I just found out, starting now, CBS will not pay part time employees holiday pay, when they work holidays anymore.
All I know is that holiday pay, which is typically time and a half, is the main incentive for part timers to give up time on their holidays to work, rather than spend it with their families.

Am I the only one tired of CBS and corporate radio treating their employees this way?
Radio workers Union, anyone?

I’ve been in the biz for over thirty years, and never have I seen it this bad.

What a load of cow-shit! How in the hell is CBS going to keep employees when they treat them like this?

And who in the hell is going to work on holidays now that they enforced this ridiculous rule??

IS this even legal?? If I was working at CBS, I would check the labor laws to make sure this is legal. Full Time employees they could NEVER get away with doing this, but Partimers?? I guess your screwed!

When I was a GM/ PD, not only would I make sure my part timers got time and a half on Holidays, I’d also negotiate with my sales staff to get them some kind of trade from oil change shops, restaurants, ect., to show my appreciation.

By all accounts the PD’s at CBS are good people, and this decision was not theirs. Hopefully, they will step up and compensate the part timers stuck working Thanksgiving, or Christmas eve with something similar as I did.

The heads on the chopping block, and the axe has been raised. Just a matter of time before the axe falls at CBS; This latest situation is just a taste of what’s to come.

Thumbsdown to CBS.

Hey Eugenebob,
Its Called Voice tracking! I guarantee you that will be mandatory for all holidays. No part-timers would be dumb enough to put up with this.

Talk about getting raped by your own company.

Part-timers- start bending over!

The labor laws only reflect that employees are to be paid overtime when hours worked exceed 40 in a week.

The overtime was usually neogotiated through a Union, and to hear that unions only take dues and provide no services.

Rather than bending over they should just walk out the door and never go back.

Actually,
they should show up, and start doing their airshift, than while on the air, VOICE HOW THEY REALLY FEEL ABOUT CBS!!!!!

Id love to hear someone at CBS go on air and talk about how much they hate CBS, and how their companny is F'ING them over!

That is one of the strange things about the trashing of radio by the corporations, there has not been much talk or discussion of it in public.

Like the airline business, the severe decline in quality has been mostly just accepted.

Meanwhile, a job in radio has become much like a job in retail. Just a thankless, uncreative, future less... grind.

Aw, man! What would Edward R. Murrow have said??

What i'm about to say is not to kick anyone, but to just state fact. I never got holiday time when i worked pt. time for Entercom, Crawford, kkey, kvan or kmuz. In case nobody is paying attention. The business climate is baaaad out there. Could it be that the "new" possible owners might have requested the change, before it becomes public??? If you get my drift. IMO. and since i'm poolside in vegas, I don't have any inside info.

Bunsofsteel - what you are describing is someone's retirement speech. Because they'd never work in the biz again.

And while paying part-timers time-and-a-half for the 8 gov't mandated holidays is certainly good business practice, part-time/fill-in employees by definition are hired to work the shifts that full-time employees get off! The job definition is just short of "work all holidays." So you should either negotiate a different deal up front, or assume that you are being hired at the wage they named to work at the wage they named whenever you are scheduled.

CUE: The More Money For You And Me song.
(nevermind, it's not on the playlist)

My company decided this year to eliminate VACATION pay for all PT employees. It was 2.5 percent of your wages for the previous year based on hours worked. Paid on your aniversary date. 2.5 percent, no big deal. Still amounts to a pay cut for all the part timers. A good sum for those who were working on multiple crews. though......

...."a thankless, uncreative, future less... grind."

That's the way,
uh huh, uh huh,
They like it,
Uh huh, uh huh.

My company did the same thing except it only applied to new hires or those on their initial 90 days. Current pt'ers were not affected.

When my station cluster was owned by Trialthalon, Citadel, then AMFM for a short time, partimers got holiday pay at 1.5. When NNB bought them in 2000, we got just straight time.

Welcome "Portland".... to a small market attitude !

I've worked at several places where even full-timers were expected to work any holiday that fell on their assigned shift–at regular pay.
Anyone that had a problem with the policy at any time was welcome to leave and not come back. They were also not eligible for re-hire.
It's just the way things are these days.

