“Personal services contract,” “indi-vidual contract,” “key talent agree-ment” — these are all terms used to describe an employment agreement

negotiated between an employer and an individu-al employee in the broadcast industry. While these agreements are commonplace in the industry, not every employee is offered a personal services contract (PSC), as they are known, and not every employee may want one. When you are presented with a PSC, it is important to understand what the terms of that PSC mean, and it is important to know that your SAG-AFTRA staff is available to assist you in explaining those terms, as well as strategizing with respect to any decisions that you must make regarding your employment.

The landscape of PSCs has changed over the years. These agreements once contained terms of employment that the employee was able to negotiate above and beyond the union agree-ment or company policy, but over time, employers

continued to add one-sided provisions that are more advantageous for them and less so for the employee. A three-year PSC, for instance, may require that the employee stay with the employer for three years, while the employer has the option to terminate the PSC for any reason at one year, 26 weeks or even 13 weeks. In many radio PSCs, there is no guaranteed term for the employee at all. So even though you may be receiving above-scale compensation, there may be no guarantee how long you will receive it.

Many PSCs also contain onerous, restrictive cov-enants such as lengthy noncompetes, complete restrictions on outside employment,

rights of first refusal, language where the em-ployee agrees to indemnify the employer (sometimes regardless of whether the content provided was ap-proved by your employer), confidentiality provisions and overly broad content ownership provisions that may even pertain to material outside of the scope of your

NEWS IN BRIEF

QUALITY JOURNALISM CAMPAIGN //

We’d like to know what you think

about quality journalism. What trends

or issues are you seeing in your

news & broadcast community?

Send your observations to

broadcast@sagaftra.org

LOCALS FORM BSCs //

SAG-AFTRA Philadelphia and San

Francisco broadcast members have

formed local Broadcast Steering

Committees. Contact the local for

more information on meetings and

member participation.

NY MEMBERS MENTOR STUDENTS //

A two-part mentor program was held

for more than 50 New York students

interested in careers in broadcasting.

The sessions included tips of the trade,

the importance of SAG-AFTRA and

demo tape critiques.

KRON BROADCASTERS REJECT

OFFER // Newspersons at KRON4

in San Francisco voted unanimously

to reject the latest contract offer

by management. Primary reasons

for the rejection were equitable

compensation, threats to job security

and health/retirement benefit

concerns.

BSC MEETS IN NEW YORK //

The SAG-AFTRA Broadcast Steering

Committee met in New York City on

June 29.

UNION PLUS BENEFITS //

The AFL-CIO’s Union Privilege program

is exclusively for union members.

From mortgage programs to low-

interest credit cards to discounts on

pet insurance, there’s something for

everyone. Go to www.unionplus.org

to save!

BROADCAST NewsThe Newsletter for SAG-AFTRA Broadcasters // VOL.2 // ISSUE 2 // SUMMER 2013

UNDERSTANDING YOUR PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACT

By Anee Raulerson // Assistant Executive Director, Washington-Mid Atlantic Local

CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 >>>

1

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT, HOWEVER, IS THAT

SAG-AFTRA MEMBERS KNOW THAT THEY ARE

PROTECTED BY ANOTHER CONTRACT —

THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.

The year 2013 is one not without

change, uncertainty and concerns in our ever-expanding industry: owner-ship changes, format changes, economic challenges, new media, safety issues and First Amendment questions.

At the Broadcast Steering Committee meeting, SAG-AFTRA members from across the country met to discuss their union’s role and responsibil-ity in dealing with ownership changes and resulting FCC issues, your priorities for collective bargain-ing, your frustration with ever-increasing restrictive employment contracts and reporter shield legislation and related concerns. SAG-AFTRA is engaged on every level to address these issues and many more, and it is clear that no one employed in this in-dustry is insulated from the change that brings both threats and opportunities.

This issue of Broadcast News contains an ar-ticle on personal service contracts. Many SAG-AFTRA mem-bers working in radio and TV are employed under personal service contracts. Your SAG-AFTRA staff is always avail-able to consult with members on issues related to personal ser-vice contracts. Whether you are

just beginning a job, concerned about an assignment, a window in your personal contract and/or have concerns related to the expiration or termination of an agreement, use your union staff as a resource to help you understand the terms and conditions of these agreements and what they mean for you, your current employment situation and future employment opportunities.

