AFTRA’s local Peoria chapter has resoundingly rejected Granite Broadcasting‘s “last, best, and final” labor offer to employees of WEEK-WHOI.
Since February, staffers at the Central Illinois NBC-ABC-CW outpost have been working without a formal labor deal and, according to the Peoria Journal Star, AFTRA representatives voted 27 to 1 on Friday to reject the so-called “final” proposal submitted by Granite at the end of March.
While anchors, reporters, photojournalists, producers, and other WEEK-WHOI staffers continued to work without a deal in place, the union authorized anchor Garry Moore, the local union president, to call a strike.
Moore, who has not been immediately available for comment today, told the Star yesterday that some type of job action was possible. AFTRA plans to hold a public rally at the WEEK-WHOI studios on Wednesday to emphasize the impact local news has in the community.