Re: [Swprograms] [dxld] CBC/RCI substitute programming -- CMG position

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

And the Canadian Media Guild, from http://www.cmg.ca/homepageEN.asp

August 14, 2005
Open letter to members from CMG President Lise Lareau

Dear members and colleagues:

So it?s come to this.

CBC?s managers are shutting the doors and locking us out of the places where we
have devoted so many hours working, reporting, producing, shooting, hosting and
creating CBC programming. It seems unthinkable, unnecessary, wasteful.

More than that, this is an aggressive move by any standard. I would call it
un-Canadian for a major national employer, a public broadcaster no less, to be
locking the door on 5,500 professionals. In retrospect, it would seem that
plans were in place to do this all along. It explains the absolute wall that
our bargaining committee faced, day after day, on major issues. 

This is the work of a small group of senior managers, led by VP of Human
Resources George Smith. There have already been five work stoppages at the CBC
by various unions in just under seven years. This is the third lockout. During
most of that time, Robert Rabinovitch has been president. This is a legacy that
we hope will not go unnoticed in Ottawa.

Under their leadership, the management bargaining committee demanded untenable
concessions, overwhelming changes to the way work is done at the CBC. They
wanted a workforce that would, over time, become mostly temporary. All in the
same of an ill-defined sense of efficiency and "flexibility". But, in fact,
what they seem to want does not exist at any other major broadcaster in this
country. 

This fight is about an agenda driven by senior managers who are not rooted in
the values of public broadcasting. Their focus is on appearing to be efficient
to themselves and to another small group of Ottawa bureaucrats.

Meanwhile, the people who actually do the programming and our audiences ? in
television, radio and online ? will suffer. That?s what makes it all so sad. 

But we must not get disheartened. We are on the side of reason. Now that we are
locked out, we have to rally together to be strong voices for the defense of
public broadcasting. We have to make Canadians, who own the CBC collectively,
understand and join our fight for the concept of real careers in this industry.

Lise Lareau
National President
Canadian Media Guild




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