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ABC locks out strikers
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November 2, 1998: 2:02 p.m. ET
Union hits picket lines for one day over lack of health plan disclosure
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NEW YORK (CNN) - ABC Inc., the broadcasting subsidiary of Walt Disney Co., said it will lock out over two thousand union employees who walked off their jobs nationwide Monday morning to protest what they considered unfair labor practices.
The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET), representing workers at the ABC television and radio networks, is conducting a 24-hour strike against ABC and its parent company Walt Disney Co., said Tom Donahue, union press officer.
ABC said it will take employees back only if the union guarantees not to strike without advance warning in the future.
"We have advised the union that when it gives us a guarantee in writing that it will provide ABC with adequate advance notice of future job actions the union takes against the company and its broadcasts, ABC will permit NABET-represented employees to return to their jobs, but not before," the network said.
NABET officials weren't immediately available to comment on the lockout.
The labor dispute threatened to affect ABC network programming as well as WABC local television and WPLJ-FM local radio in new York. The union represents camera operators, technicians, desk assistants, couriers and telecommunications personnel.
Among the programs that were in jeopardy was ABC's "Monday Night Football" -- the highest rated sports program on television, scheduled to air Monday night when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys.
However, ABC officials said it plans to continue its regularly scheduled programs.
The union is protesting ABC's refusal to share details of its "Disney Select" health plan with employees. ABC management wants the union to join the plan.
However, management hasn't told union members important details such as the cost to see a plan doctor, NABET contended.
Union members have been working without a contract since March 31, 1997, when disputes over health coverage ended their previous labor agreement. Negotiations have been under way for nearly two years.
The one-day action involves employees in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington. Workers are scheduled to picket outside of ABC headquarters in New York through 5:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Disney stock (DIS) rose 1-3/8 at 28-5/16 in Monday trading. 
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