WOWK Layoffs

[cgarison]

Bray wants everyone to work harder and longer to become number one. He finishes his motivational speech by telling you he's cutting all overtime for all departments. And if the department is understaffed, it's the department head's duty to become a wizard and make the impossible possible, or else.

You must have left before the change in Bray's overall mission for WOWK. In the beginning it was a bunch of pep rallys about being number one in the market, I remember his time frame for being #1 was 6-12 monhs. Sad thing is we were all still buying into it to some extent. Then we get the announcement that we are no longer trying be #1, our new goal was going to, and I quote, "be the dominate number two station in the market". Hell, that quote even made the station newsletter. Talk about a morale buster. Well, his plan worked a little too well, now we are #3 working on #4. I see the economic sense in such a plan, but to come in at the start proclaiming you are going to be #1 and then quickly give up makes you look like you really don't have a clue on how to run a TV station.

Translation: It is alright to be the first LOSER.

Quite honestly, I spend most of my life cruising in the No. 2 position, but when I want that top spot, I can kick it into overdrive and take my objective. And the debris that lays in my wake as I make my move is just collateral damage. No hard feelings, it is just business.

[AS400]

Count on as400 to be the Keeper of the Topic in this case....
People / are / have / or will / lose jobs. times are tough... we should all be thankfull we have jobs.
It is a changing world in both TV and Radio..

[tvnewsfan]

Dr. Whiplash: I wasn't making a defense, I was simply asking a question of someone who claimed that more people were watching WOWK and WCHS without producing the numbers to back up that claim.

[genlock]

Herald-Disgrace story:

By CHRISTIAN ALEXANDERSEN
Herald-Dispatch.com
HUNTINGTON— A small group of WOWK-TV 13 employees held an informational picket Tuesday afternoon in front of their Huntington office in response to recent contract negotiations and layoffs.

Chris Shoemaker, president of the local National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communications Workers of America chapter, said about 16 employees of the operations, engineering and commercial photography department will be affected by the proposed changes. Changes include cutting 80 hours from the department and cutting funeral, vacation and sick time, Shoemaker said.

It was also announced during preliminary contract negotiations that the station will layoff two people. One of them, Shoemaker said, has lost their health benefits because they have been moved from full-time to part time. With such a small staff, Shoemaker said the jobs are very important.

“I think today’s picket was very successful in letting management know that our entire group is united and on the same page to get the best contract we can get,” Shoemaker said. “These jobs are crucial to the community, city and state. Losing one job is as important to losing 100.”

Their contract expires at the end of August. Shoemaker said they plan on having contract negotiations with management in early August.

West Virginia Media Holdings, LLC, owns WOWK-TV 13. Company CEO Bray Cary could not be reached for comment by press time.

[genlock]

One person laid-off, one person dropped from full-time to part-time?

Is that correct?

[Donkey]

Nah, two people laid off and one reduced to part-time. However, they were already down a number of people before the lay off so I would count the people that they didn't replace for the past two years.

[NewsShoot]

From inside (during the picket), it was very interesting. John F. was pissed with a capital P. If he wasn't on the phone, he was walking around with a cocky smurk on his face and when the horns of support were blowing, it was like a stab in the heart. Of course the newsroom folks were cracking jokes, but you could tell that they were eating it up and loving every minute of it. Hey, we're all smart enough to know that if the union does anything to better this place, we'll all benefit from it. Some people were taking pictures of the rally from inside the building, really don't know what that was all about, but I can assure you, they were all walking around with big ole grins on their face.

[KeepingItReal]

Most...not all...WOWK union employees carry an attitude of entitlement that's as big as their egos. It is very funny to watch the arrogant ones prance around like they are a force to be reckoned with. If their skills were as good as they believe them to be, this would be the best technically run station on the planet. Unfortunatly that is not the case.

[Mr. Jones]

http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/080 ... icket.html

[fearpeddler]

love the shirts!!! who can i email to get one?

[genlock]

Nah, two people laid off and one reduced to part-time. However, they were already down a number of people before the lay off so I would count the people that they didn't replace for the past two years.

I don't really think you can count them. Most likely they were economic cutbacks.
Just as the resent lay-offs are. Things are not going well in TV lately.

Look, If management dictates you to work with a shorthanded force, just do it.
Do the best you can with what you are given to work with. Then go home.
If they cut overtime, enjoy the time off.
If the managers are under pressure to do more with less, let them do the work of the non-existent people.
In tough times, management will depend on over-achievers to fill the holes and work harder.
If you are not satisfied at WOWK, by all means try to find someplace better to work.
You are just an employee number to them. You are not family.
Things are not likely to get better there.

[fearpeddler]

If you are not satisfied at WOWK, by all means try to find someplace better to work.
You are just an employee number to them. You are not family.
Things are not likely to get better there.

