{"id":5354,"date":"2026-07-20T14:38:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354"},"modified":"2026-07-20T14:38:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:38:01","slug":"the-worst-treatment-whdh-employees-take-to-picket-lines-and-lawsuits-in-tense-contract-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Richard Bourque, a single parent of two kids, has spent eight years as a maintenance technician at WHDH-TV (Channel 7). For most of that time, he has worked three nights and two day shifts a week to abide by a plan set up with the station to make sure he can see his children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Democratic senators send letter to Homeland Security secretary demanding answers on recent ICE shootings<\/a><\/p>\n

But amid negotiations for a new contract between WHDH and the union representing photographers and other technical staff, Bourque, the union\u2019s chief steward, said managers in May changed his schedule to nights only. The switch means he sees much less of his kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

The change in Bourque\u2019s schedule is among the many labor grievances he and fellow union representatives say have been piling up at the independent local station. Photographers and technicians said they have not received a raise since 2023, and they only get six paid holidays per year; their peers at WBZ-TV (Channel 4) and WCVB-TV (Channel 5), represented by the same union, have 10 holidays.<\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Some members have alleged in federal lawsuits that the station failed to properly compensate some employees for work-related travel. The union\u2019s previous contract lapsed a year ago, and they\u2019ve held informational pickets in the past few weeks to raise awareness of their concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all of our work, all of our names, that gets us on the air,\u201d Bourque said. \u201cThis is the worst treatment from management we\u2019ve ever experienced.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The IBEW Local 1228, which represents WHDH production staff, filed an unfair labor practice against the station with the National Labor Relations Board, a copy of which the Globe reviewed. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lily Pardo, a spokesperson for WHDH owner Sunbeam Television, wrote in response to a detailed request for comment that \u201cSunbeam is actively negotiating with the union in good faith.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not negotiate in the press or public forums,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the unpredictability of breaking stories and the challenges of covering shootings and fires, local TV news jobs have never been easy. But the industry\u2019s economics have come under pressure as audiences increasingly cut the cord and turn to social media for information instead, and staying in the business has become even more difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a city with five commercial TV news outlets, WHDH is the lone independent station, meaning it doesn\u2019t air national network shows. As a result, WHDH broadcasts 11.5 hours of local news programming every weekday \u2014 the second-most of any station in the market \u2014 as it\u2019s generally cheaper to produce original shows than pay for syndicated content.<\/span><\/p>\n

That original programming relies on local labor. But the union said its ranks have dwindled, putting more work and pressure on the staff that remain. Over the past four years, the WHDH union has fallen in membership by 20 percent due to attrition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re treating it like we still have the same staff we had 10 years ago,\u201d said Nick Sapienza, a WHDH photographer and editor who filed a lawsuit against the station this month over alleged labor violations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The workers\u2019 union is pushing for a 3 percent wage increase \u2014 which would be the first raise since 2023. Fifteen of the union\u2019s 18 other contracts in New England guaranteed raises for members of at least 3 percent last year and this year, according to contract data provided by Steve Katsos, the guild\u2019s assistant business manager.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Katsos and the stewards, WHDH is only offering a 1 percent increase, citing that as an independent station, it has less money and can\u2019t pay what its competitors do. Negotiations began in June 2025, and the two sides remain at a standstill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll we\u2019re asking for is a reasonable human raise,\u201d said Dusty Wood, a photojournalist and union steward who has worked at WHDH for 21 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Union representatives also said that health care costs have skyrocketed for some members and that as the only TV news station whose headquarters are in Boston, parking and transportation costs have also taken a toll on staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Mass. residents are largely using AI, but have more concerns than excitement about it, poll shows<\/a><\/p>\n

Bourque, Wood, and Katsos said the conversations with management have been tense. They said managers have often arrived late.<\/span><\/p>\n

At one bargaining session in January, when the guild invited other union members to sit in on the negotiations, Bourque, Katsos, and Wood said, a manager told a bargaining unit member to get up so he could take his seat. They said the manager explained that he couldn\u2019t sit in his own chair, which had torn paper on it, saying that his tailor would be upset because he was wearing a $2,000 suit. <\/span><\/p>\n

For the past several weeks, WHDH workers have been holding informational pickets outside the station in downtown Boston. They also handed out informational material at the July 4 celebrations on the Esplanade, which WHDH covered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Around 50 supporters, including members of the IATSE and IBEW 103 unions, joined WHDH and a giant inflatable rat in picketing outside the station\u2019s studios on Wednesday. Supporters blew whistles and a vuvuzela as they chanted for a fair contract. <\/span><\/p>\n

On top of unfair labor practices filed with the NLRB, some employees have resorted to federal court. In two lawsuits, workers alleged that the company violated labor laws by failing to adequately pay them for work-related travel.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the suits alleged that three employees were not properly compensated for work that included transporting cameras and equipment for coverage during winter storms earlier this year. <\/span><\/p>\n

Union representatives, who met with WHDH managers, were told that hotel rooms ahead of the snow storms \u201cwere offered as a courtesy\u201d and \u201cdid not require payment for the time spent,\u201d which employees disputed, according to the lawsuit filed by WHDH employees Britanny Carr, Kurt Hartwell, and Matthew Gibbons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI deserve what I\u2019m owed, and I want to be paid that,\u201d Carr said on the picket line Wednesday. \u201dAnd also, to stand up for everyone else in the union. Someone has to put their name out there.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In a separate lawsuit, Sapienza alleged that the station failed to pay him for all of the hours he worked during WHDH-related flights.<\/span><\/p>\n

The employees are all seeking compensation they argue they are owed, as well as coverage of legal fees, reimbursements, and any other relief.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWHDH is aware of the dispute, has reviewed all records, and has determined that all employees were properly paid,\u201d Pardo said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

So far, the union has resisted taking a strike authorization vote. But union representatives said they have discussed it and if the stalemate in contract negotiations continues, they may need to take it up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always the worst-case scenario, but with the disrespect we\u2019ve received from management, you have to look at every option,\u201d Bourque said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Trump says new Air Force One will be taken out of service to be \u2018maxed out\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photographers and technicians at the station say they have not received a raise since 2023, and they get only six paid holidays a year, as talks for a new contract continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photographers and technicians at the station say they have not received a raise since 2023, and they get only six paid holidays a year, as talks for a new contract continue.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-20T14:38:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-20T14:38:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354\"},\"wordCount\":1165,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/45807e2099ec5b0efe89d6e90f68edc4.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354\",\"name\":\"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/45807e2099ec5b0efe89d6e90f68edc4.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-20T14:38:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/45807e2099ec5b0efe89d6e90f68edc4.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/45807e2099ec5b0efe89d6e90f68edc4.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=5354#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"Photographers and technicians at the station say they have not received a raise since 2023, and they get only six paid holidays a year, as talks for a new contract continue.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-07-20T14:38:01+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight","datePublished":"2026-07-20T14:38:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354"},"wordCount":1165,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/45807e2099ec5b0efe89d6e90f68edc4.avif","articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354","name":"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/45807e2099ec5b0efe89d6e90f68edc4.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-20T14:38:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/45807e2099ec5b0efe89d6e90f68edc4.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/45807e2099ec5b0efe89d6e90f68edc4.avif","width":1440,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5354#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018The worst treatment\u2019: WHDH employees take to picket lines and lawsuits in tense contract fight"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}