After two years of representation, workers at the Orlando-based Golf Channel say they are fed up and want out of their union.
The worker who is initiating this process is Golf Channel camera operator John Gallagher. Gallagher says he and his fellow co-workers are tired of the promises made by the union that they haven’t delivered.
In an exclusive interview with Sunshine State News, Gallagher said it all began five to six years ago when camera operators and technicians who produce golf tournaments and other programming for the channel pushed to have a union.
So, then, in came the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) as the monopoly bargaining unit representing the union. At the beginning, the union reps made claims that they could get the workers a guaranteed contract, a 10 percent to15 percent pay increase and job security.
But Gallagher said after two years of negotiation, since the unions couldn’t make good their promises, he and fellow co-workers wanted out. “It was all hype,” he said.
So Gallagher filed a petition requesting a decertification election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to leave the union. He collected the necessary number of signatures from his fellow employees, and filed the petition June 12.
But IATSE bosses responded by demanding a hearing to try to block the vote from taking place. IATSE officials wanted the NLRB to toss out the Golf Channel workers' petition based on a “technicality” of their “statement of procedures form.”
The National Right to Work Foundation -- a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses -- came to Gallagher's defense and the petition was granted.
Mark Mix, president of National Right to Work, said, “Gallagher and his fellow employees successfully fought off attempts by IATSE officials to stop them from even having a vote to throw out the unwanted union. This case shows the bureaucratic hurdles that union bosses regularly use to hold on to their monopoly power and stifle the will of independent workers.”
A man who know this issue all too well is Dave Bego. Bego, an entrepreneur and business owner is the author of the book, "The Devil At Our Doorstep." His book describes the impact of unions on the economic and political landscape of America.
Bego says the Golf Channel issue is a perfect example of the problems with unions today. “Many of the union workers aren’t happy with their union bosses. And their union bosses aren’t telling them the truth,” Bego told Sunshine State News.
Bego says, “We need to continue to expose the need for Right to Work, not only here in Florida but throughout the country.”
As of July 15, the Golf Channel workers' decertification election was being held by mail-in ballot. We will let you know the outcome when the counting is done.
Ed Dean, a senior editor with SSN whose talk-show can be heard on radio stations across Florida, can be reached at ed@sunshinestatenews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @eddeanradio.