...And symptomatic of overall problems in general.

We all hear the stories of companies that do well, AND treat their employees with respect. This in turn helps to create a fiercely loyal, hard working staff. To be sure, any company with more than a few employees will have a slacker who is more than happy to let others cover their shortcomings. However, with that said, A company that over emphasizes getting the last dollar no matter the human cost, ultimately costs themselves in the long run by creating an unhappy, overworked, underachieving work force as well as an environment that is not maximizing it's potential.

It is a fine balance in creating a workplace that can maximize productivity as well as keeping employees happy and focused. This is where it is of the utmost importance to have a management team that can keep a team motivated, enthused, and efficient.

Sadly, companies that place their primary effort on how good they look to the shareholder tend to neglect the area that ultimately produces the returns.

It seems that today's business climate is willing to accept the trade off. Why make the effort to create a work environment where people are genuinely happy to be there and in return bust their asses, when you can create an environment where your employee(s) are happy to just HAVE the job, and you can hang over their head how easily they can be replaced with someone else. THE FEAR FACTOR!!! Sorry we have chosen that course. Are they teaching Greed, Selfishness, an Not Respecting Others, in college, or have people just acquired those traits naturally?

>>Are they teaching Greed, Selfishness, an Not Respecting Others, in college, or have people just acquired those traits naturally?<<

Neither. It's a simple matter of supply and demand. There's less jobs in radio and those that still exist pay less and have less benefits. But there's no shortage of people wanting to work in radio.

If/when that situation reverses itself - you'll see pay go up and benefits return. Won't be in our lifetime, however.

If you don't like how you are treated at the station you work for, then go work for someone else. My advice is to stash your need to be on the air, and find a job that can actually effect the well being of your fellow man.

It like the story of the roustabout working at a circus. His job was to clean up after the elephants. When asked why he shoveled crap for a living, he replied, "Why would I want to leave show business?"

Your limited ego strength is what keeps you trapped in a business that has outlived is impact on the audience and advertising community.

Whats the difference between a Pooper Scooper and a Disk Jockey?

The Pooper scooper Makes a living wage.


And that my friends is the "shitty" Reality of the business.( Pardon the pun)

Ps- is there two "T"s on the word " Shitty" grammar police?

Hahahahahahhahahahahah...hahaha...haha...ha...h
...hurl...spew...ralph...buick...aarrgghh

Laffin' and doin' the rainbow yawn to keep from cryin'.

Sincerely,

Richard Cabeza

"Ps- is there two "T"s on the word " Shitty" grammar police?"
No, that is not a grammar question. That would be a spelling question.

However, your question is grammatically incorrect. The correct grammar is:

Ps- Are there two "T"s on the word "Shitty", grammar police?

Or alternately, "Are there two "T"s in the words 'Shitty' grammar police?"

And who gives a rats ass. lol.

Ahhhh the old don't like it-find a better one- quit complaining-live with it reply.

Kind of similar to, immigrants don't like it at home, go someplace else. HOW ABOUT MAKE THE CURRENT PLACE A BETTER PLACE? A place of employment should be the same way. Why have a revolving door when it is just as easy to create a place that is so good people are standing in line to get in.

I guess either way you have a steady stream of potential employees. Just seems better to have a solid crew of of longtimers rather than constant turnover. Guess it's all how you see things, your expectations, and your comfort zone.

or visit: goworkforsomeoneelseyoumiserableingrate.com

Good point Roger. A solid crew of long timers would make it easier to pick up extra slack for all the part-timers heading out the door. If you don't have that... you will potentially have major issues ie.... a sinking ship on the horizon.

Thats what I just dont understand at all! Back in the day, even 10 years ago, jocks stayed at one station for a long time 10 years+. Today jocks get canned afater a couple of years. If you're trying to build a loyal audience, wouldn't it make more sense to get good talent and keep them around a long time? Thats how it used to be.