— Mary Cavallaro, Assistant National Executive Director, News & Broadcast

MESSAGE FROM MARY CAVALLARO

2

NATIONAL STAFFNEW YORK OFFICE

MARY CAVALLARO Assistant National Executive Director, News & Broadcast (212) 863-4219mary.cavallaro@sagaftra.org

RICH LARKINAssociate Executive Director/ Labor Counsel (212) 863-4242richard.larkin@sagaftra.org

NATIONAL STAFF LOS ANGELES OFFICE

ANNA CALDERONLos Angeles Director of Broadcast (323) 634-8117anna.calderon@sagaftra.org

LOCAL STAFFCHICAGO, MICHIGAN & TWIN CITIESPAULA WEINBAUMDirector of Broadcast(312) 573-8081 x548paula.weinbaum@sagaftra.org

DALLAS-FORT WORTH & HOUSTON-AUSTINT.J. JONESTexas Director of Outreach and Broadcast (214) 363-8300 x4tj.jones@sagaftra.org

MISSOURI VALLEYJD MILLERLocal Executive Director(314) 231-8410john.miller@sagaftra.org

NEW ENGLAND

TOM HIGGINSNational Director, News & Broadcast(617) 262-8001tom.higgins@sagaftra.org

NEW ORLEANS

HERTA SUAREZMiami Local Executive Director(305) 663-7089herta.suarez@sagaftra.org

OHIO-PITTSBURGH

TIM WILLIAMSNational Broadcast Representative (513) 579-8668tim.williams@sagaftra.org

PHILADELPHIA

STEPHEN LESHINSKILocal Executive Director (215) 732-0507stephen.leshinski@sagaftra.org

PORTLAND & SEATTLEBRAD ANDERSONSeattle Local Executive Director206.282.2506brad.anderson@sagaftra.org

SAN FRANCISCOLEN EGERTLocal Executive Director (415) 391-7510 x315len.egert@sagaftra.org

WASHINGTON-MID ATLANTIC

PAT O’DONNELLLocal Executive Director (301) 657-2560 x861pat.odonnell@sagaftra.org

NATIONAL & LOCAL BROADCASTSTAFF DIRECTORY

From left, Chicago Broadcast Director Paula Weinbaum,

Chicago Local Executive Director Eric Chaudron and

SAG-AFTRA broadcaster Paris Schutz of the Windy

City’s WTTW attend the BSC in New York.

There’s nothing dull about “Shotgun Tom” Kelly. His animated persona and voice has

been a mainstay in California since he first went on-air in San Diego in the mid-1960s. A disc jockey with KRTH (K-Earth 101) in Los Angeles since 1997, Kelly’s legacy was recently set in stone when he received the 2,496th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The son of a union railroad engineer and a SAG-AFTRA member since 1971, Kelly joins an accomplished group of radio legends honored on the famous sidewalks of Holly-wood Boulevard — from early radio pioneers like Steve Allen and Jack Benny, to today’s newscasters, disc jockeys and sports announc-ers, including Dodgers’ Spanish-language announcer Jaime Jarrín and the “Mayor of the Sunset Strip” himself Rodney Bingenheimer. Kelly recently answered four questions with Broadcast News about his career.

BROADCAST NEWS: Do you recall your first professional broadcast and how you felt when you turned on your microphone? SHOTGUN TOM KELLY: KPRI [San Diego]. It was a jazz station. We played Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett and that kind of stuff. I was 17. When I first hit that mic, I was energized and a little nervous at the time. Then I warmed up to it. I said, “This is KPRI-FM and FM Stereo and now here’s Sergio Mendez and the Brazil 66.”

BN: Have there been any moments in your career where you thought, “I’m sure glad I have the union behind me.” STK: Oh many times. I do remember I was at KCBQ [in San Diego]… the owners were

trying to say it would be more beneficial to all of us if we were not union. But of course it was all smoke and mirrors and I knew that. I went around and talked to the jocks, including the weekend guys, and I told them if it weren’t for the union they would be making much less. The owners presented their side and I present-ed our side and said, “Hey guys you don’t want to do this. This is going to benefit them, not us.” I was a hardcore union supporter. I convinced enough people … and we won. It was exhilarating. That was a wonderful triumph for the working radio announcer. That was just a thrill in my career.

BN: How have you seen radio change over the years? Do you use social media? Do you run your own board? STK: Well, we run our own board. When I got to KRTH we had a producer and board operators. But when the computer came in they decided to have the personality run the whole show. It’s very easy because everything is on the computer — the jingles, the music, com-mercials. It’s a one man show. I like it. I feel I’m in control. Now, when I’m on location, I have a board operator on the other end and we can still operate that way. But those are the only instanc-es where we have board operators or a producer back at the station. But I still try to make it like you wouldn’t even know I’m not pressing the buttons. I try to make it seamless. I’m not doing too much Twitter but I am on Facebook.

BN: Do you think social media is a positive way to engage your audience? STK: On Facebook they get an instant

MEMBER NEWSVeteran NBC4 Los Angeles reporter

BEVERLY WHITE was honored by the

Los Angeles Chapter of the Society

of Professional Journalists with the

Distinguished Journalist for Television

honors on March 14. BSC member FRANK

MOTTEK of KNX radio served as master of

ceremonies for the event.

Frontline Heroines, a series of oil portraits

by Metro Networks’ JUDITH LARSEN,

was featured at The Fountainhead Gallery

in Seattle in February and March. The

paintings pay tribute to female journalists

from around the world who have lost their

lives while covering the news. Among

her subjects, CNN’s Marie Colvin (Syria

uprising), National Geographic and UPI

photographer Dickey Chapelle (Vietnam

War)and Washington Globe reporter

Elizabeth Neuffe (Iraq war).

