Troubles in Bean Town

At WHDH in Boston, the weather outside is heating up and so are the tensions inside the station.

The independent Sunbeam Television station is facing a double-barrel blast of labor trouble that should serve as a cautionary tale for TV newsrooms across the country.

If you work in local news, you know the drill: management asks everyone to "do more with less," promises brighter days ahead, and then hands out corporate crumbs when contract time rolls around.

Members of IBEW Local 1228—the photogs, editors, and technical crew who keep Channel 7 on the air every day—haven't had a raise since 2023. Meanwhile, Sunbeam hit those same crew members with a whopping 40% hike in healthcare costs, forcing staff into higher out-of-pocket expenses while line-item savings floated straight up to the front office.

And what is Sunbeam offering at the bargaining table after years of record inflation?

A generous 1% annual raise for the next three years.

"Many of us are doing double the work we were doing pre-2017 for nowhere near double the pay," one station insider noted, referencing WHDH's shift to an aggressive, news-heavy independent format after losing its NBC affiliation.

Union members have resorted to public picketing, bringing their grievances straight to high-profile station broadcasts—including the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular—to make sure viewers (and advertisers) know exactly how management is treating the crew behind the cameras.

As if tense contract talks weren't enough, three WHDH photojournalists filed a federal lawsuit against the station alleging severe wage theft and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations during major storm coverage.

According to court filings, photogs were ordered to haul heavy gear to hotel rooms during blizzards so they could pre-position for 16-hour shifts in sub-zero conditions. When workers requested compensation for travel time, gear transport, and required hotel stays, management reportedly delivered this gem:

"We don't pay people to sleep” according to union employees.

The lawsuit claims photogs were intimidated into leaving mandatory pre-positioning hours off their timesheets, denied meal reimbursements, and worked upwards of 50 to 60 hours in a single week without receiving a dime of overtime pay.

The FTVLive Take

Ever since former Sunbeam owner Ed Ansin famously turned down a multi-hundred-million-dollar offer from NBC and turned WHDH into an independent news factory, the station has leaned heavily on brutal newsroom output to stay competitive in Market #10.

Running an independent station in a major market without network prime revenue isn't easy. But trying to balance the books on the backs of the photojournalists standing in knee-deep snow and the technical crew keeping the control room running isn't just bad business—it's short-sighted corporate greed.

When you refuse to pay OT for blizzard duty and offer a 1% raise while raising health insurance by 40%, don't be surprised when your staff trades their cameras for court summonses and picket line signs.

Just saying…

H/T Boston Globe