The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers wrote members...

and retirees, it said. “Recent lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill by pay television providers (cable and satellite) to hamstring broadcaster’s ability to monetize their investments through retransmission consent agreements will have an adverse impact on the broadcasting industry as well as those who rely on over-the-air television.” The letter signed by IBEW President Edwin Hill said that “legislative efforts that undermine retransmission consent would have a negative impact on the livelihoods of IBEW members in the broadcasting industry.” Hill lamented the “alliance” of pay-TV operators that are trying to hurt broadcasters’ market leverage and the ways they have “sought to alter retransmission consent negotiations through a multitude of legislative proposals,” such as through a standstill, “a contract that never ends regardless of its eventually outdated terms and conditions.” Such a contract would never work in collective bargaining, Hill added. Retrans “is fueling broadcaster consolidation,” an American Television Alliance spokesman told us, “which is in turn leading to fewer and fewer jobs in television. Why is IBEW supporting a system that is killing jobs and leading to skyrocketing blackouts and fees for consumers?"