TORONTO – After a strike vote taken last week, CBC employees have overwhelmingly supported taking strike action if necessary to get a new contract.
The yes vote won 87.3% during the vote held between July 8 and July 14.
Canadian Media Guild, the CBC union, thanked members for “turning out in such large numbers to show their support for the union at the bargaining table.” Despite a large number on vacation, 67% turned in a ballot.
"This is very strong support for the Guild and a flat rejection of the Corporation’s vision of the future ," says CBC branch…
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TORONTO – The Canadian Media Guild said today it will announce the results of the strike vote taken this week on either July 19th or 20th.
Expect overwhelming support in favor of strike action.
“Negotiations resume on July 18 and the Guild’s bargaining committee is prepared to negotiate day and night to get a fair deal with the Corporation,” says CMG.
Over 5,500 CBC employees are members of the CMG, which urged its members to vote yes, saying that the CBC is “trying to guarantee maximum flexibility to hire and fire employees at its whim.” Talks have been ongoing…
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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – DirecTV has filed a lawsuit in a Canadian court against a well known signal thief who flouted a permanent injunction order imposed last year to stop selling piracy technology used to steal DirecTV programming, the American DBS service announced today.
The complaint alleges that Elio Gino D’Amario, of Hamilton, Ontario, has continued to sell pirate devices on his web site in violation of a permanent injunction entered against him in a U.S. District Court and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in July 2004. The complaint against D’Amario was the result of an investigation conducted…
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TORONTO – Over 5,500 CBC employees who are members of the Canadian Media Guild are casting ballots today and tomorrow to give their bargaining unit a strike mandate.
The CMG is urging its members to vote yes, saying that the CBC is “trying to guarantee maximum flexibility to hire and fire employees at its whim.” Talks have been ongoing since May 2004.
The two sides are now meeting with a federally-appointed conciliator, which is expected to last until late in July. If no deal is reached the two sides have a 21-day “cooling off” period, during which they can…
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TORONTO – While press releases swirled all around today from CHUM Ltd. and its co-appellants and from Canadian Satellite Radio responding and re-responding to what CHUM had to say, Canada’s other satellite radio license holder, SIRIUS Canada, is quietly getting ready for its fall launch.
That’s not to say that the newly minted company isn’t on side with CSR saying the appeals are all bunk.
“Clearly there’s nothing raised by any of the now-three appeals that is in any way different than the issues that were well-covered at the CRTC hearing,” SIRIUS Canada president and CEO Kevin Shea told…
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TORONTO – Seems like every radio company not involved in a satellite radio investment has now jumped into an appeal of the CRTC’s licensing decision to federal cabinet.
Led by CHUM Ltd. and Astral Media (who were granted a terrestrial subscription radio license), the rest of the appellants are: CHIN Radio, CJRT-FM Inc., Fairchild Radio Group Ltd., O.K. Radio Group Ltd., Newcap Inc., Larche Communications Inc., Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc., Rock 95 Broadcasting Ltd., Evanov Radio Group Inc. and Radio-Nord Communications Inc.
Officially the group of companies filed “a notice to appeal to the Governor in Council to set…
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MONTREAL – While Cogeco Inc.’s radio division is turning around, drawing larger audiences, the performance of the company’s television division, TQS, “obliges us to evaluate our forecasts for the media sector downwards for the 2006 fiscal year," Louis Audet, president and CEO of Cogeco, said today in presenting his company’s third quarter results.
Operating margins on the media side plummeted from 20.5% in the third quarter of 2004 to 14.3% in Q3 2005.
While the company’s large cable division routinely draws the most press – and the bulk of the company’s revenue, its radio division is improving after…
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TORONTO – "This appears to be an act of desperation by an association scared of progress," said Gregg Terrence, president of Indie Pool, about the recent jabs the Canadian Independent Record Producers Association has taken at his company.
"CIRPA’s comments are possibly libelous and are disrespectful to thousands of Canadian artists that signed a petition supporting satellite radio. Let’s be clear here, CIRPA represents record companies, lawyers and accountants, not unsigned artists."
Indie Pool, which says it represents 20,000-plus Canadian independent recording artists, reinforced its support for all three satellite and subscription radio applications in its release today.
CIRPA…
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TORONTO – About 100 technical employees at broadcaster Alliance Atlantis have voted to join the Canadian Media Guild.
The union has filed an application with the Canada Industrial Relations Board to represent about 100 technical employees at the Toronto-based company which owns and operates channels such as BBC Canada, Showcase, Food Network Canada, Life, and HGTV.
"The employees at Alliance Atlantis came to us seeking benefits many other unionized workers in the media enjoy, such as pensions and opportunities for training and advancement", says Scott Edmonds, vice-president of the Canadian Media Guild, in the press release.
"Alliance Atlantis may…
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MONTREAL – Canadian Satellite Radio today announced the support of the band Les Trois Accords and singer-songwriter Stefie Shock with a $100,000 contribution.
The money is part of CSR’s initiative to help develop Canadian francophone artists on the international scene.
"We have chosen Les Trois Accords and Stefie Shock because they represent the vibrant and flourishing Québec music scene, which is already making waves in Europe," said Stephen Tapp, president and COO of CSR. "We expect that these exceptional talents will have huge careers internationally, and we’re proud to be able to be there to support them as they…
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