I totally agree. Jocks become part of your daily routine. I remember back in the day where I would be lulled asleep by the same voice every night. They were a part of me... I really miss that in todays market. As a kid I couldnt wait to get home and go to bed and tune in to my favorite station with that same familiar voice I listened to for years.

Director of ENG's position was just eliminated.

so is ken broffel out?

I never, ever got time 1/2 for working holidays as a part-timer, that I can recall anyway.

What is there such indignation? Part-timers exist so full-timers can have the day off.

Besides it being an incentive to make some extra cash- instead of being with ones family, it’s actually common place within SEVERAL industries to do so during a holiday.
Outsider, no offense my friend, but yours, is the kind of mentality that has gotten dj’s where they are now: starving dogs that are grateful for any scrap the master feeds them ; as so many are willing to be under paid, and under appreciated. CBS could have instituted this policy, beginning January 2nd, 2009 to be fair to the part timers who already committed to working holidays this year.
I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again: I am glad I retired fro the biz!

Ken Broeffle has been out for about 2 years, he's now the Director of Engineering for Clear Channel-Seattle.

CBS-Portland let Brian Jones go, and eliminated the position of Director of Engineering.

That's nothing. I once worked part-time at a place that required part-timers to make up hours missed due to being closed for a holiday on another day of the week. No holiday pay, either! (it was considered a "full-time" benefit.)

Let's face it, employment is probably the most open market that exists. If nobody was willing to fill a position that had no holiday pay or other benefits, that's when there'd be change. We all know that everyone has bills that have to be paid, however.

Exactly... I also worked for a company that required you to make up extra hours missed. Hmmmm same place?

With the economy the way it is, lets face it, radio people are starving and big companies are using it to their advantage to try and stay a float. I think its a matter of time before a company like CBS will lay off more people or get bought out by someone else. The dominos have already started falling.

For years radio has played on the fact that there were seemingly endless lines of people willing to work cheap...

That both lowered the quality of the product and kept wages low in the business.

I took more than a few of those jobs myself thinking it may be a foot in the door or may lead to something better, usually it never did.

Seems those are the first people management cans when the budget ax falls...

You see, no bean counter mentality management has any respect for those who were willing to work cheaply. They figure that if they have no respect for themselves why should anyone else?

At the same time there have always been people with great paying jobs in radio who really didn't know or do much of anything. but they had the balls to negotiate a big salary for themselves.

In a sales dominated business management DOES have respect for that!!

8 years ago I decided I would never work for cheap money again in this business.... I'm still in the business... Not the highest paid, but nowhere near the bottom.

I've agitated a few people by insisting on regular pay raises and otherwise not acting like I'm "lucky" to have a good job.

I've turned down good jobs because I'm already probably making more than the guy who was trying to hire me for cheap.

And yes I have my digits crossed and knock on wood regularly.

Well said...

IMO, some bean counters think that giving someone a job is a "favor," and if it doesn't pay enough to make your expenses even if you're living in a small apartment with no phone, cable, internet, etc., and can't afford even top ramen; tough. Some of these are also the places that purposely keep stacks of applications lying around in an attempt to scare employees into thinking that they can't get a job anywhere else, and even if they think their job sucks there's 20 people lined up to take it.

Exactly... I also worked for a company that required you to make up extra hours missed. Hmmmm same place?
Probably not... there are plenty of these places around. (And if anyone read the original comment I said thinking 'so what, just take the lower paycheck for less hours,' uh it didn't work that way... as in if you were scheduled for 20 hours a week and you worked, say, 16, it was a documented offense.)

That is true. However with CBS there is a hiring freeze, and they are thinning out their work crews. So even though they have that "stack of resumes"... the are not hiring any of them.

Ryan, I had to re-read your post to make sense of it. I was referring to some bean counters in general that inhabit any type of business. In fact, the exact thing I was thinking of when I wrote that was the part on "WalMart: The High Cost of Low Price," where they showcased the story of one of the former workers.

There should be a bean counter union. I understand what you meant. However "bean counters" are everywhere. Not just located at Wal-mart. When a company stops hiring them, that is a bad sign.

