The New York City Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises is meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss whether Cablevision violated any portion of its franchise agreement with the city amid its ongoing battle with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
The subcommittee was about to conduct the 2 p.m. EST meeting, with members of the union and the MSO on hand, as of the posting of this story. Updates are pending.
Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) has been at odds since 2012 with its Brooklyn-based technical workers, who organized themselves under the CWA banner.
On Tuesday, BerlinRosen Public Affairs, which represents the union, sent a note to media, alerting them to the City Hall meeting and noting, "In response to Cablevision's multi-year record of flagrant violations of federal labor law and its employees rights, which have been documented in three extensive complaints issued by the National Labor Relations Board, the New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will hold a hearing Tuesday on whether Cablevision is violating the terms of its cable franchise, which clearly states that 'Franchisee shall recognize the right of its employees to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing in accordance with applicable law.'"
Cablevision responded with this statement: "The New York City Council has absolutely no oversight over our franchise. The CWA, [union legislative director] Bob Master and the Working Families Party have infiltrated every level of New York City government and it is often hard to tell one from the other. The City Council instead should be stopping the CWA and the Working Families Party from their efforts to block our Brooklyn employees from voting to remove the CWA union."
Developing …
For more:
- see this New York City Council agenda item
- read this Communications Workers of America press release
Related links:
Cablevision accuses NYC Mayor and CWA of 'scheming' in secret meeting
Cablevision CEO James Dolan fights big labor in NYC … as pro-union mayor takes over Big Apple
Cablevision's Dolan accused of union-busting by NLRB
Cablevision sees 3.7% revenue spike despite worst-ever quarterly subscriber loss
Cablevision sues Brooklyn local CWA for accusing it of racism
Cablevision: Majority of Brooklyn workers still want out of union
Unionized Brooklyn Cablevision techs release YouTube music video: 'Strike'
Bronx Cablevision technicians reject proposal to join CWA