National Labor Relations Board Orders CNN to Rehire, Compensate 300 Former Workers

The National Labor Relations Board is ordering CNN to rehire 100 workers and compensate 300 total employees who were replaced 11 years ago.

Variety reports the ruling stems from CNN’s decision to replace unionized workers.

The 11-year dispute stems from CNN’s decision to replace a unionized subcontractor called Team Video Services, which provided the network with audio and video technicians, with an in-house nonunion work force in its Washington and New York bureaus. The Labor Board found “overwhelming” evidence of anti-union animus in CNN’s failure to bargain with the union about the decision to terminate the subcontracts. The org also found CNN had implemented a hiring plan designed to limit the number of discharged TVS employees to avoid a successorship bargaining obligation.

Advertisement

“CNN disagrees with the NLRB decision and we are evaluating our options,” a CNN spokesperson tells TVNewser. The decision to compel CNN to rehire and compensate the workers comes weeks after CNN and HLN offered hundreds of employees buyouts with the promise of additional staffing reductions in the months ahead. The buyout offers are taking place across Turner Broadcasting as part of the “Turner 2020” plan.