MIKE SHUSTER, an award-winning

diplomatic correspondent and foreign

correspondent for NPR News, has retired

after more than 30 years and 3,000 stories

filed at the public radio network. Based at

NPR West, his assignments have included

the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wars in Iraq,

Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Middle

East. Shuster also covered issues of nuclear

non-proliferation and weapons of mass

destruction, terrorism and the Pacific Rim.

Veteran NPR broadcaster and Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me official judge and scorekeeper

CARL KASELL was named 2013 North

Carolinian of the Year by the North Carolina

Press Association. Kasell, originally from

Goldsboro, NC, helped found WUNC while at

college at the University of North Carolina

at Chapel Hill. NCPA president Hal Tanner

III said of Kasell, “He is highly regarded by

journalists everywhere for his integrity and

commitment to fairness and honesty.”

NBC Today Show correspondent BOB

DOTSON has released his latest book

American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things.

A New York Times Bestseller, Dotson seeks

out the unsung heroes of our country – a

truck driver who taught microsurgery;

a man who has 465 profitable patents,

second only to Thomas Edison; the doctor

who developed the whooping cough

vaccine and retired at 104 – and celebrates

their inspirational stories.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 >>>

FOUR QUESTIONS WITH SHOTGUN TOM KELLY

3

“Shotgun Tom” Kelly gets the 2,496th

star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

MAR

LEN

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NOYA

N ©

HOLL

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employment. SAG-AFTRA has worked to secure legislation in several states prohibiting an employer from enforcing noncompete provisions against broadcasters specifically, but you should check with your local SAG-AFTRA representative regarding the status of noncompete provisions in your state.

What is most important, however, is that SAG-AFTRA members know that they are protected by another contract — the collective bargaining agreement. The lan-guage of the CBA must provide the right for an employer to enter into a PSC with an individual. Otherwise, PSCs are prohibited. Most SAG-AFTRA CBAs have such a provision, which requires that the terms of the PSC cannot be less than those set forth in the CBA. The SAG-AFTRA CBA may also contain specific limitations or require-

ments of a PSC, such as a defined threshold above scale before they can enter into a PSC, prohibitions on restrictive covenants or guaranteed durations.

Because of the interaction between these two contracts, it is highly recommended that members not only consult with their attorney and/or agent, but also with their SAG-AFTRA representative before executing a PSC so they are fully advised of all of the possible ramifications. SAG-AFTRA staff around the country participates in panels and conducts educational seminars on PSCs. If you are interested in hearing more about SAG-AFTRA’s work with PSCs, contact your local SAG-AFTRA office. •

UNDERSTANDING YOUR PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTFROM PAGE 1

SHOTGUN KELLY FROM PAGE 3

4

THE WEINGARTEN CARD.DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!Don’t let a meeting with management get out of hand. If you’re called

in to explain why something went wrong, stop and think about your

Weingarten Rights. By presenting this card to management, YOU have

a right to stop a meeting until your steward, assistant steward or a

Local rep arrives to accompany you.

“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined, termi-nated, or affect my personal working conditions, I request that my shop steward or union officer be present at this meeting. Until they arrive, as is my right under a U.S. Supreme Court decision called Weingarten, I choose not to answer any questions regarding this matter.”

(In alphabetical order):

KMBC-TV (Missouri Valley)Total Traffic Networks (Chicago)WAVE-TV (Ohio-Pittsburgh)WBAL-TV (Washington-Mid Atlantic)WCCO-AM (Twin Cities)WCPO-TV (Ohio-Pittsburgh)WFSB-TV (New England)WHUR-FM (Washington-Mid Atlantic)WMAR-TV (Washington-Mid Atlantic)WPHT-AM (Philadelphia)WSPZ-AM (formally, WTNT-AM, Washington-Mid Atlantic)WTEM (Washington-Mid Atlantic)WTTW-TV (Chicago)WWL-TV (New Orleans)

LIST OF CONTRACTS APPROVED FROM JANUARYTO MAY 2013

response from me. They get a big kick out of it. I get a lot feedback on that. As a matter of fact, there was a gentleman from San Diego who when he was just a kid came into the radio station. This kid came in and I showed him around the station, put him in the production room and recorded his voice. And he felt like he was on top of the world. He’s now a deputy sheriff [in West Hollywood] and he requested to be at my star ceremony and I found out about that through Facebook, where he contacted me. He said this was one of the biggest things from his childhood that he looks back fondly on now.

BN: What are some moments in your career that stand out the most for you? STK: I was jock of the year by Billboard magazine. That was al-ways richly rewarding to go back to the convention to be nominated and declared the winner. This Hollywood Walk of Fame honor is the cherry on my career. •

BROADCAST News is published quarterly for news and broadcast members of SAG-AFTRA. Corrections, suggestions and submissions can be sent to broadcast@sagaftra.org.

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