A strike vote has been taken by members of NABET-CWA Local 18, the union representing four employees at Lowell TeleMedia Center. InsideLowell has also learned the strike is timed to coincide with the Lowell Folk Festival July 26-28, which LTC has been broadcasting across multiple public access channels for decades.
There are currently three Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges by LTC workers before the National Labor Relations Board concerning alleged acts of retaliation against union members during the negotiation process. Further, LTC workers are resolved in having a “Union Security” clause written into their contract, an important condition that LTC management has yet to support.
A Union Security Agreement is when the employer and the union agree on the extent to which the union may compel new employees to join the union, and/or whether the employer will collect dues, fees, and other deductions on behalf of the union, e.g. agency fees.
Sources also tell InsideLowell that LTC has decided to pre-emptively cancel plans to broadcast the Folk Festival the way it’s been previously done, so as not have the many volunteers required to provide coverage caught up in the middle of a strike action.
Plans were in place to expand coverage this year, with the stage at JFK Plaza being brought back into the mix for the first time since Covid, and Festival organizers had also received permission to stream performances on YouTube.
Chelmsford TV, which has traditionally broadcast from Boarding House Park throughout the entirety of the weekend, will do so again with LTC picking up their feed. Performances at the other two main stages, Market Street and JFK Plaza, will not be televised.
The employees of Lowell Telecommunications Corporation scored a victory February 13, 2023 when the National Labor Relations Board certified their union, making them members of NABET Local 18. The sides have been in negotiations since that time.
