With CBS News transferring ahead with its second spherical of layoffs for the reason that community’s proprietor, Paramount, merged with Skydance Media and Friday’s announcement that the almost 100-year previous CBS News Radio can be shut down, the group representing media tech workers is asking for extra oversight.
In an announcement on Friday, the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) stated the sudden developments have been trigger for concern.
“The IBEW is proud of its longstanding partnership with CBS and is deeply troubled to be learning of these developments only now,” the union stated in a press release. “CBS works because of the skill, dedication, and professionalism of the IBEW technical and production workers who make its broadcasts possible. The IBEW believes that a workforce of this caliber—and partnership of this duration—warrants direct and transparent communication about decisions that affect the livelihoods of its members.”
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“Skydance’s actions raise serious questions about the future of good union jobs in broadcasting,” the union added. “And with Skydance reportedly planning to merge CBS News into NCS following its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, lawmakers and regulators must ask whether further consolidation in the broadcast industry will help working people or hurt them.”
IBEW International President Kenneth W. Cooper known as on the corporate to behave extra professionally with regards to such incidents.
“Our members and this union deserve to hear about decisions that affect their livelihoods with proper notice, not in headlines the same day they’re being shown the door,” he stated.
Although the businesses formally merged in 2025, they’re within the midst of a deal to amass Warner Bros. Discovery after beating out Netflix, in a deal valued at $111 billion.
IBEW’s announcement comes every week after the Teamsters union submitted an in depth report back to the DOJ’s Antitrust Division outlining its personal issues in regards to the proposed merger and urging the DOJ to intervene and block the deal until substantial and enforceable safeguards are put in place to extend home manufacturing and defend jobs. warned
“This merger threatens the livelihoods of the very workers who built these studios into industry giants,” stated Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “We’ve seen what happens when corporations consolidate power: jobs disappear, production leaves American communities, and workers pay the price. The DOJ has a responsibility to stop deals that eliminate competition and harm working families. Unless Paramount and Warner Bros. can guarantee enforceable protections for domestic production and labor standards, this merger can’t be allowed to move forward.”