And, again, my point is some of them. I agree it's a necessary profession, and certain skills are definitely needed even in one's own personal life. Also, lots of them don't even make the policies they carry out... it's handed to them from higher up, like everyone else.
Some of them are also the type that are the best of what they do for being fair and understanding the multiple sides of each issue. Unfortunately, we're a society that's set up to exemplify the problems, not highlight the stuff that keeps the problems from happening in the first place.

Dominos are falling at Entercom now...
Anyone know who was axed?

The beautiful Leela K as well as Marconi, and several other people have been let go from CBS a few days ago... So goes another round of talented people. Who will be next? Total automation?

Board opts doing multiple stations in multiple markets, and to think that when the Board OPs started some on this site thought it was great where they could do shows from home, save money since they were being paid less.

Now it has almost come full circle with almost every show becoming a Board Opt show (Other than Drive Time.). You people should have all gone to a stronger union (or maybe just a union) and said no to board opt programs.

I even use to listen to KGON on the weekends, but now almost 100% of the weekend programs are Board Opts and you can tell as they are looking down to the time countdown to make sure their "adlib" between songs fills in the time allowed, but the industry feels if a couple of people can tell it's automated so what.

Well if radio continues to be automated my ipod will just work fine, good night radio.

Well said...Automation...the big A word... Especially with the economy the way it is... no one is buying air time like they used to. It seems to just get worse. My condolences go out to everyone. Two weeks before christmas.... You can't get any worse than that. What has the world come to?

they are Board OP's, no "T"

I guess Arthur Carlson was right all those years ago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WKRP_in_Cincinnati_episodes#.22Bah_Humbug.2 2_.2812.2F20.2F80.29

I've worked at various radio and TV stations and never received any holiday pay. It was always straight time. As far as getting people willing to work it, there are enough people who want to be in radio (and TV) that they will work it.

I also remind people that CBS is one of the few profitable broadcasters these days.

They are profiitable, yet they are SELLING a good chunk of their stations! If they were so Profitable, why are they selling off a good majority of their station????

Anyone else ever seen the Michael Moore documentary "The Big One?" It's a bit old now, but it covers plenty of corporations that run under the mantra of 'yes, we make money, but we don't make enough money!'

To my knowledge CBS is not selling; they're swapping mid-market stations for big market stations.

They are only swapping and not selling because nobody is buying in this economy.

I like this line from JERRY DEL COLLIANO:

"As CBS is finding out, there isn't a big market for suckers -- I mean, buyers -- for some of their smaller market properties at the customary inflated multiples. And if you think that CBS is the only group that would like to unload radio stations, think again."

CBS as a company lost $12.5 Billion so far this year. Imagine if their tv network was doing poorly

The other reason other companies are willing to trade than buy is for Tax purposes.

This New York Post story certainly doesn't sound great for CBS.


December 19, 2008

Sumner Redstone's National Amusements and its creditors have agreed to extend indefinitely today's deadline to repay $800 million in debt so the two sides can continue to try to work out a refinancing agreement.

In theory, the 15 institutions in the debt syndicate could demand repayment or force the company into bankruptcy. But people familiar with the situation said both sides agreed weeks ago to ignore the deadline because bankruptcy would be harmful to all parties involved.

National Amusements, Redstone's private holding company, has enough cash to continue making interest payments, which in turn gives the banks desperately needed liquidity.

Conversely, since the bank debt is unsecured, forcing the company into bankruptcy runs the risk of losing that cash flow.

What's more, in a bankuptcy, National Amusements has exclusive rights to devise a reorganization plan for 18 months - shutting the banks out of the process.

But Redstone's corporate cornerstone isn't off the hook entirely.

Sources said the terms of any refinancing agreement would certainly be more onerous to the company than the original loan.

"The banks want a smaller loan with higher interest rates that is securitized by assets," said one person.

another case of greedy banks extending credit for a shaky deal. And we bailed them out, WHY?

yeah, these mega corps were great for who again?

There not greedy their selfish. If they earn more money their stock price will increase and the officers will receive larger bonuses.

As for those who need to borrow money, who cares about you.

Don't you know, AS President Harry TRuman once said. Banks only loan money to people who don't need it.