You're just an employee these days no matter where you go, they dont care if they're just barely paying you enough to drive to work let alone pay all your bills, as long as the stockholders are happy thats all that matters.

[tmyk]

I don't really think you can count them. Most likely they were economic cutbacks.
Just as the resent lay-offs are. Things are not going well in TV lately.

Look, If management dictates you to work with a shorthanded force, just do it.
Do the best you can with what you are given to work with. Then go home.
If they cut overtime, enjoy the time off.
If the managers are under pressure to do more with less, let them do the work of the non-existent people.
In tough times, management will depend on over-achievers to fill the holes and work harder.
If you are not satisfied at WOWK, by all means try to find someplace better to work.
You are just an employee number to them. You are not family.
Things are not likely to get better there.

I have to agree with the Great Genlock on this.. Things are not getting any better for any of us..

[Arp2]

By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter

...Chris Shoemaker, president of the local, said, “they are laying off members of our union and have reduced one full time person to part time,” which means that individual loses their health benefits.

Dear Mr Tony Rutherford, Huntingtonnews.net Reporter,

"Individual" is, perhaps, the most obviously singular word there is; "their," the possessive of "they," is plural and cannot be used there. You must use the more appropriate of "his" and "her;" in the event that you don't know and simply refuse to use the English-language rule of "masculine preferred" out of a sheepish bowing-down before the mind control of political correctness, you may choose "his or her."

[fearpeddler]

Nobodys answered my question about the t-shirts yet.....

[NewsShoot]

Nobodys answered my question about the t-shirts yet.....

I'm not in the union, but I'll bet that if we showed up and supported their next picket (cause you know there's going to be more), they might give us one.

[old school tv]

Most...not all...WOWK union employees carry an attitude of entitlement that's as big as their egos. It is very funny to watch the arrogant ones prance around like they are a force to be reckoned with. If their skills were as good as they believe them to be, this would be the best technically run station on the planet. Unfortunatly that is not the case.

This is so true,most of them don't even know the basic production techniques.Much room for improvement,maybe if they learn then they can ask for more.

[cgarison]

I don't really think you can count them. Most likely they were economic cutbacks.
Just as the resent lay-offs are. Things are not going well in TV lately.

Look, If management dictates you to work with a shorthanded force, just do it.
Do the best you can with what you are given to work with. Then go home.
If they cut overtime, enjoy the time off.
If the managers are under pressure to do more with less, let them do the work of the non-existent people.
In tough times, management will depend on over-achievers to fill the holes and work harder.
If you are not satisfied at WOWK, by all means try to find someplace better to work.
You are just an employee number to them. You are not family.
Things are not likely to get better there.

I have to agree with the Great Genlock on this.. Things are not getting any better for any of us..

I became an expert in doing more work with fewer resources out of necessity of absorbing the work of up to 3 employees on my desk at nearly every job I have had. Now my job is finding work arounds to make up the difference when the company chooses not to refill positions when people quit. I get at least a phone call a day to help out companies with issues like this.

[NewsShoot]

Most...not all...WOWK union employees carry an attitude of entitlement that's as big as their egos. It is very funny to watch the arrogant ones prance around like they are a force to be reckoned with. If their skills were as good as they believe them to be, this would be the best technically run station on the planet. Unfortunatly that is not the case.

This is so true,most of them don't even know the basic production techniques.Much room for improvement,maybe if they learn then they can ask for more.

Yes, there are a couple who don't set a very good example, but there are 5 times as many non-union employees who are just as bad and worse. I have to work with 2 of them. And "old school tv", maybe you could spend some time in the production room and show them how they could do things better. From your response, I would assume that you know at least the basic production techniques. Better yet, let Allen take care of it. Isn't it his reponsibility?

[salesjunky]

Isn't this an interesting situation... Nothing says we want a good contact like let's run the companies name through the mud... I would say if your owner wasn't happy with the union there before this did nothing to make things better...

I understand that jobs were lost and probably more will be lost by the way things have been written on here... But how did this help? And how will more of them help?

I mean a job is a job... A couple of people lost a job there but there are a lot more people losing there jobs everyday and you don't see them running around with shirts and crying about it to the press... If you are good at what you do then you shouldn't have any problem getting a new job... But if you were part-time then they probably didn't value your skills in the first place and they found an easy way to save some money...

But the sad thing is... There is no perfect place to work... Yeah this place may be #3 and the others may be ahead of you... But I promise one thing... They are getting cut somewhere and it sucks just as bad to work there as it does at your station...

It just all seems foolish if you are truthfully looking for a contract that is fair and if you are actually happy to work for the company...

Who am I though... I just make a bunch of money selling the stuff you all hate doing... At least one of us is coming out on top... Plus the production department at my station isn't union and they actually enjoy doing what they do...