"Golf Channel, union still at odds as strike continues"
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We'll find out during CareerBuilder Challenge and Mitsubishi Electric (PGA Tour Champions) coverage just how impacted coverage is, but I suspect we won't see anything like Sunday's Sony Open telecast.
Martin Kaufmann writing for Golfweek.com with this update on the strike against Golf Channel by the union representing the production crews.
“Our contingency plans are fully operational …,” Golf Channel spokesman David Schaefer said. “We will continue to deliver coverage with this week’s full slate of tournaments, as well as support the union members who have chosen to come back to work.”
The dispute between Golf Channel and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents about 350 technicians, has been simmering for several years.
Randy Koury, a Golf Channel cameraman and union steward, said that the technicians already were unhappy with two changes Golf Channel made to pay and benefits four years ago, after it was folded into the NBC Sports Group: cutting the work day from 10 hours to 8 hours – effectively a 20 percent pay cut – and eliminating catering of two meals without increasing the per diem.
Koury said those changes “were the tipping point” that led the technicians to unionize.