve Staruch in a news release. “We have been heard, and with SAG-AFTRA’s representation, we now have a seat at the table when decisions are made about our careers and our families. With our colleagues at The Current, we look forward to negotiating contracts that acknowledge and reward our work, our dedication and our passion for serving our listeners.”
The news is the latest in what’s been a rocky time for the St. Paul-based public radio giant, which has shed more than four dozen staffers to buyouts and layoffs. In September, longtime MPR News arts reporter Marianne Combs broke the story that Classical MPR had fired Garrett McQueen, the station’s only Black host, after he refused to stop deviating from the station’s playlist. Days later, Combs resigned after she said that her editors were sitting on a story about sexual misconduct. After blowback from listeners and Current staffers, MPR fired Current DJ Eric Malmberg, the subject of Combs’ story.
Also in September, a group of MPR and APM employees launched a website, transformmpr.org, where they shared a list of demands “to improve our company culture and our news coverage.” That same day, APMG CEO Jon McTaggart — who is one of the highest-paid public media CEOs in the country — announced he will step down from his position. He plans to stay with the company while the board seeks his replacement.
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December 10, 2020 at 06:29AM
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Staff at Minnesota Public Radio’s music stations The Current and Classical MPR have voted to unionize - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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