The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has reached a new tentative agreement with CBS that the union is calling “one of the most significant wage packages in the nearly 90-year history of the relationship.”
The pact also establishes “joint frameworks for dialogue and cooperation” on issues such as artificial intelligence and new technologies to work collaboratively and solve issues without workplace disruption.
“This tentative agreement reflects a new era of partnership and progress that recognizes the important contributions of IBEW-represented technicians while embracing the challenges and opportunities of the future,” IBEW International President Kenneth W. Cooper said in a statement. ” From news and sports to streaming and operations, IBEW members are the engine behind CBS’s continued success, just like they have been since 1939. We believe this agreement not only speaks to CBS’s commitment to national and local broadcasting, it also reinforces the value of skilled union labor and reflects a shared vision for adapting to the fast-evolving media landscape.”
“The skilled technicians and valued employees represented by IBEW have been a bedrock of CBS’s success since the early days of television, and that continues as we chart our future together,” Paramount Global co-CEO and CBS president George Cheeks added. “I want to thank IBEW leaders Kenneth Cooper and Robert Prunn for setting the tone in a collaborative, forward-looking negotiation that worked through issues together and delivered value for all our stakeholders.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The new agreement with IBEW comes as Paramount is awaiting regulatory approval from the FCC for its pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media.
The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2025, recently triggered its first 90-day extension.If the deal is not closed by July 6, the deadline will be automatically pushed another 90 days to Oct. 4. After that, if the deal is still not closed, or if a regulator blocks the merger or one of the parties involved breaches the terms of the agreement, then Skydance and Paramount will have the option of terminating the deal. Exercising that option would leave Paramount on the hook to pay Skydance a $400 million breakup fee.
Among those who have met with the FCC expressing opposition to the deal is Hollywood’s Teamsters union, which has asked the agency to “memorialize Skydance’s pro-worker commitments as a merger condition, or encourage the parties to reach an agreement on how best to protect workers post-transaction.”
In addition to its regulatory review, the FCC has launched a “news distortion” investigation into an Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. That interview is also the subject of a $20 billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump, who CBS is currently in mediation talks with about a potential settlement.
