September 24, 2020 ☼ labor ☼ mpr
Source: MPR News - Link
Employees of Minnesota Public Radio’s Twin Cities music stations — The Current and Classical MPR — delivered petitions Thursday to company management to form two distinct unions.
In letters to management at Classical MPR and The Current, staff asked that SAG-AFTRA be recognized as their union and for collective bargaining to begin. Both letters stated a need to diversify staff at the stations, and the letter from The Current staff also raises questions of gender equity.
“Our station consistently wields its influence to center white voices and narratives, effectively ignoring the racism and other forms of oppression that plague our community,” wrote The Current employees to station managers. “Meanwhile, our staff has become less racially diverse over time. Through it all, Minnesota Public Radio has systematically silenced The Current’s women employees, perpetuated pay inequity and failed to protect The Current’s hosts from physical and mental harm.”