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ABC, union in standoff
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November 3, 1998: 8:20 p.m. ET
Tech workers urge pols to boycott election day coverage
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Locked-out unionized workers at ABC threatened to disrupt crucial election day coverage by asking politicians to boycott the Disney-owned network.
Vice President Al Gore canceled an interview scheduled in Seattle after ABC correspondent Ann Compton flew in for the talk, ABC News spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said. Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, head of the Democratic National Committee, canceled an Election Day appearance on "Good Morning America," she said.
A spokesman for Gore said the vice president canceled because it is White House policy not to grant special access to news organizations when they are involved in labor disputes.
The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, representing camera workers, desk assistants and publicists, staged a one-day walkout Monday to demand access to information about ABC's new health coverage plan, which is used by the rest of Disney's employees.
The network refused to let them go back to work Tuesday morning without a promise that ABC would be warned in advance of any future job action.
The union countered with a promise of no activity for 30 days. But ABC rejected that.
Dispute comes at a bad time
The labor dispute comes at a bad time for ABC, which is trying to stop a slide in its ratings and a particularly demanding day covering the mid-term elections in the United States.
ABC spokeswoman Julie Hoover vowed ABC will be able to meet the demands of election day coverage.
"We are going to do a great job," she said. "We're very pleased with how yesterday went. It was virtually trouble-free. We're very confident about today."
However, Tom Donahue, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, said there is "no way" ABC will be able to give the kind of election coverage it wants.
"The viewing public is going to have to vote tonight on whether the ABC coverage is worth watching," he said.
Late Tuesday, Disney reported a sharp decline in quarterly profits, reflecting higher costs for television programs such as NFL football, increased investments in its theme park and cruise line businesses and weaker results from its film studio.
In another development, ABC News had to apologize to its Web site readers after an election-eve foul-up that saw erroneous poll results posted before anyone had voted.
Hoover said the snafu at abcnews.com was not related to the job action, noting that no NABET members work on the Web site.
NABET told members on its Web site that ABC "wants us to switch to the Disney medical insurance plan. We have repeatedly asked them to give us the information needed to determine what you may have to pay out-of-pocket if you don't use the network doctors. To date, they have refused to provide that information."
ABC's Hoover dismissed that argument as "bogus" and said the union was trying "to put pressure on us at the bargaining table."
The union's contract with ABC, which Hoover characterized as "the most costly and restrictive contract in the broadcast industry," expired 19 months ago.
ABC has used management employees and non-union personnel to fill in, but the walkout still resulted in technical glitches in news programs, a shutdown of two soap operas and a traffic-snarling picket line outside a football stadium.
Subtle effects of the walkout were visible to viewers of "Good Morning America": On-air personnel looked into the wrong camera and a camera was briefly visible on the set. The union said wrong graphics were aired, though Hoover said such mistakes are made every day.
NABET promised to end the strike and not walk out again on the health-plan issue if the company agrees to binding arbitration.
"The union would agree to terminate the strike after the 24-hour period and agree further in writing not to again strike over information relating to the company's proposed health care plan," Donahue said.
"In lieu of any further strike action on the issue, the parties would jointly submit their positions to the regional director of the National Labor Relations Board, who would review and issue a decision which would be binding on the parties," Donahue added.
Shares of Walt Disney closed Tuesday at 29-9/16, up 3/4. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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